I have exactly the same problem and I totally understand your frustration.

Yes I'm in Spain, I'm resident here and rarely go back to UK. Its a sunny 24 degrees and blue skies horizon to horizon here and I'm going to pack my bag and head up the mountain to see what I can find to take pictures of.

Perhaps you could fill in your location in your profile. It's always helpful to know where in the world members are.

Enjoy your day.

Have you made the AF focus adjustments for those lenses?

If you haven't, and they are both front focussing, they will have problems focussing at infinity.

When I have had aperture control issues (rarely) I use one drop of WD40 on a lint free cloth to clean both the camera and lens contacts. Others here frown upon it but it works for me. I then clean off the WD40 with 96% alcohol.

The alcohol that is readily available in Spain is usually 96% but even that will clean any grease/oil from the contacts.

You could check each contact in turn by pressing it with a cocktail stick. The ones that look like ball bearings are spring loaded. Make sure they are free to move in and out.

The first thing I noticed when looking at this page is that you have exposed your email address to the world which will allow spammers to send you an awful lot of junk mail.

I know there are other ways of achieving the same thing, but I have no knowledge of how it's done. I seem to recall a reference to this problem in another recent thread.

You've also repeated the problem on your contact page.

There had to be a rational explanation for your irrational proposal. You'll feel better tomorrow and this thread will be but a bad dream.

I always found my 234RC a bit limiting as it only allows movement in one plane and it never seemed to be the right one, which is why I eventually changed it for a 484RC2 ball head.

That said, the 234RC is better than no head at all.

I wouldn't say you were stupid . . . just plain crazy.

If Ebay gave you real money, you'd be able to spend it anywhere or bank it, but you can't, can you. It'll find its way back to them, and some.

Could you not get together with another student on the same course?

It's quite probable that any Pentax body equipped with the electrical contacts required for SDM lenses will accept DC lenses.

In the custom menu you'll have to change the 'Permit use of aperture ring' to permit.

I'm not sure where it is on the Samsung camera, or what it's actually called.

Find it, change it, and you should be good to go.

The flashing F--- is normal.

You'll have to use stopped down metering too, green button.