Not much to say about smoke then, but can I remind everyone to say whatever they want to here, and not in the competition area, which until the judging is over is for the judge alone.

That's so they can judge free of any influence our comments may have.

Equally well, the judge stays clear of this area until the judging is complete.

I'm not sure, it seemed a bit jerky in places, and it wouldn't really persuade me to buy a DSLR with video, be it any marque.

I like shooting stills and am not really interested in shooting video - I don't object to it being introduced but I already have a video camera that I never use.

We'll have to see what happens in the market place.

If it suits you, go for it. I'm sure you'll see lots of SLR-type cameras with EVFs instead of optical viewfinders in the next few months, with interchangeable lenses too.

Possibly, but not everyone likes looking at an EVF and they are more difficult to see in bright light. The colour reproduction may not be accurate, they drain the battery, manual focusing is all but impossible, the refresh rate isn't up to following fast moving objects.

That's a few reasons! But one day, who knows?

There's one final point that's relevant with macro and DOF. This is the point where DOF becomes more obviously dependent on magnification rather than the general out-and-about feeling that is depends on focal length.

If you have an object that fills the frame, say a small ornament as an example, then if you use a 100mm lens you will need to be twice as far away as if you use a 50mm lens. The DOF will be the same in both cases. The magnification stays the same so the DOF is the same. What will change is the perspective.

It all interlinks beautifully, but it takes ages to grasp the complexities of it all.

To be honest, the best way to get to grips with this is to try it for yourself.

The readily obtainable and easiest route would be to use a 50mm f1.7 or F2 lens with a 2x converter and the use a 100mm Macro lens at f4.

The spec of the converter/50mm option becomes effectively 100mm f4, so you can compare them directly.

The huge advantage of the converter is that the minimum focus distance stays the same as the prime lens, so in the example above the result focuses as close as a 100mm macro would.

The pedantic, please note this is "rounded off" but is close enough in a practical sense!

I've not done this for a long time, but intend to repeat the exercise soon, when the Pentax 2x converter I've just bought from eBay falls through my letter box. It should make for an interesting couple of hours.

Welcome!

I've had a look at their website and generally prices are as expected. If they have an offer on a lens I would phone them up and talk to them.

Offer being sent by PM.

It's not only our personal taste, but also the type of images we shoot. If you always shot in misty dawn situations, for example, your requirements might be very different to a photographer who shoots fashion by studio flash.

I used "Bright" when the winter was dull, but have now changed back to the normal setting to prevent results looking too garish.