or 2.01 if we are talking about the DS.

To check turn the power on while pressing the MENU button.

Glyn

There is a depth of field preview which is activated by moving the camera on/off switch to the iris like symbol beyond the 'ON' position. This can only be used through the viewfinder and does not capture an image for the rear LCD display.

On the K100D this function is enhanced with "Digital Preview" where you have the option of replacing the depth-of-field preview with a non-saved capture and display to the rear LCD. I don't think this digital preview function has (yet?) been retro fitted on any of the previous models.

Glyn

When auto iso was added with an up-grade to the DS I seem to remember that it only worked if no +/- Ev compensation had been selected. When any +/- Ev compensation was defined you could still select auto iso but it never changed and stuck at 200.

So doing a search in the DS2 manual (its not covered in the original DS manual) reveals:

Sensitivity is not corrected in the following:
- Exposure mode is M (manual) or B (Bulb) mode
- Flash is discharged
- Auto bracketing
- EV compensation


Is any of this selected on your DL2?

Glyn

I don't have one of these either but I did at one time think about buying one because its looks like a good lens for landscapes. However I was put off by this review:

http://www.ephotozine.com/equipment/tests/testdetail.cfm?test_id=385

I have to agree with the review about the cost of this lens. It does seem to be over priced althougth shopping around can give a substatintial cost reduction on the list price (£699), like £480 here:

http://www.fotosense.co.uk/Pentax_SMC_14mm_f28_DA_ED_IF_Lens.asp?productID=932&a...

Glyn

My K100D was assembled in the Philippines and the 18-55 lens was assembled in Vietnam. My 1stDS is the same.

Of my small collection of both new & 2nd-hand Pentax lenses and in addition to the 18-55 above, 2 were made in Vietnam, 1 in Taiwan, 1 in Japan and 1 does not seem to be labelled. All the new ones were made in Vietnam.

Glyn

I do worry about those Uniross CRV3s. I have two pairs which I have been running on my DS but I have found that newly charged they seem to have an on-load voltage of around 3.4 volts so I worry that a pair at 6.8V is a bit risky.

[Measuring on the 3rd terminal, which I assume is before the diode, gives an on load voltage of around 4.2v on recently charged samples. If this represents the non-dioded rechargeable CRV3s then I think these would be fatal to a Pentax DSLR.]

With the Uniross it seems that in use the voltage quickly drops to 3v and seems to stay there but I'm concerned that the initial voltage is going to cause some damage.

I've therefore gone back to using Ni-Mh, with a decent charger, for general use and non-rechargeable CRV3s for important events.

Glyn

While I know the K100D is not yet available in the UK those of you that have acquired one from elsewhere might like to know that there is a new firmware available for it here:

http://www.digital.pentax.co.jp/ja/info/20060808e.html

This upgrade, V1.01, adds the following features:

Support for SDHC Memory cards.
The focal length which is input on the [Shake Reduction] menu can be displayed with Pentax Photo Browser3.

Glyn

Thanks for the comments Guys.

I went to the airshow today. I took my father, who when I was a lot smaller used to take me to these events, my brother and my 11 year old nephew.

The day started off fine and we had a good look around the static displays but the weather closed in for the flying display and we got soaked in a thunder storm. The poor lighting ment that camera shake became a serious issue so I didn't really improve on the previous days results.

I have just added few of today's pictures to the collection. I could not resist adding another picture of the Osprey. Its my airplane for the week.

As happens I had the short, wide-angle, lens on the camera when a non-announced DC3 landed. I guess at least I can prove it was there. I also found that even with an 18mm lens you still have to be long way back to fit in an A380.

And just for Don I found a Sea King, painted bright yellow so I couldn't miss it.

Glyn

I live about 4 miles south of Farnborough and its airshow week, which only happens every other year.

We get a lot of airshow traffic over the house but they are usually too fast and sudden or too high to have much of a chance of a decent photo. So yesterday I took my bike and my DS, down the Basingstoke canal to the SW end of the runway and today I took the bike and DS and went to the NE, town, end where I saw a lot of stuff on approach to landing.

You can see a sample of the results here:

http://glynmorgan.fotopic.net/c1027258.html

These are all without tripod. I have passed today's through Photoshop to lighten them up and do a little cropping.

I took the picture of the A380 above Boundary Road because when we were looking for a house in this area we looked at a very nice house in this road!

I had a lot of trouble deciding which lens to take. In the end I used a Sigma 28-400 which is from the cheap & cheerful end of my collection. It suffers a bit from purple fringing but I just wanted to carry one lens and it kept my options open.

Tomorrow I'm off to the airshow itself. I'm planning to take a 18-50 DC EX Sigma for the ground shots but still don't have much choice for the aerial shots. In theory I have a choice between the 28-400 and a 135-400 but the latter is rather big and heavy to lug around and needs tripod. All my other lenses are less than 125mm. I must invest in a longish prime.

Hopefully I'll have some more photos tomorrow to add to the samples.

Glyn

I have a Pentax-FA 28-200 f3.8-5.6 IF&AL, acquired 2nd hand a few months ago and it has SMC printed on it. Mine feels a bit ancient, is a bit sloppy and therefore suffers a little from creep. Is there any way of working out its age from the serial number (3762835)?

Details in the usual place confirm SMC but you can't quite read the SMC print in the picture which is just above the print of "1:3.8-5.6":

http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/lenses/zooms/short/FA28-200f3.8-5.6.html

Glyn