I have read the forum thread linked to and can see no justification for called DxO malware. :

I don't think the Post Offcie keep SD packages for long, so he needs to get in collected urgently.

The printer accepts an RGB image from the computer and translates it into CMYK for printing. That's how they all work, but it doesn't really matter. We have no input into that apart from keeping the colour space correct all along the work path.

Your profile may or may not get to the printer, depending upon what you have asked Photoshop to do. If you haven't done anything, then it may be that PS is converting your image to sRGB before sending it, or even ignoring the profile altogether. You need to check your colour preferences and see if PS or the printer is the one that's controlling the colour.

All printers print using CMYK inks, but they are actually RGB devices.

Check you are working in sRGB throughout - camera, Photoshop all need to be the same colour space. Your computer monitor and printer are sRGB devices anyway.

There's little difference either way Gareth....

I wonder what people mean by "build quality" - it's one of those wonderfully vague terms that could mean almost anything. Some might think it means made of metal, heavy and solid. I could imagine some manufacturers adding weight into a design purely to fool us.

When I look at the D-FA 100mm macro I see a compact lens, solidly built but not over-heavy, with impeccable finish. Results are excellent and it's far more compact than the FA version that I eventually sold on.

What do you see?

All posts but one have been removed. I agree with ken, but FWIW the information is at least relevant in this thread!

Your best bet, in a list of fairly unrealistic ones, would be to look for one of the following lenses:

Quartz-Takumar 85mm f3.5
Ultra-Achromatic Takumar 85mm f4.5
Ultra-Achromatic Takumar 300mm f5.6

These use Quartz and Fluorite elements, are highly specialised lenses and I can't think of many general purpose reasons that one would be needed.

However, if you can find one and have a couple of grand to spare....

Who could resist the call? My entry is posted, but it was a bit tough to eat.