Thanks for the tip, Sue hates mud!

I was pondering over where we would draw the line now between lenses that were vintage/collectible and modern/usable. It matters when considering which sort of categories to use on eBay and the like for maximum effect.

In the end I decided that the second category would be anything with electronic contacts, so the A series onwards. Anything before that, including M and K series, would be vintage/collectables.

I know we can still use all the lenses, even the Asahiflex ones probably with suitable adapters, but I'm thinking of a more generalised perception.

What do you think?

Nice shots, we might go there on Sunday if the weather eases up a bit. Not as much fun in the rain.

Personally I haven't done any sort of objective test Jon, so I wouldn't like to say.

What I can say is that in both cases, when the Q images or the MX-1 images are right they can both be very good indeed.

The idea of the system is unusual, my reservation being that different sensors have different characteristics, so changing lenses means changing the way images look. Also, it's not possible to upgrade the sensor (by buying a new body) without having to upgrade the lens at the same time.

To be absolutely honest, I'm not seeing much image quality here and a good deal of noise as well. The date will be in the EXIF data, so I wouldn't choose to overprint the image itself. It tends to distract from the subject matter.

MattyH is correct in that the MX-1 has better image quality than the original Q.

However, you can achieve the same by using the Q7 body, which has the same size sensor as the MX-1. Then the image quality of both cameras may well be the same, or at least very similar.

The decision then becomes whether or not a very good fast zoom lens on the MX-1, f/1.8, or interchangeable lenses on the Q7 are the way to go.

If the idea of a fixed lens like the 01 Prime lens is your choice, then on quality grounds maybe you should be including the Ricoh GR as well. Then you will have DSLR quality in your compact camera.

The different colours seem to be sorting the different ranges of lens into discrete groups.

The TC won't be any more or less difficult to design and make than a lens, but, maybe rightly, maybe wrongly, I have this picture of it being the item that we mean and want to do but which keeps getting trumped in the priorities list.

It's the picture I keep wanting to put on ePHOTOzine, but new and better ones keep getting in the way.

If you're having such problems then if it isn't a fault in the lens (does it happen with all lenses?) it must be a camera fault. If that is the case, it won't get better until you bite the bullet and send it off to be fixed.

RC probably means "rear converter".

Yes, I did mean that.