Yes, found it - the pics were taken in July, oh well never mind.
Thanks Tony.

Bummer...........I read a thread today where you posted pics. taken with the Z1 and a DA lens, to demonstrate the degree if vignetting. You said that the Z1 would have to go and that got me thinking.
Must have been an old thread because I can't find it now and don't know how or why I stumbled upon it earlier...............explains why you had roses in bloom against your garden fence though

Matt, fancy a swap - my A 1.4 for your Z1? (I trust it's the original and not the 'P') - just a thought!

It's a nice lens in good condition but I bought it on a bit of a whim and doubt that I'll give it much use as I tend to use my 1.7 F most of the time.

Ah, do I take it you've already secured a 1.4?

This probably ought to be in the flash section but as it pertains to my DL, I thought I'd post it here.

Formally, the built-in flash wouldn't hesitate to pop up when required but despite fully charged batteries and no changes to settings, it is now very reluctant to pop up at all.
The flash doesn't want to activate automatically and I have to press the manual release repeatedly in order to get it to do so. I've tried various exposure modes and I don't think I've disabled anything that would cause the flash to be so unresponsive.
Anyone else experienced this with a DS/DL? - or indeed any other camera with an auto pop-up function!

When I have managed to activate the flash, it has fired perfectly and the release mechanism seems to be ok but I guess it could be sticking with the gun retracted

Update: I've just discovered that it takes about 30sec. for the flash to pop-up after I press the manual flash button, with fully charged 2100mAh batts., this can't be right surely? (I'm assuming that the flash head needs charging before it'll pop-up - in order to fire a pre-flash for low-light AF, although RTF's normally begin charging once up!).

Cokin, Conkin, Colkin................
If I remember correctly, the Hoyarex system is essentially the same and there are other makes too.

Mac, don't discount acrylic filters entirely, even cheaper ones can have their uses. They are lighter than glass and being flat, can fit snuggly inside a credit-card type wallet. They are particularly good for those occassional special effect shots where you want a graduated or coloured filter and the holder can be rotated, accomodate more than one filter and the same filter can be fitted to a number of lenses with different thread sizes - all you need are the appropriate adapter rings.
For a bit of creative fun, the holder is a convenient way to fit a mask eg. a keyhole for that 'what the butler saw' type shot.

Why not look around for a cheap set, quality doesn't have to be great if it's just for a bit of fun and you never know when they might come in handy

There's an MH-RB 67 for the FA 20mm f2.8 and an MH-RA 112 for the FA*300mm f2.8ED(IF) but I can't find an MH-RA 52 either.

Agreed, I use Picassa2 and a single click on the sharpening tab is usually all that's required (plus increasing the brightness a touch).
The out of the camera softness is quite pleasing for portraits and for emphasizing movement though

I should think that the Seagull would be ok and not at all bad for the price.

This is also available though: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2X-Angle-Finder-for-Pentax-ist-D-ist-Ds-ist-DL-MZ-6-etc_W0QQitemZ7562688756QQcategoryZ30020QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Interesting, I'll see if I can simulate the same thing with my DL and a Tamron (manual focus) lens + 1.7x AF adapter. The camera wont 'know' what lens I'm using and will only have the aperture and adapter readings to go by.

I must admit that I have so far only used my Tamrons in manual mode but the focus confirmation has been spot on.


Well, I've just tried my 70-150mm f3.5 and 135mm f2.5 in various modes at both distant and nearby objects and there is no apparent focus shift whatsoever between max. and min. aperture settings.

Either the DL firmware is significantly different to your DS or the Tokina is causing the problem. You could use the lens exclusively in manual mode but that would defeat the object of having an AF lens, perhaps a firmware update is the solution!

I forgot you had an SFXn

This is quite fascinating, I'm not sure about the firmware (I'd have to look into it myself) but I would imagine that your DS is working perfectly because it's ok with Pentax lenses and you have the same results when focusing manually. By that token, I would expect the same results with your SFX - so the fault must lie with the Tokina!
It's a fairly wide ranging zoom and although you say it's remarkably sharp at 28mm wide open, I suspect that there must be some serious abberations occuring in order to throw the phase detection out (if that's what's happening).

I look forward to any further developments - interesting stuff!