I bit the bullet and upgraded to CS3, I still had a problem with re installing some of my plug ins until I hit on the idea of trying to copy and paste them into the plug in folder in CS3 directly from PS7.. it worked and all are working fine.
The raw conversion process is now much much better as well as faster with out the risk of crashing that I had with the bundled software.

On another note I still havent had a reply from either Samsung or Digimax to the emails I sent them on the subject and I sent the emails at the begining of october!

Both look really good but sadly seem to be MAC only and I run a Windows pc..

The pentax software would work but sadly I cant get hold of it.. I wish I could as the remote control software would be very handy..
I tried to download it from the pentx site but its wants a serial number for a pentax camera.. and mines samsung..

I dont know if the pentax software is produced by digimax but the samsung software is and the raw converter is terrible.
There is no way to store preferences in it so everytime you have to show it where to save files, it crashes if you have more than 5 up in the pallet, and worst of all it applies its own auto sequence of actions on every file then leaves you to undo it, but sadly somewhere along the way it gets rid of most of the fine detail in my astro shots.
I have given up wih it now and just dont use raw but I want to as I will retain more data and hence detail.
The only options I have found so far are:
Upgrade to CS3 - not on as it would mean having to buy new versions of some very expensive plug ins I use all the time.
Buy lightroom - I dont like the interface and for what it is its expensive.
Use elements - again I dont really like the interface.

I have been hunting to see if anyone has come up with a plug in that will allow PS7 to handle .DNG files but have drawn a blank so far.

Is the pentax raw converter better? is it worth trying to get hold of a copy?

There are plenty of shops with them in stock.. try places like walters photovideo, morris photo etc.. the going rate is usually around £150 ..camera king are a little expensive on their stuff.

Yes very constable.. the subdued colours etc are very reminiscent of his work

re the lens choice..

I was a hard and fast sigma man for many years but after having tried the tamron 90mm macro would seriously consider buying the tamron 70-300 if I was to replace my sigma 70-300, also the tamron has at least one ED/LD glass element I believe.

quite good considering the light grasp limitations of the lens..

Does yours fit without a teleconverter in place as I tried one once on my old GX1-L and the "nose" of the flash wouldnt allow it to fit.. but if it will fit the GX 10 without a teleconverter I might get one again.

No bill leaves the fox's alone.. the one in the pic is one of this years cubs and is tiny.. or it was at the time of the shot.. mum would leave him in my garden to hunt and play while she went off foraging and pick it up in the morning..
Bill is a Deerhound/Greyhound cross.. so smaller than an irish wolf hound, a bit like a big lurcher really. he chases anything that moves but sadly in his old age suffers from a defective radar and his brakes are shot, often resulting in quite funny collisions..(seeing him buried in a hedge with just his bum and tail showing ranks as one of the funniest)

Just a couple of mine




GX 1-L Sigma 70-300 .. fox cub at dawn, shot through the kitchen window.



GX10 Samsung 18-55.. My dog bill after a hard day chasing everything in the garden.
(shot for a photo competition with the theme "legs akimbo" )




GX 10 Tamron SP90 DI ..My autumn shot ....chinese lantern plant in a neighbours graden lit up with late after noon light.




GX10 sigma 70-300.. seed head..




GX10 Tamron SP90 DI.. My niece lucy