I think back to basics would be good, otherwise one can go round in circles, getting nowhere fast.

All I have done is adjust the monitor using Adobe Gamma and then tweaked the settings of the printer in the Epson printer dialogs. (-7 Magenta does the trick with Jessops glossy paper). Any final tweak to the monitor can be done using the monitor's brightness and contrast controls.

The result is that what I see on screen is very much what comes out on the printer, although we have to accept that a monitor is a bright light source and a print is viewed in reflected light. Our usual viewing light is the very bright viewing easel at ADAPS, so prints should not be too light.

If you are viewing in tungsten room lights, then the print will look different again.

I would suggest you get a quote from a suitable repairer and in the meantime check out eBay. It may well be more cost effective to get a new lens on the second hand market, but that will depend on how much they are sought out.

The best thing to do is to buy a card reader. Then you simply plug your SD card into that and plug the card reader into a USB socket on the computer. You can then "drag and drop" the files from the card into whatever folder you want on the PC.

This only copies the files and they are still on the SD card as well. When you have made a CD backup you can format the SD card and use it again.

For what it costs, I would always happily buy the kit lens. You can get the money back, just, on eBay....so nothing is lost!

I have found a use for the Pentax Photo Browser - I leave it with my current EPZ folder showing, ready to view at a click.

Place the painting flat, put the camera on a tripod and ensure the camera back is parallel to the painting. Also make sure the camera is central. Check that the light is even and there are no reflections. Focus very carefully and use a medium aperture for best quality, say f8 or f11. Check the exposure and take the picture using the 2 second self timer to avoid any shake.

An excellent place to post them is the sister site to this one

www.ephotozine.com

The ironic thing is that even when I used standard microprism or spli-image screeens I only ever focused using the plain ground glass area.

So either that's what suits my eyes, or alternatively all my shots have been out of focus for years...

With manual focus lenses you should set the camera to MF. If you don't the shutter will still fire, but only when the focus confirmation lights up and the camera knows it is in focus. This is unrelated to the A setting on the lens.

No need to feel embarrased, but I think just to be on the safe side I'll take the picture off. If you can find a link that's fine, but the original photographer might not be happy to have his or her picture lifted.