This can get very complicated. Many manufacturers produce a good camera but if you've Pentax in mind that really makes it easier for you.

For family use I don't think the S50 or S5i have a high optical zoom. Only x3.

Optio 555 will give you 5Mp and the zoom is greater at x5. You'll often wish you could get just that bit nearer. Very often you have a great picture but you want to cut chunks off the edges. So I think your best bet is the 750Z. This gives you an extra 2Mp enabling you to crop pictures and still make a large print of high quality.

Youll find the tilt LCD a boon too for getting down to unusual angles.

So for me it's the 750. As far as memory goes, your demands will probably grow as you get more fun out of the camera. Start out with one 256 and see how it goes.

They will all make movies too and that is a lot of to see on your PC or Telly

I had another play this afternoon and tried a wide angle view but focussed on something quite near. I then closed down the aperture and tried the DOF preview.

I did notice a difference. The background blurred in the dimmed screen.

I think my dificulty was that I was at my widest aperture in order to get a shallow dof and when I pressed of course the aperture couln't open any wider and thus I saw no change.

I have learned something here but I still wonder how the camera shows you this.

Thanks gang but I don't think I'll be using it that much.

I've many other questions to ask arising from my reading of the ridiculous manual but I'll spread them out.

perhaps I should volunteer to write the next on!

Thanks for that so far. Even if I have set a wide aperture to get a narrow depth of field, when I pull the lever across I see no change in the viewfinder image. What happens in the camera? If it's an optical viewfinder it will be the same won't it?

So then I take the picture and the depth of field is clearly apparent in the LCD image.

Any further help in understanding this?

I am plodding through my manual here and it seems to have been written by a Martian or at least a non native English speaker. Some of the text is appalling and much just plain amateurish.

OK... dof.

I'm looking through my viewfinder and I half press the shutter. The camera is focussed. Now I move the switch over to the preview position. Can anyone tell me wha is supposed to happen apart from the little noise and the disappearance of the info in the viewfinder. I have taken many excellent pictures with quite shallow depth of field but what am I looking for in the viewfinder.???

The whole of the North East group went along to the quays today to see the tall ships event. It was very crowded and dificult to shoot at times but a great day was had by all.

NE group numbers are now up to one, me. I had a nice day...LOL

It would be nice to make contact with anyone for meets around the Durham / Tyneside area. Even in a pub for chat would do me as my family thinks I'm crackers and my pictures are stupid.

Why on earth would I take a picture of someone if I didn't even know them?

Mad to want to go for a walk; It's been snowing!

You haven't got the whole body in..... and so on.....

Only bought one non pentax lens for my Ist Ds. Sigma 55-200 no problems at all there, very happy.

Not much difference.... Read the specs.

Ds has more scene modes but no mirror lock up except in use with the timer. It's also slightly smaller and lighter. It's lovely to hold though, that's why I picked it.
You can find the kit for about £630 now.

In your paperwork you got with the camera there is a Pentax help line number.

I just use the camera as an extra drive and access it through My Computer. It comes up as Drive F and you can access the files from there if you are temporarily stuck.

It was in the newspaper this morning too. They are out of receivership. Great news for the employees too. I think there will be drastic changes in the products offered. Digital crept up on them too quickly. I hope they can reorganise. It would be sad to lose a name with a great history.