Years ago, if you asked how much power the engine in a Rolls Royce could produce, the standard answer was "enough".

For me, it's now like that with memory cards. Even the cheap ones are fast enough. They're no longer a limiting factor, except perhaps when downloading, and that's not usually much of a problem.

So, as with hard drives, when buying I just compare the cost per gigabyte, knowing that any difference is unlikely to matter very much.

And I always buy 2GB cards. Larger capacities are likely to cost more per GB, though that may change soon, if it hasn't already.

G

Yes (any flash in manual), and no (Wein).

There is an awful lot of unnecessary worrying about flash voltages, much of which emanates from the copier-cam camp. Those bricks have an Achilles' heel - they can't stand a voltage higher than about 6. Pentaxes have always been much more tolerant of high voltages, and anyway, all new or under, say, fifteen years-old flashguns have very low voltages.

If you are worried, measure the voltage across the contacts of the charged flashgun. It will almost certainly be under 10 volts and perfectly safe.

G

Here's another:

http://tinyurl.com/2tenbb

G

I should be very wary about using automated flash for macro. It's quite unnecessary, and liable to give you too many bad exposures.

Vivitar do a ring flash, or Pentax have a couple that come up on Ebay from time to time.

If you are on a budget, try this:

http://tinyurl.com/25znph

G

Gosh, prices are falling quckly.

G

I'm sure you are right. Subtle is the word for this lens.

G

The funny thing about the 77mm is that although it is a very sharp lens, it is also kind to skin. Don't ask me how or why, but it's not cruelly sharp, as some lenses are.

It's that quality above all that makes it such a good portrait lens.

G

Actually, the 50mm is slightly below the bottom of the normally accepted range for portraits. Traditionally (on film), 85mm has been seen as ideal, with people using 100mm, 120mm or even 135mm quite happily.

50mm translates as 75mm on digital, and 77mm as 116mm. Personally, I prefer the slightly longer focal length, and anyway the image quality of the 77mm is materially superior to the 50mm. It's one of the few lenses in the world you can say that about.

As Tyr, I think, pointed out in another thread, the relationship of price to image quality is not linear. At the high end of the market, a smallish increase in IQ translates into a large increase in price.

I paid £375 for my 77mm on Ebay, and £100 for my 50mm. Both are worth every penny, and more.

And, no, the 77m is not too long for indoor portraits. Groups are another matter.

G

Loads more money. That's the reason we have smaller sensors. The cheapest camera with a 24x36 sensor costs over £4,000. Compare that to a K10D.

Yes. It's just a reference point for people familiar with film cameras.

G

A wise choice. When you want a change, the 77mm Ltd is the world's best portrait lens (ducks missiles hurled by 85mm f1.4 lovers).

G