If I really had to limit my lenses to only 7, my list would be:-

Zooms covering 12-500mm (with an insignificant gap between 50 - 60mm)
DA 12-24
DA* 16-50 (My most used lens, it's always on the camera)
DA* 60-250 (I often use this lens instead of the DA* 50-135 for its extra reach)
Sigma 150-500

Primes
FA 31 Ltd (It's a thing of beauty)
D-FA or FA 100mm Macro (I have both, dunno why, except I always regretted selling my FA and bought another)
Sigma 180mm Macro

This has been an interesting exercise. I might sell off some of my little used gear to fund a Canon 7D and MP-E 65mm Macro lens. Now there's a thought.

Yes, with the added advantage of having a built-in focussing rail.

You can shoot in any exposure mode you wish. I prefer aperture priority because . . .

the best aperture to use will depend on your subject and how you want it to look. The aperture controls depth of field and creative photographers will use their aperture selection to best show off their subject.

ISO? Whatever you can get away with, as low as possible for the prevailing lighting conditions, or . . .

use flash to get as much light as you can onto your subject to make full use of all your aperture options.

Small aperture (large f number) will get more of the subject in focus. A large aperture (small f number) will reduce the depth of field such that only a small part of your subject is in focus. Use the range creatively. Optimum sharpness for most lenses is found between f8 and f16.

Lastly, after you've tried auto-focus and experienced the frustrations it can bring, switch to manual focus, then forget auto focus for macro work.

I'm looking at replacing my kit strap with something a bit longer.

I know many here like the Optech Pro strap and I'll consider it, but I've been looking at the Black Rapid range, specifically the RS-7 strap.

Has anybody here used the combination as per the topic title?

I have Manfrotto 200PL-14 RC2 QR plates fitted to all my cameras and lenses that have a tripod foot. The standard Black Rapid FastenR-3 that the strap is supplied with means that you can't have the QR plate and the strap fitted to the camera at the same time.

As I understand it, the FastenR-T1 replaces the bolt and D-Ring used to mount the QR plate to the camera/lens.

I'd like to hear from anybody who has used this system and any positive/negative comments you might have.

If anybody knows, and/or has experience, of other strap systems that allow the use of the strap and a Manfrotto RC2 QR plate on the camera together, I'd like to hear from you.

Yes, it's a totally manual flash where modern Pentax DSLR's are concerned. It has no auto modes and not even the slave function works as it should because of the pre-flash from a DSLR.

It is however a powerful flash with controllable output, and it has a strobe function.

Used as a portable flash together with a radio trigger, it's awesome.

PS: I think we can expect to be told off shortly as we are not allowed to have these product discussions in Clssified Adverts Forum.

As long as there are no gremlins, I think you've bought yourself a nice macro lens for not very much money.

Glue a drawing pin to the head of the hammer. Next time you hit your thumb/finger with it, you'll already have a hole and you won't need to go to the hospital. Sorted.

I have the later EX DG model, which is 1:3.5 I think, and AF. Its my favourite macro lens.

What makes you think you have a pig in a poke?

A high quality .PDF manual can be downloaded from here. Password is "Pentax", no quotes, case sensitive.

Once you retire, work doesn't dictate where you live any more.

My wife retired in 2004 aged 52 and moved to live in our 'holiday' home in southern Spain. After selling our house and passing on the day to day running of our family IT business to our son, I followed in 2006 aged 56. I was allowed to visit occasionally though

Neither of us has ever regretted it, and I too wonder how I found the time to go to work.

My wife has her own activities, mostly involving country music club and line dancing. Activities that she had to give up many years before retiring from UK due to chronic (long term) arthritis made worse by UK weather.

I too have my own interests, photography being one, and I still don't seem to get enough time for that either.

When you are committed to doing a job to earn money, your horizons are not that great for most of us. After you retire, your world is your oyster and you can do what ever you like, wherever you like, within the financial means that you have available. So it makes sense to move somewhere in the world where your money will go further. Spain was the answer for us. It was much better of course when the exchange rate was nearer to 1.50€ to the pound than the current 1.14€.

Many people choose to use family ties as a reason/excuse not to make the move to a new life. We also have those ties and chose to live somewhere where we are only 7 hours away, door to door, from our family.

In our part of Spain, Region de Murcia, we enjoy almost year round sunshine, with a couple of iffy months at the beginning of each year.

Would I move back to UK, or anywhere else in northern europe? Most definitely not.

Living in spain is not without its problems and challenges, but hey, I can deal with them mañana.

Oh, and just to dispel all the rumours of our having loads of fiestas (party time) in Spain. We don't, we have only one. It starts on January 1st and ends on December 31st.