Don't forget our friends at SRS: http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/c/78/Pentax-Digital-Cameras.html

It's at the end of its run, so prices have just about halved since its introduction.

I don't know how long the remaining stocks will hang around, but I wouldn't think for long. Not at the right price anyway.

No replacement is known, but Ricoh haven't ruled out more high end Pentax compacts either.

It is capable of resolving an impressive amount of detail, and as we saw in the AP test it's only a whisker behind the full frame Nikon D800 in resolution. It almost exceeded their test chart.

Of course resolution isn't everything, but the other fine qualities of the K-3 add up to stunning quality.

No need to read so much into it. A beginner has a lot to learn, so a camera that's straightforward to use will be very helpful in that early stage. It's not that anyone is intellectually limited, and indeed there was no suggestion made of that, it's more that they don't have any extensive knowledge yet.

Therefore, it's perfectly legitimate to put oneself in their shoes having been asked for a recommendation. And to explain the rationale behind it.

So please don't pick at people's innocent opinions and make them out to be something they are not.

Now, back to topic please.

We've been singing its praises for a while now. Buy one before they disappear for good.

Too true, but it's only a mouse click away....

I sometimes think that it would be great if the SRS website was more like Amazon. Wish lists, one-click ordering....but maybe it's not such a hot idea.

Hope Chris isn't listening....

There was a time when the "small shop in Watford" was the new kid on the block, and heavily resented by some long established suppliers for having the temerity to offer discounts.

That was when it was quite beneath the dignity of many shops to offer lower prices. The argument was that they "entered into a special relationship with the customer that lasted all through their photographic careers" - this special relationship only extended to those who spent a lot of course, service standards were not high but prices were. The amount of inefficiency was staggering.

All in the name of good service.

It constantly amazes me that as a society we ask governments to tax us, usually to stop other people doing things we don't approve of.

In the end, we pay. Amazon and others offer us a very good deal, do we really want those prices to go up?

I wondered where you'd gone!

Might be an idea.

Stuart, I was comparing what might be a comparison if Tesco closed here, not as a tiny player in the USA. They wouldn't bat an eyelid in the USA case.

It wasn't meant literally.