Don't start throwing money at your system James, not until you've added up the cost of all of your planned upgrades. Chances are, a new machine with Windows 7 64 bit could be cheaper in the long run.

Curious. I bought a very similar unit from Wilkinsons to light my shed, and only £3.99.

To save you counting them all, there are 48 LED's, the same as the Rotolight. No colour correction filters of course.

The black button is the power switch which cycles the lamp pattern from Off > Outer ring only > Inner ring only > both rings > Off.

Well I think the noise reduction process has worked, but the remaining processing has given the image a 'paint by numbers' quality.

As an example, compare the dancer's left arm in your version to mine. I accept that mine doesn't have very good skin tone, but there is much more gradation of colours than in yours.

Good attempt though, and I hope you enjoyed playing.

I think this exercise cements the notion that Adobe Lightroom 3 is a really excellent package.

Thanks to Mike for posting the thread and I hope you don't mind this diversion.

Sorry Don, you can't sell that here, it's not Pentax branded.

Excellent series Pedro, and a K10D at ISO 1600 too. Well done.

Messing about last night with K20D, DA* 300mm, SMCP-F 1.7x AF Adapter. Processed in Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5.

The TC I mention works with most manual focus lenses, but not all. The lenses that can't use it are listed in its manual. One lens I had that wouldn't work with it was the 135-600mm zoom. I think there are one or two of the older, more exotic, primes that it won't work with either.

It's a duff'un, send it back for replacement, not repair. Vertical banding has been an issue to varying degrees with just about every Pentax DSLR, and other makes also.

The problem is most pronounced in low light, longer shutter speed situations where you get some really dark areas in the frame. I try to avoid these situations as much as I can.

Iain (offertonhatter), my statement is correct. Technically of course, nothing can miraculously turn an MF lens into an AF one. An MF lens will always be an MF lens, whereas an AF lens can be AF or MF.

However, the combination of any MF lens + the SMCP-F 1.7x AF T/C, results in an AF combination (hence the AF in its model number). It is the T/C which performs the AF part, you just have to get somewhere close to correct focus with the MF part of the combo first.

I hope that is clear, because that is how it is.

Umm, no, that would not be correct. The OP stated "i know nothing about sli cameras". That's a clue to me that a bit more information might be needed.