Hello, Gwyn, and thank you!

Although I can't possibly justify or even afford it, the K1 has got me thinking that I need a new camera. Need = lust after.

Perhaps I will have to see something.

People who aren't familiar with financial reporting jargon often think that an "extraordinary loss" is an extra large loss. It isn't.

It's out of the ordinary, and that is good. It means that a one-off event has caused a loss (or drop in profits), but the underlying trading conditions haven't necessarily changed very much. Once the extraordinary event is out of the way, it's back to business as usual - hopefully!

Of course, the loss may be big, but that is not what the expression means. BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster was an extraordinary loss, and a very big one. But there was nothing wrong with BP's underlying business.

As in politics, companies sometimes take advantage of an adverse event to deal with a few other issues that are hanging around, and this may be why Nikon announced at this point that it was cancelling its consumer camera programme. It gets all the bad news out of the way at once, and avoids a situation where there will be more bad news next year.

So I imagine Nikon will be fine. The low end of the camera market is definitely finished, thanks to smartphones, but the high end isn't doing too badly. Those who have been seduced by the idea of mirrorless cameras often find themselves going back to the pentraprism because that is where the real quality is.

Once you have used No 5, and know what it does, you can download the trial of No.6 and see whether the changes are worth having.

Quite probably, they are not.

G

Do you need HDR? I thought these were more than fine. HDR is so often done badly.

G

A rare comment by Giulio57 (a man of few words, many emotica, and one acronym - PPG) got me thinking.

He said of "Occidental Resonance" (a new photo in the gallery by Morpheus71) that "it bears your fingerprint".

Having a recognisable personal style is a goal of many artists, and not just visual artists. You can generally identify Wagner after two notes. In our field, Ansel Adams and HCB are pretty much instantly recognisable. So too, very often, is Cecil Beaton, and no doubt there are many others.

Here on PU, I can always nearly always recognise the work of that prolific and accomplished Welshman (I can't spell Bwlchmawr ) and of course Timbo's finely crafted nudes stick out a mile.

Before he defected, Puma's lovely landscapes were another group that always declared their maker.

Who else would you say has a distinctive style, and what makes it so?

G

It's OK, Horst, just pulling your leg.

I agree with you guys that it's a bit silly for an international forum (drum roll) to make no concessions to the fact that there is life beyond the UK, and often intelligent life at that.

G

Horst, I am not sure you pioneering chaps have grasped the concept of time zones. You're a mere 12 hours away, not 31 days.

In my opinion, this problem is nothing to do with time zones and everything to do with cleft sticks and antiquated communication systems.

It's becoming clear to me that Mr Bargh and his minions are unaware of Crocodylus Porosus, the salt-water croc, which lies in wait for his messengers as they swim across from Indonesia bearing your competition news.

Somebody lend them a flying-boat, please.

G
Really keen to see pictures of Ayers Rock at sunset. Sorry, I can't spell Uluru.

I love the exuberance, the sentimentality, and the whimsicality of Victorian art, which the work of the Pre-Raphaelites symbolises.

There's a splendid exhibition of exported Pre-Raphelite paintings at the moment at Leighton House (itself a monument to its age), but it unfortunately finishes tomorrow. For those who live in or near London (and share the passion) you've just got time.

G

It shouldn't be beyond the wit of man to send an email newsletter to our foreign friends, or, if that is what they prefer, to charge extra so that mail directed to the penal colonies could be sent on those new-fangled flying machines.

After all, this is now an international forum (dot com, no less), whose tentacles stretch far beyond the White Cliffs of Dover; nay, even beyond the exotic Sweater Islands (Guernsey and Jersey to you and me).

Perhaps, though, there is a dark motive behind the mail delays. Perhaps the powers that be are quietly building up their Pentax collections by entering - and winning - the competitions (under (noms de plume of course, to avert suspicion), and don't want competition from hordes of Antipodean Ansel Adamses.

Who knows, but I scent a conspiracy.

G
(He's on the case)

I am sure you are right. Though I am not sure you meant to say that.

G