These days, when we book a cottage for a holiday, one of the basic requirements for us is WiFi. Everybody in our group wants to stay in touch with the world. It also means I can keep looking in here and I can post my daily image on ePHOTOzine.

Some people don't like mobile phones and the internet, we love them!

I think we should ask some prefessionals what they think of the special service that seems to be expected from manufacturers. Apart from special backups at major events, the norm may be a bit variable.

If I'm making any point it's that at least having our own backups is affordable and there's no other type of backup in the field that could possibly be fast enough. A camera fails during an important job? We need a backup now, this very second, and no manufacturer can be expected to provide that level of service.

In practice, it is very bad luck if a Pentax camera does fail, because in general they don't fail.

Backups are necessary because all man made items can fail. It's not about anticipating that failure, it's about being able to carry on uninterrupted when doing a job.

In a business sense, there are plenty of low cost Pentax bodies and lenses that could be used as an emergency backup and it would be much more cost effective than buying something several times the price and relying on the manufacturer to offer that cover.

I agree with nass, try it.

How could the perspective be any different, you haven't moved....

No, perspective is only affected by the distance from the camera to the subject. Focal length in this respect makes no difference.

We use Pentax cameras and lenses for paying work, so far have never had a failure in the field but always have backups, and, if possible, backups of backups.

This means 2 K-5 bodies, one for each of us, a backup K20D and a couple of compacts such as the MX-1 for use in extremis. If pushed to, I could shoot a wedding on a compact, although it obviously would not be a first choice!

Lenses are also backed up as AF lenses are much more complex than older designs, so failure is always possible.

The only repair I have had done on a DSLR was the K10D, which was fixed within a few weeks to a very high standard.

Where are you located and can these items be looked at in person?

I always suggested that shooting a slide film was a great eye opener. WYSIWYG and every tilted horizon, sloppy composition and error in exposure is instantly revealed.

ADAPS now has a "straight out of camera" landscape competition once a year, where untouched JPEG captures are entered. That's as close as we can get with digital cameras, but it does get a fantastic number of entries and it makes everyone work a little bit harder at the shooting stage.

A good exercise.

Whatever the marque there will be problems from time to time, usually overblown into a crisis by the internet. If we were all willing to pay a premium for more checking in the QC department maybe that would reduce the incidence, but there would still be failures. That's life.

There are some fantastic offers around on the K-50, so that might sway the balance.

However, the articulated screen of the K-S2 might be advantageous for macro shooting.

Whichever body you choose the lens of choice for me would be the Pentax WR 100mm f/2.8. My experience has been that over the years I've wasted a lot of money learning that the marque lenses and accessories (whatever the marque) fit together better and offer more satisfaction in the long run.

Hope that helps!