Very good, I like that!

That sounds more hopeful David, good to know.

Well choice is good. I wonder how the sales people in Jessops will get on explaining the differences between the various models!

Thanks Tony, I'll mull that one over, perhaps over a nice glass or two....

I seriously went off wine and experimented for a while with all the various types of bottled beers. Not bad, but not exciting really.

Happily my taste for fine wine has returned, thus solving the problem.

I've told this tale before, but it's relevant here as well. Wind back many years to a camera club demo I saw, with two photographers showing printing from colour negatives and colour slides respectively.

Mr Colour Slide had tanks of water, thermometers everywhere, kettles boiling and a right old rigmarole it was as well. His results were mediocre.

Mr Colour Negative had a small bottle of developer in his pocket. "This is just the right quantity," he explained, "and by the time I've chosen the negative put it in the enlarger and exposed the print it's just been warmed enough in my pocket to be exactly the right temperature." No hassle, no stressing and perfect results every time.

Experience and practice and looking for the simplest methodology are the moral of this little tale.

Don't forget you can just upload an image into the forum by pressing the "Image" button.

It's really much simpler than you think Nigel, but it needs a whisker of experience and practice to become reliable.

However, there are whole books on the subject of exposure and it's possible to analyse it in very great detail. Way beyond a forum discussion really.

The spot meter is the most accurate way to determine exposure using reflected light (as opposed to incident light readings) but it does need a level of understanding to use it properly.

In practice, centre weighted plus EV compensation does the job perfectly well. Matrix metering systems are fine and require less input from the photographer, but I don't find them predictable enough. I don't want to be second-guessing how the camera is compensating. Only I know what effect I'm after and this might mean technical over or under exposure.

The correct exposure is the one that yields the desired end result.

I think the phrase "entry level" has an idea attached to it that it's something more basic, although in reality it will not hold anyone back from producing great images.

The "entry level" Pentax is of course the K-500, simply being the lowest cost way into the Pentax system. It's still a superb camera though.

I use centre weighted metering with a little EV compensation when required. It works fine.

Complex metering systems have evolved and for those who want them, why not. I do wonder though whether they add anything to our photo skills, or simply make us more dependent on the technology.