Hi montecarlo, Boots is a chain of chemist shops here in the UK - they sell very cheap (but generally poor quality) film. I also love the colours from Fuji Reala 100 - one of the best films I've ever had the pleasure of using. I haven't tried the Kodak ProFoto you mention but maybe I will buy some and try it soon, thanks for the tip!

...I wonder if I could get my 31 on the NHS..?

I do notice the clock from the corner of my eye when it clicks round to XX:43 - I thought it was just me but obviously not!

Hi Dtours, many of the M and A series lenses were optically identical so you'll notice no difference in image quality (the M's are generally considered to be better built, the A's certainly more convenient when used on a modern body). If you go to the K-mount bible at Bojidar Dimitrov's site you can cross reference optical designs to see if you're getting like-for-like.

Welcome to the forum by the way

**Stands and applauds Don's post**

Come on folks, it's an Internet forum - the styles may change but we've still got the same mix of happy, grumpy, concilliatory and argumentative voices (I've ticked them all off on this thread) so nothing important has actually changed. Don's spot on - it's the posters that make this place what it is.

It might have started as a joke but for me (at least) it's become very real. Allow me to transport you back in time 9 months to when I'd just bought my silver FA43...

The scene; in the kitchen at a friend's birthday party.
Present; myself (H), assorted partygoers (PGx).
Equipment in hand; K10D, AF360, M50/1.4

H: "Come on, smile for the camera - it won't hurt y'know!"

PG1: "Put that #@%$+!| thing down! I'm getting a headache from the flash."

PG2: "Yeah, and I hate having my photo taken, it always makes me look fat."

(H retreats to his camera bag and swaps the M50 for the silver FA43)

PG1: "What's that?"

H: "A camera lens."

PG2: "Why is it silver?"

H: "Cos it's a special magic lens."

PG3: "Why is it magic? What's so special about it?"

H: "Only the top pros get to use silver lenses, you can't buy them in the shops. You have to prove yourself worthy to the manufacturer and then they let you buy one direct from them."

PG1: "Bull****. Why would they let you have one then?"

H: "Actually, it's a long story but I managed to get this one from a pro who's just retired and was selling up all his equipment. He used to shoot for Vogue and has worked with all the top models - only last month Kate Moss was looking down this very lens."

(A small crowd has now gathered and is peering at the FA43)

PG4: "I had a friend who's dad was a photographer and he told me something about silver lenses make you look thinner and cover up your spots."

(H suppresses grin, unable to believe his luck)

H: "He's right, although if everyone had them to use it would put a lot of pros out of work so they conspire with the manufacturers to keep the supply limited. Look, it even says so on the lens itself."

(H points to the word Limited on the front)

PG's 1-8 chorus: "Ooooooohhhhhhh!!"

PG3: "Take my picture!"

PG4: "Take mine! I've always wanted to look like Kate Moss!"

PG2: "I was here first - take mine Heft!"

etcetera, etcetera...

A couple of hours later I had everyone posing for the "magical silver lens" and some of the best people shots I've ever taken. They realised shortly afterwards that they'd been tricked (damn the Internet and its easy access to information) but the lens had already entered our folklore. Since then I've been asked to shoot many events (including a wedding, several birthdays and a christening) and people always tell me to bring "that silver lens" because despite knowing in the backs of their minds it isn't so, they still somehow think that silver lenses make them look just a little bit like Kate Moss. Who am I to argue?

I'm with you on that one Gwyn!

Fantastic photos (as usual ) - I particularly like the 3rd one - I find it really relaxing just to look at it.

And Boots film is not known for its high quality!

Each pixel on your digital sensor is effectively a small well that needs to catch photons, if the photons hit the well at an angle then it won't fill up as efficiently as if they were hitting it from straight on. Lenses that are specifically designed for digital should (in theory) direct all the light straight onto the sensor whereas those designed for film can be less critical as film is essentially flat and can therefore form a picture regardless of the angle the light hits it.

Having said that, I've seen many pictures on the web of Canon users who've butchered FA Limiteds to use on their 5D's and 1D's so I'm guessing they are among those lenses that do provide a "flat" image. I know Canon FF users are extremely fussy about what glass they can use on their cameras so if you're buying with a future FF Samsung sensor in mind then perhaps the 31 and the 77 would be a good investment - at this stage though it's all guesswork!

While shooting my one (and only!) wedding I took all my lenses and ended up using just three of them; the FA43 for indoors during the ceremony and some of the posed portraits before and after, the DA18-55 for most of the other outdoor shots (group pics, cars, candids etc) and the D-FA100 for some scene-setters (flowers, food, rings, etc). The other lenses were just ballast in the camera bag as it turned out.

The week before that I went to another wedding where I watched the pro 'tog very carefully (looking for tips) and he went the entire day using a single Nikon D200 and a 24-105 zoom, his results were also excellent as it turned out.

I guess it'll come down to your own personal preferences and you'll find as you go along what works best for you. I wouldn't mind betting though that if you left the 31 & 77 at home you wouldn't really miss them - for me I can't leave home these days without the 43, whichever camera it's attached to.