I like the composition. Nice diagonal across the frame.

Definitely a Silver Birch though.

That's easy, buy it but don't tell the wife.

They are not hard to open and clean, so long as the fungus is on the surface and it hasn't etched the glass. If you can use some basic tools you haven't got much to lose and you could have a fully working lens!

First thing that is worth doing though is to put the lens in a sealed container with a large silica gel bag. This will remove the moisture that the fungus needs to live. This will hopefully stop any more damage.

I've tried an old Braun Paxette multi finder and that works ok. It has a moving mask inside for 35-85mm views.

Lens arrived all ok. I've had a little play and I'm impressed.

Thanks Lukas.

Leave as it is for me.

I think the darker blue balances the water nicely.

Nicely done John. Immediate impression was not of an HDR picture but as Peter said, the light is a little odd for a church photo.

If you think about it, HDR can be what we would all see if we were in the room. Our eyes are constantly adjusting the exposure, focus and scanning so we experience a different image to the one the camera captures. I think HDR is a useful technique to give us a picture that closely matches what we would have seen if we had been in the room.

I often go up to the mountains with only the one lens, 18-135, but as already said, not much of a challenge with that range.

I only have the 8.5mm for the Q and I find it is quite instructive to be limited to one prime. Gives you more time to think about the composition instead of reaching for another lens or adjusting the zoom. Try taking just the 35mm and see how you find it?

I find my 18-135 spends a lot of time on my camera.

I have the 16-45 and it is a 'better' lens for image quality but the extra reach of the 18-135 saves me carrying another lens when I'm walking up in the mountains. Also I am happy to get the camera out in weather that I might think twice about if it was not WR. Light, silent and reasonably compact.

Mind you I haven't tried the 17-70 and looking at the last 9 pictures in my gallery only two did i use the 70 to 135 range.

Sounds like you are using a Nikon dedicated flash with a Pentax camera.What you need is a Pentax dedicated flash that uses PTTL, the system found on Pentax cameras.

The different camera makers have two different ways to work their flashguns, that's why they are dedicated.