It reports Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG Macro HSM II SR focal length 500mm with the shake reduction working at 268mm.

I guess that exif is embedded in the lens chip so it's down to Sigma.

I've used a 2000mm, a hired Nikon one which came mounted in a cradle like a mortar.

It's pretty useless because (1) it's huge and unwieldy (2) unless it's just been raining the atmosphere contains so much dust and insect life that everything appears hazy.

With an aperture of f11 you need to use high iso, too, so add the noise to the haze and you get results as seen through a glass of vegetable soup. And it weighs nearly 40lbs!

It must have its uses but normal photography is not one of them.

I've used a company called Lehmanns who gave very good service. Worth talking to them.

As John Riley says, salt water is death to a camera. I had a wave break over a Nikon F5 which immediately became very, very hot. It showed no signs of life again and was not repairable.

A professional photographer is booked for an assignment, His job is to produce for his client as good a picture(s) as he can from that assignment.

An amateur can choose what pictures he takes since he does not have a client to please.

A good photographer is simply one constantly who produces impressive pictures in either case.

The professional's output is likely to be more interesting because he will be handed diverse subjects to picture day in and day out and thus make more mistakes from which to learn. And the sheer number of images he makes implies making a greater number of good pictures.

In terms of picture making abilities I have met amateurs every bit as talented as any professional. Amd professionals whose personal work is evrey bit as good as any amateurs.

In truth, the difference between a pro and an amateur is that one earns his living from it and the other does not.

You're just a sentimental fool

You can sort of have your cake and eat it!

This is a the same section of a 100% view of a .dng file on my GX20, (quite a large pullup, in fact). One is 'native', ie 1600iso with untreated noise.
The other has been run through Neat Image on its default, 'remove noise and sharpen' setting.

Even before Neat Image, I'd have been glad to get such good results froma 1600iso film!

An interesting sidelight, both files are saved at 100% jpg quality - the untreated one comes in at 200k, the treated one at 127k.

I have seen cleverer people than me get excellent results with PS noise removal but personally I find the dedicated software faster to use and more effective.

A long focus 500mm lens will have 500mm back focus but a tele will have a shorter back focus making it more compact.

The long focus lens needs almost 20 inches of barrel just for the light path, let alone the lens elements themselves.

The telephoto has the advantage of being more compact because it has extra elements that serve to shorten the distance between lens and sensor.

The model planned for a release soon is the K14.

This will have a built in MP3 player and phone plus WiFi connection for Twitter and Facebook in line with its intended youth market.

The K9 model name has been dropped as insurance companies felt it might encourage jealous compact owners to whippet.

Production will go ahead but in China instead of the Philippines, so the camera will be re-christened the Pentax Pekingese.

Generally speaking folk who use larger format, from 6x6cm through to 10x8in cameras are experienced, probably mostly professionals.

Professionals generally just talk in terms of focal length, in 35mm, digital or any other format, since when you are using camera equipment every day you will know their relationship to format size.

For example, I'd often hear 'can I borrow your 250 for the Hassel'. I've never heard 'Can I borrow your telephoto for the Hassel.'

I've also heard 'long focus' used in reference to plate cameras but these are actually long focus rather than telephoto.

If you put a pic file from the lens somewhere I can get it, I'll run it through and report what it says.