Assuming it's all in good condition (optically, mechanically and cosmetically) then:

LX £250
K1000 £50
85mm £175
50mm £75
28mm £35

Those are the prices you could realise on eBay, of course you will be subject to eBay and PayPal fees which would eat up about 15% of these.

If you sold it all as one lot then take another 25% off the overall price.

Hope that helps

Firstly, what colour is the kitten?

It may sound an odd question but remember your camera is trying to produce an "average" level of light. This means that very dark/black objects will over expose and very light/white objects will under expose.

If you have a white kitten then try taking a reading off something neutral and lock the exposure before recomposing on your subject.

Ricoh GR-Digital

Lovely IQ, great control layout, hotshoe, fantastic optical finder (if rather an expensive option - worth it though), RAW shooting (albeit very s-l-o-w), fits in my jeans pocket and goes with me everywhere.

It's a fixed 28mm (equiv) lens so I appreciate it doesn't suit everyone, but I haven't found it particularly restrictive.

Like JR, I also use my compact for eBay pics as the small sensor/wide lens combined with a minimum focus distance of 1cm means I can do macro shots and still have a massive depth of field. Plus I can sync to my external flash at any speed - perfect for table top work.

Hi Rick,

1. You are absolutely correct; they'll effectively turn any lens into a macro lens (the shorter the focal length of the lens, the higher the magnification you can achieve). They won't increase reach like a teleconverter.

2. No real limitations but you'll see more pronounced effects (higher magnification ratios) with shorter lenses.

3. Again your reading is correct.

4. No loss of quality will arise as there are no extra glass elements to contend with.

5. The prism metering is through-the-lens so should compensate automatically for the use of tubes. You need to make adjustments only if you rely on an external meter. Whether your viewfinder info still shows will depend on whether the tubes you have include pass-through contacts to relay the lens information to the camera - some do and some don't.

Other than macro work you'll also find tubes useful for general portraiture as the reduced minimum focus distance will enable tighter crops of your subject. And in fact any scenario where you've thought, "I wish I could get closer there..."

The decision was very hard but it seems a waste for me to hoard it when someone else could get good use from it.

I never did manage to find that silver AOCO cap though - it just eluded me to the bitter end.

As for going for more than you can afford it may not be so - plenty are looking but only one person has had a bid so far. G'wan - you know it'd look great on your AP...

Yes I'm finally letting go of the Takumar 58/2

As much as I've enjoyed being its keeper this year it doesn't get enough use and I'm a user, not a collector. Full details of the lens and some pictures can be found on the eBay listing:

CLICK HERE

This is the only example of this lens I'm aware of with a dual focus scale. Those with single focus scales can probably be counted on the fingers of your hands which makes this the rarest of all rare beasts (OK, the mythical 35/1.4 might just pip it to the title but there's not much in it).

The auction started an hour ago and at 99p with no reserve. Due to the clocks going back next weekend I reckon the end time should be around 6pm GMT on Monday 1st November - just in time for payday and a chance for you to treat yourself to an early xmas present!

Good luck to anyone who fancies a bid - it'd be nice to see it stay within the forum somewhere...

It was sponsored by Nikon and they provided the prizes, but entry was open to any camera from any brand.

I got it too - woo-hoo! Normally the spammers blank me...

I went this year on the Sunday - packed doesn't even begin to describe it! I won't be making that mistake again, weekdays only from now on...

Ben, I love your photos and I'm envious of your talent behind the lens but I have to ask; do you actually enjoy photography?

If I had jump through half the hoops that you do on a daily basis I think I'd be sick of the sight of cameras by the time I got home at night. Do you ever just pick one up on your day off and think, "I know, I'll go and unwind by shooting some landscapes (or whatever) today"?