I went to the motor show yesterday and took many, many photos - these were my favourite five. Oddly, despite using four lenses over the course of the day, all of these were taken with the D-FA100. Even more oddly, all were shot at f5.6! Perhaps I've finally found my ideal setting..?

Chevrolet Camaro concept

[IMG]http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd37/hefty1969/motor%20show/IMGP0931.jpg[/IMG]

Supercar paddock

[IMG]http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd37/hefty1969/motor%20show/IMGP0949.jpg[/IMG]

1973 Porsche 911 2.7 RS

[IMG]http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd37/hefty1969/motor%20show/IMGP0950.jpg[/IMG]

Ford GT40 (The Gulf powder blue / orange livery is like catnip to me)

[IMG]http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd37/hefty1969/motor%20show/IMGP0951.jpg[/IMG]

Spyker C8 Spyder

[IMG]http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd37/hefty1969/motor%20show/IMGP0952.jpg[/IMG]

Anyway, c&c's more than welcome as ever.

I'll actually be there tomorrow (Thursday) but I'll see if I can scout out some good photo ops for you.

I went half way and bought a Hahnel battery for my K10D - cost me about £20 which was half the price of the genuine Pentax at the time, but four times the price of the no-name ones. In use I've never noticed any difference in performance between the Pentax and the Hahnel batteries, nor in their quality of fit and finish. I'd be wary of using unbranded batteries in my precious camera for all the reasons others have mentioned, but I'm quite happy to trust Hahnel as a manufacturer.

It certainly is! I see what you mean now...

I think my "milestone" cameras would be the Kodak Brownie (introduced in 1900, it was the first camera to bring photography to the masses), the Leica I (the first practical 35mm camera, introduced in 1925 and still influencing camera design to this day) and the Rolleiflex (introduced in 1929 and still in production, it was the workhorse of professional photographers worldwide for decades).

There have been other great cameras (the Olympus Trip that you mention I believe holds the record for the biggest selling camera of all time and gave people the chance to use beautiful optics in a cheap and easy to master package - I've got a drawer full of these as I can't walk past one at a car boot sale without picking it up, normally for around a pound or so) but I don't think any have had such a profound impact on camera design and use as these three. If I were to add a fourth it would be the Rollei 35 due to its diminutive size more than anything else - something that was much copied at the time and still is to this day.

I might be a little biased as I'm an unashamed Rollei-phile so I'll be very interested to see what others think!

Many years ago I was told that to shoot the moon I should use an exposure of around 1/60 sec at f11 (ISO100). This stuck in my mind and I've used it with success ever since.

You may need to vary the exposure slightly but this is a good starting point.

The first shot is an absolute stunner! I'd be very, very proud of that if it were mine.

Excellent judging EM, and congratulations to all the winners - especially Timbo for a well deserved first place.

I'd like to add another vote for the FA43; pretty much ideal focal-length wise for portraits and parties on a DSLR, almost as small as the DA70 and has an aperture ring (its performance on film is frankly sublime!).

I confess I've picked up Digital Photo Mag a couple of times in the past and to be honest, if they told me grass was green I'd still go outside to check. The issues I looked at contained some of the most woeful innaccuracies I've ever had the mispleasure of reading - it would be funny if it wasn't for the fact that there are large numbers of people who look to such publications for honest and impartial advice.

I'd look to the opinions of people who own and use the lens on a daily basis to be a much more reliable source of information - as you point out, in the real world there seems to be almost nobody with a bad word to say about the DA*50-135, I think that speaks more loudly than an advertising driven publication run by hacks who seem to have no interest (let alone working knowledge) of cameras.