Hello Julian,

I don't have an Optio but generally speaking, cameras/devices only draw the amount of power that they require in order to function (providing that the voltage is within the required limits - there should be no risk of damage to either the device or batteries).

A 1400mAh battery can provide 1400mA for one hour and will therefore last almost twice as long as an 800mAh battery when used in the same device, so yes you can take about twice as many photos between charges.

Check that the type of battery is compatible ie. NiCd, NiMH, Li-ion etc. and you shouldn't have any problems.

Also, the capacity of the battery will give you a good idea as to how long to charge it for - assuming that you know the output of the charger!

It's a pity that the capacity isn't quoted on 'ordinary' batteries because you could then compare the merits of one company's 'Long-Life' to another's 'Heavy Duty' to a third's 'Super Power plus' for example.

I hadn't seen that before, quite an impressive beast but it would have to be at least 12MP today and it certainly wouldn't come cheap!

It must be incredibly difficult to break into an established market, Nikon have for decades been the professional's choice. Canon also makes superb equipment and other manufacturers also have die-hard fans among the pro brigade but it's not surprising that Nikon and Canon have surged forward in that area and left the others behind.
Over the years Olympus, Contax/Yashica and Pentax have proven that they can produce extremely high quality cameras and lenses but attempting to compete with Nikon and Canon would represent a massive investment and be too risky to seriously contemplate, only photographers with professional backing would be able to afford to switch - and why would they?

I see Pentax as very much the 'Volkswagon' of photographic equipment manufacturers - high quality at affordable prices and for most people, a lightweight, user-friendly, relatively cheap, reliable, 6 megapixel DSLR is absolutely ideal.
Can you blame Pentax for concentrating on this 'amateur' section of the market?
I think you can rest assured that Pentax will indeed match the specifications of it's 'pro' competitors as and when it becomes economically viable to do so but for the meantime (and I'm talking about the 'average user' here), if you can really tell the difference between the results from a Pentax and a Nikon costing two or three times as much then you're welcome to start saving up.

Like I used to say, "given the same lens, exposure and film, can you really expect better results from an LX than a K1000?" - I don't think so!

Impressive shot Joshua - hope you didn't get too wet

Pity about the yellow in the background, all black or a backdrop of green foliage would have isolated the flower better but then it wouldn't have been real life, would it?
It's easy to achieve total isolation in a studio setup or by digital means but your image existed in the real world and what's more, you suffered for your art - well done!

I'd just like to add that this phenomena is often even more noticeable between zoom lenses that claim to offer the same focal lengths.

https://www.pentaxuser.com/faq/pentaxerrorcodes.html

there you go

Beautiful images Kevin

Who cares about the media, so long as the end results are that good?

35mm is going to be around for quite some time yet, not everyone has the expertise and patience to work with digital. For a few quid you can drop a film into a high street processor and within an hour have a full set of decent quality prints in your hands (a perfectly adequate photographic experience for most 'happy snappers').

George is absolutely right about the many benefits of digital but I personally look forward to receiving my prints, not knowing quite what to expect and possibly finding some really funny shots that just didn't work properly.
These would probably have been deleted immediately, had they been digital but that picture of granny with the lamp post growing out of her head is a gem and what's more, it's a real photograph of a real event that really happened - if you know what I mean!

Snap up those lenses while you can - they'll serve you well for years to come

That sounds like an excellent idea, poor old Steve's just got to get the darned thing out first

I think pliers or forceps might be the only solution.

The standard service cost is around £50.
Pentax are not accepting some older models so you'd better check with them before sending it off.
You could also try: http://www.harrowtechnical.co.uk/our_services.html

You could probably pick up a new camera for little more than the cost of repair or a really nice higher spec model for peanuts from eBay (I recently won a 280P for about £13 inc. p+p from the states - turned out to be the dateback version too! :wink

Just in case you wanted the exact same model:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3334&item=7505250780&rd=1

Absolutely, it was my oversight - just thought I'd warn/remind others!