'Asahi Photo' is Pramath Pandya, a really nice guy who has a workshop at the back of his radio controlled model shop in Brentford, West London. He was a Pentax engineer for ten years. It is one and the same place, I've been there. Completely genuine.

A decent set but sorry no eulogising from me. I too like the way the subjects stand out against the rich, subdued backgrounds, Those conditions of course require slower shutter speeds and I'm not sure that the critical sharpness is always there - a shame that image sizes have now been reduced on the forum so it is difficult to view them properly. 1/60th second is always going to be tough. What is natural is I suppose a moot point since garden birds adapt to human environments but I don't find the perches attractive enough here. Personally I prefer to see no signs at all of baiting, even through it is a necessity to attract the birds in the first place. I am envious that you have managed to tempt a goldfinch and in particular a bullfinch, they won't come anywhere near my feeders yet. This type of photography is an awful lot harder than it looks, the simpler the result the more difficult it is to achieve. These images are a start but I know that you are capable of much better (not intended to sound patronising).

In an age of an ever shrinking photographic market then the answer really has to be no this is not a golden age for Pentax, or for any other camera manufacturer, In fact it is an age more defined by survival amongst fierce competition and it is difficult to see how all the brands will survive.

Pentax have made some very good cameras but have released little new product recently - the lineup is looking a bit bare. So we are waiting to see what arrives, how well that competes and how that defines the strategy of the brand. The success of the mass market products like the KS-1 and the Q is very important. They are really style driven products aimed particularly at the Far East.

Carte mémoire grippe.

Il faut attendre la plus puissante carte ebola.

You haven't changed the size of images in the gallery. They are still too small - that's not progress. I hope I shan't be admonished again for mentioning a nameless or even just generic 'another forum' since it is with the intention of passing on user feedback. Users basically find it a real pleasure to be able to view images in screen filling sizes. If you were to print an image for display you wouldn't hang a piddly little thing on your wall so why not have the option for images to be viewed as the photographer intends.

Yes, I posted one to see how it looks. I just don't like images on bright white.

I do emphasise that the font and post boxes look better. Although I don't get why they are so narrow.

However, the key to a photographic forum for me is all about displaying images. They are smaller than before. I can't for the life of me see how that can be considered better. I really don't get in in the slightest.

The text looks better. However, I see vast swathes of white on either side of the forum posts and the overall viewing experience is uncomfortably bright. The real disappoinment is that the photos seem smaller than before. The click through versions are 800pixels which is not large enough for images to be appreciated properly. Overall a backwards step for me as it stands.

I have the DA*300 and the DA*50-135. The * really is justified. I have thought about selling the latter lens as I haven't had that much occasion to use it - that's more to do with the place I have lived and the limited opportunities for what to me is an event lens. But every now and again just before I decide to sell it I give it one last outing and decide to keep it because the image quality is so special. The 300 never fails to bring a smile to my face, recent prices have made it an absolute bargain.

Does anyone else see some odd pixellation in the sky in IMGP0832hr ? Could be my monitor.

Very nice work Andy and making me feel homesick.