I prefer the warmth of the first shot, but would be more than happy with either. Lovely shot.

I prefer to support local independents. The first one I tried however were pretty unhelpful after my first camera developed a series of problems and basically just left me to deal with Pentax on my own. I eventually got a satisfactory resolution by going to the director of the company (a small chain of stores) and by writing to the head of Pentax UK, both of whom I must say were very helpful. I switched retailers to another independent when I upgraded to the K5 and I couldn't be more pleased with the service.

I think the answer is excellent service. If an independent offers no better servive than a bulk online retailer then they have no competitive advantage. Thre is the odd offer that is impossible to resist (such as the recent DFA 100 macro), but if you have a retailer who offers personal service and who will fully support the customer then I'm sure there are plenty of us who value service above the odd few quid.

A proper web service is essential though as they will need much more than local footfall to thrive.

It does look a bit awkward. However, it's a big thumbs up for the kit lens.

I've tried to give this a bit of an old family album look:




Lightroom. Brightness, contrast and black levels up, clarity and saturation reduced and a vignette applied.

Ignore that question. Updated the firmware to 1.03. Now for a sensor clean

I've another three quarters to go yet.

Steve, it's the K series 35mm f3.5, a very compact lens that snuggles a telescope eyepiece nicely.

I'm a bit fascinated by the moon. Here's the first quarter (orientation is just how I feel at the time):


First Day Waxing Crescent



2 Days



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5 Days



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8 Days

Yes on each occasion it happens subsequent shots are overexposed and it is only cured by a power off.

Is there a sticky or a 'how to' thread on upgrading firmware?

Thanks for the information Matt - which is extremely useful. For the snowdrop I was rolling around on the ground and contorted at a strange angle so it was likely that a button was pressed by accident - I may have locked the exposure on the sky for instance.

The first example has happened before. The only custom options I have selected are to enable aperture ring for manual lenses and expanded sensitivity. I'll note your conclusions and post another example should it recur. It's still not an issue that concerns me as long as it remains rare. But if a pattern emerges then I'm sure Pentax technical people would be interested. Your help is much appreciated.

I agree. This wasn't really about the choice of crop as I think think car left right or centre worked equally well. Rather it was the mood of the piece that provided more options. Cropping might be a more significant factor in a different challenge.