I would set up the camera on a tripod with flash, prefocus the lens using MF, get someone to attract their attention and just keep pressing the shutter as I anticipated the action.

The one you've done is very good though, if a tad dark.

I notice there are quite a few of us who have not uploaded their Avatar yet. It's always good to have a face to go with a name and although the Avatar doesn't have to be a picture of you it is always nice when it is.

Go to "My Settings" top right of the page, then My Profile Settings and you can scroll down to where an Avatar can be uploaded from your machine.

Before you do this have prepared your picture, no more than 80x80 pixels and in JPEG of GIF format. RGB only, and of course nothing with adult or advertising content.

I'd like to see what more of us look like! My avatar was shot by published glamour photographer and good friend Paul Jones. (You can't tell? Oh well...)

If you look at the instruction manual, Pentax tell us that exposure may not be accurate. There is an even worse issue with using OM lenses on Olympus 4/3 cameras, which leads me to think that in a general sense making sure that old lenses were 100% useable would compromise the function with modern lenses.

It may well be that this is technically solveable, but if that means the cameras became uncompetitive compared to other marques, then it would not happen.

It's not a problem most places, so I wouldn't worry too much about coming over here. You probably won't find many issues outside London.

I use centre focus which I lock with a half press on the shutter release before reframing (if necessary) and firing the shutter. It takes less time than focusing manually ever did and just snaps into focus 95% of the time.

I wonder what sort of subjects you are shooting and in what sort of light? Perhaps it would help us make some suggestions if we knew that?

Just as an aside, the last person I heard use the word "poltroon" was Tony Hancock, who said it with delightfully lush extravagance, making it sound quite deliciously disgraceful.

It's one of those words where the intent is clear, but I've never checked the actual meaning in a dictionary.

I have now. It comes from French and is defined as "A dastard" (as in the use dastardly)

"Dastard" is defined as " a cowardly fellow: loosly, one who does a brutal act without giving his victim a chance."

Just thought I'd share that, it's not a comment on the thread.

The bodies are the same, but the menus are slightly different in design, the properties of the JPEG output may differ slightly and the body shape is slightly different.

Under the skin they are 99% the same thing.

Photoshop 7 won't open RAW files. You need a RAW converter that will enable you to change the RAW files into JPEG or TIFF so they can beopened in PS7.

I am presuming you did mean PS7 and not Photoshop Elements 7. The latter includes a RAW converter.

If anyone wants to start a thread in General Chat then I'll make it a Sticky and we can see what happens.

I'd suggest that you don't clutter it up with replies otherwise no-one will see the wood for the trees!

If it works, I'll suggest the forum idea to Admin.

How does that sound?

That's fair enough. I don't anticipate I'll be making any backgrounds on here either, but for those that want to we've come up with a few ideas, and hopefully something they can use.