If you are covered by insurance I would be tempted to make a claim as the amount is significant. Hopefully it would all be written off and you can start again with new kit. If the K10D is still available though, and it may well be, the insurers might want to get you a direct replacement.

You have to initiate the process, and I notice that the K20D has the facility in the menus.

I don't think the other Pentax DSLRs can do this.

The camera identifies dead pixels and maps their location. Therafter, the software gives them a value based on the surrounding pixels in the image, so they effectively disappear.

I was just starting to look at my entry when I read this - circumstances this week have delayed me for one.

Hopefully, like an eBay auction, there will be a last minute flurry of activity!

K lenses are marked SMC Pentax and were the original bayonet series.

M lenses are marked SMC Pentax-M and are the compact lenses produced to complement the MX and ME series cameras

A lenses are marked SMC Pentax-A and were produced for the A series cameras and these have electrical contacts on the mount, which makes this the Ka mount. These lenses and later will work fully with the digital SLRs. They are further identified by having an "A" setting on the aperture ring.

The K and M lenses have no electrical contacts and this restricts the way they are used on DSLRs. But they can be used.

Excellent images - wonderful lighting.

It's a great idea, and definitely a macro shot and not an abstract, but I do think there is far too much out of focus.

If it was all in focus it would be fantastic.

The one thing missing from modern cameras is the sheer pleasure of operating the wind on mechanism of the ME Super. It should be as smooth as silk...gorgeous engineering.

An ME Super should work without a film in. The battery cover should be a proper fit. The camera does need batteries to operate the shutter.

It doesn't sound like a very good example of the camera. The wind lever should return to its stand-off position smartly and that clearly is not happening either.

The 16-45mm is actually more on a par with the 16-50mm and is a very definite step upwards to professional quality. It is significantly better than the original 18-55mm, but I have yet to test out the Mk II version.

The 55-300mm is an excellent lens (so is the 50-200mm) that is way better than its modest price suggests.

You don't need an uninterrupted set of focal lenghts. It's entirely possible to walk backwards and forwards to frame the image required...