If it's any consolation then flecks of dust won't show up in any pictures or have any adverse effect on image quality come to that.

Nope, the other way around.

The Nikon 12-24 is a full frame lens but one designed in the digital era - hence it transmits light evenly across a large frame. If it had been a film era design then you would have seen quite radically different results.

If Pentax were to launch a "Full Frame" sensor then they would really need a new range of lenses to go with it - just like Nikon and Canon users have discovered. This is another reason why all your old Pentax glass is best served by an APS-C sensor

In which case the one in the link is about half price

Still more than I'll be paying just to get my hands on a 50mm lens though

I'm not so interested in gold editions but I'd like to get my hands on the silver 50/1.2 "Special" that came with the LX2000, just because it would match my FA Limiteds nicely. As for use I'm no collector either - all my cameras and lenses are fair game in my eyes so the 50 Special certainly wouldn't stay on a shelf somewhere...

Can't see it ever happening Vic; The vast majority of that price is in the sensor which would cost the same whether fitted to a whole body or to a removeable back, hence if the camera (645D) were to cost £6000 then the back only would probably be in the region of £5500+ - I couldn't see it being a particularly big seller personally.

On paper there might be truth in that, in actual use I think it's a lot harder to tell. The design of the particular sensor also plays a large part.

Certainly a bigger sensor will give more freedom when controlling depth of field, but a typical shot in good light and at a medium aperture (once printed) would be tricky to distinguish whether it came from medium format, APS-C or even a compact sensor.

I think Pentax is wise to skip the 24x36 "full frame" format, they're a comparatively small company after all and the differences between APS-C and 24x36 are minimal at best. If you're going to make a bigger sensor then it may as well be a jump in size that can actually make a real difference.

I doubt I'll afford a 645D but I can't wait to see some results from one.

Out of interest does anyone know how much these sets sold for when they were first made? Can't believe it was anywhere near the sums they ask for them these days...

That's a real shame - I'm very fond of garden spiders

Close, but not quite what I'm after...

Nice find though - are you going to be listing everything on your website or on eBay? I wouldn't mind browsing through what you've turned up

...or a Rolleiflex 2.8?

I hope so! I've got 62 new old stock listed at the moment - the more expensive the better!

I've got a couple of amps but only one ever gets used and they're both transistor based. I've listened to quite a few valve amps and I do quite like the sound but I'm unlikely ever to buy one to be honest.

I was really interested in hi-fi up until several years ago when I stumbled across my ideal amp/speaker combo and I've stuck to it ever since. I've not felt the need to buy anything new for years now and my bank balance is grateful...