I thought I was the only one!

I started with version 3 - loved it - eventually migrated to version 5 which I still quite liked and I've been using that ever since. Don't want to move to the later versions. Each time I've upgraded computers/OS I've worried in case V5 will stop working but it now flies like the wind on a fast 64bit Vista machine! It would be nice if it handled RAW files and left EXIF data intact though, then it would be perfect...

He says if you name the time and place he'll be there - and as his sole agent if you could kindly direct any appearance fees in my direction...

I do know the bit you mean but I still like to think he's just blowing up balloons to celebrate the start of spring.

Been a dull day with no sign of yesterday's sunshine so no more insects yet, looking forward to the summer though and the annual hoverfly invasion.

He does look quite sinister in the photo, however, a couple of minutes later he was looking almost cute as he was blowing up some party balloons:




(Before anybody mentions it, yes I know I missed the focus on this one but in my defence he was only about 5mm long and it was handheld - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! )

The EXIF data should be intact on all of them, but to save you downloading they were all K10D / D-FA100 / No flash. Number 1 was at f4/1-180sec, number 2 at f8/1-250sec and number 3 was f8/1-1500sec. All three were ISO100.

Adjustments in Pentax Photo Lab (all shot RAW) were: No.1 saturation+1 sharpness+2; No.2 saturation+2 sharpness+1; No.3 sharpness+2.

Hoping for some more sunshine later so I can add to the set!

The front of the lens was probably only a couple of inches away from the ladybird and the fly (both taken at 1:1 and cropped slightly so they weren't centred in the frame), the anemone was a little further back but not by much.

Fog so far today so no insects and the flowers are all staying resolutely shut, if it brightens up this afternoon though I'll try and get some more.

Thanks

The sun was very bright and ladybirds are very shiny, hence the specular highlights. I do have a diffuser/reflector in my bag and I really must remember to use it more often.

We actually had some nice sunshine today so I popped into the garden to get some practice in for later in the year. All pictures taken hand held with K10D / D-FA100 (no flash though) and processed in Pentax Photo Lab (no Photoshop).

Seven Spot Ladybird:




Anemone Blanda:




Fly Silhouette:




C&C's welcome as always.

The general consensus seems to be that you need the genuine Pentax adaptor, it allows infinity focus (not all 3rd party ones do) and there are stories out there of lenses getting stuck on bodies with some of the cheaper ones. I don't actually have/use one so I'm just repeating what I've heard.

SRS have genuine ones for £19.99: http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/index3.asp?id=574&Page=2 (bottom of the page).

If you already have some good screwmount lenses then the addition of the kit lens may be all you need.

Photozone are quite reliable in their testing procedures (www.photozone.de/Reviews/Pentax%20Lens%20Tests) but lab testing alone doesn't tell the whole story. For real photo examples have a look at the Pentax Photo Gallery (www.pentaxphotogallery.com) where you can search images by lens used, or similarly I find PBase (www.pbase.com/cameras/pentax) very useful.

If you're after a fast "normal" prime and find the cost of the 31 Limited a little daunting (nobody will blame you!) then don't forget to check out the FA35/2 which can still be had new from a few vendors at around the £200 mark, or the new DA35/2.8 Macro Limited which you won't find any reviews for yet (I don't think it'll hit the shops for a few more weeks) and should be around £260-300 when it does.

Welcome to the forum by the way.

Is the ring flash fully controllable manually or is it like some I've seen where you can basically select "full" or "half" only? I must admit I don't know much about this model at all...