I think "trained to think for themselves" might be a bit of a contradiction, but I do know quite a few Jessops staff and they are keen and knowledgable. In any large organisation you will get a range of ability.

You estimate by focusing slightly closer, and use as small an aperture as possible.

It isn't a perfect scenario, but it does work. Some, particularly USA based, photographers have the IR filter removed and replaced by plain glass to make a customised IR camera. Apparently old 2MP Kodak cameras are unusually good for IR work.

The meter does work, but it's not totally accurate because it's not designed for this. So, bracketing is wise.

Yes, definitely. You can use a red filter with IR film if you wish, or you can use one with digital However, you can more easily use Photoshops's Channel Mixer to emulate the IR effect.

Increase red and green dramatically and reduce blue dramatically. Adjust to taste!

Some manufacturers, Canon particularly, filter out IR light very aggressively. My *istDS does respond quite well to using a Hoya R72 filter.

The filter is opaque so it is necessary to focus first and then fit the filter, although you can point the camera and guess! Don't forget to alter the focus point to get the IR light focused correctly. Some prime lenses have an IR mark on the focusing ring to help with this.

If you want to emulate the appearance of film IR then grain and a diffuse glow can be added in Photoshop.

To be honest, the lighting in this photo is very dull and flat, hardly conducive to producing bright, contrasty and sharp photos.

I would suggest you try outdoors on a reasonable day (if you can find one) and, preferably on a tripod, take a richly detailed colourful scene. I suspect the pictures will then be sharp.

If longer range pictures are a problem focus-wise, then try the Infinity setting if there is one.

But in any event, light makes the picture and in the test you'e done there really isn't much light at all.

A manual set up may work very well in this instance. It is, however, rather important to be sure the DOI flash will not fry the K10D circuitry.

They are gorgeous little cameras, have owned them, but the usefulness is very limited these days, especially if colour prints are not required.

A wonderful system designed around a very poor film cartridge.

Now we both have a K10D we will keep just one *istDS as a backup.

I honestly have not experienced any problem with this at all.

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