As long as it's a Takumar Super-Labeller I don't mind...

Probably some of the nicest things they've said about a Pentax product!

If I go out for the day to an event then the camera is switched on from start to finish - often 12 hours or more. A lot of that time it's "asleep" but by leaving it on it responds instantly when I need it.

I've never had any troubles doing this so I reckon you'll be OK.

Maybe, but I've not heard of any strikes around here. I've a feeling our postie has been off and they haven't got anyone to cover - the drawback of living in the back of beyond...

Still, I have my fingers crossed they'll turn up eventually and I'm really curious now to find out what I bought.

As far as I know (I spoke to him yesterday) both sales were going ahead as planned and should be with their new owners in due course - sorry Stefan but it was a case of first-come-first-served, I'm sure another will come up sooner or later though.

I buy and sell quite a few used lenses and you'd be horrified at the states some of them get into. I genuinely wouldn't be suprised if some folk out there weren't using scouring pads and Vim!

I don't have one to show but I'd describe a "cleaning mark" as a scuff as opposed to a scratch (well, that's what I do on eBay listings anyway).

I think of a scratch as something long and thin and deep (deep enough to go through the coating), a cleaning mark more of a faint blur - usually caused by excessive rubbing - sometimes all the way through the coating and sometimes not.

A scratch is more worrying than cleaning marks as it implies damage caused in one go - if the knock was enough to scratch the glass then the lens could have sustained other (internal) damage at the same time. Scuffs appear over a prolonged period of time and don't usually point to any other damage associated with an accident.

Hope that helps.

Regularly!

I went out today with just the camera and the DA35 and a spare battery in my pocket. In fact it's far more common for me to go out with a single prime than with a bagful of lenses or a zoom.

It's nice to have all the options a (D)SLR gives but most of the time I'll happily trade that flexibility for lighter weight.

I haven't forgotten this, I just haven't had *any* post of any description for over a week now and this is one of many things I'm holding my breath on. I've been in touch with the seller and they've assured me it was posted the next working day so it's obviously got snarled up in a backlog somewhere...

Stunning picture! But I don't have the patience, the telescope or the spot free from light pollution to ever attempt to copy it. It is mighty pretty though