Amen to that. Sometimes I wonder why people insist you need to be BIG to be good. It's entirely possible to have a sustainable business for decades with out having a lion market share at any given time. As long as Ricoh is happy and making enough money with Pentax to keep on going, that is all I care about.
It's also quite nice, being that special snowflake in the crowd

We get outstanding quality equipment at rational prices - what exactly can we complain about? Pro support aka Canon would come with a price tag to all of us. Personally, selfishly, I'd rather it didn't Similarly, marketing efforts do not come free. It's a cost that gets passed on to consumers.

Be careful what you wish for

Brilliant, love them both but something about the first one that keeps me 'looking' at it Congratulations!

Not the ISS for sure. It was tiny and if I remember correctly the photo was taken before it was due to pass, which is why we were having a late, evening coffee at Ally Pally to start with. Did see it but it was just a lil bright dot traveling at very high speed - visible for about a minute before it vanished behind clouds. Cool nevertheless. If someone told me 20 years ago I'd be sitting with my other half sipping coffee while watching a space station swoosh by I'd probably think they were crazy

Nice shot Lenny

A short while after sunset, from Alexandra Palace in Muswell Hill, was shooting cityscape with 10 to 30secs exposures. Didn't notice anything in the frame at the time but than with all the city lights on a tiny screen it's not hard to miss. There are a lot of planes visible over the city from that spot usually, but the trail is normally different, more of a line - curvy or straight, depends, but nothing like what is on the photo. Hence the question. Granted, light sources can turn into tricky things on pictures but just curious
The subsequent capture 10 seconds later has nothing showing in the sky.

Was shooting some longer exposure photos on the 15th and this popped up on one. That is a crop straight from non edited, exported raw file. Whole image is in my gallery.
I have few shots of the same scene with planes in them and they are simply lines of various sort. This isn't. Plus, it's bigger/fatter. Didn't notice i t in the sky until I actually looked at the picture at home

Finally got around to playing with some old m42 lenses my dad in law gave me and I am thrilled with what some of these little things can do.
Took the Helios to the garden today. Below are some snap shots - jpgs, no pp other than some noise reduction as I had mine turned off in the camera.
Think I have a new favourite lens!
Only issue is the aperture ring on my copy is very 'loose' - super easy to accidentally change the setting :S

While it's definitely a voice of reason, my mom still lives and works there. It's her 60th birthday and she is all alone. We're as 'used' to dealing with the typical Middle East threat levels as much one can be after several decades in the region. This past year has been more restrictive than ever and you do what you can to stay low profile and avoid places that may be of 'interest' to terrorists of sorts. Though nowadays, that applies to Kuwait as much as it does to London.

What a great idea to let people in to take photos. Wish more places followed suit.

Yes and no. What's left of Leica is predominantly the name until you reach the highest price bracket. Had a chance to handle a couple of Leicas lately at a photography meet up. They were the middle of the range jobbies. Nothing I would pay the asking price for. Maybe I'm just getting old though, who knows My dad has some old Soviet Union made lenses, and being from Poland, not the ones that were made for export. Still, they could put a lot of whats considered enthusiast photographer's gear now, to shame.

Back to the OP. My best friend just reminded me of a little Nikon mess up back when the 5300 came out. She purchased it, came home only to find out, it won't work with a couple of Nikon mount Sigmas she had. Not a pleasant surprise. Took over 8 months to resolve in her case.

Maybe that is why I've stuck with Pentax all these years. The ability to carry on with the kit you have while upgrading your cameras. The lil QC issues here and there seem insignificant and personally was never affected by any.

Quality control is slipping all around - not just in the camera industry. Sad thing is, we seem to be 'accepting it' as it comes. People just keep on buying; often oblivious to anything concerning the purchase. As long as we do; it will keep on slipping. Be it Nikon, Pentax or anyone else.

Sometimes I look at some of the old lenses I have from my dad and dad in law. Comparing to several hundred pounds worth of gear now, they are unbelievably well manufactured. They feel solid. They have lasted several decades and are in a perfectly usable state. Somehow I doubt, many of our current purchases, will withstand the call of time as well as these old, often cheap, lenses did.