In my opinion, you need to look at replacing your lenses with something better than the ordinary 18-55mm kit lens. Now I know it has had some good reviews here but there really is better glass out there in the shape of the DA 16-45mm and the DA* 16-50mm.

The FAJ 75-300mm lens in my opinion and personal experience is a truly dreadful lens. The FA 80-320mm is much better, but there are others you might consider.

You should have started a new topic/thread with this as it has nothing at all to do with this particular topic.

To use, or not to use, filters on the front element has been discussed many times before here, and can essentially be summed up by the following:-

Pro's use lens hoods, not filters, to protect their lenses. Amateurs/enthusiasts tend to use filters, and not lens hoods.

I fall very much into the amateur user bracket, but I learned from that and have removed all of my 'protective' filters.

I think Matt has had an experience where a filter shattered and almost destroyed the front element of one of his lenses.

And if that's not a convincer, ask yourself, where is the point of covering the important end of a potentially expensive lens, with a cheap bit of glass (or plastic) which is only ever going to reduce your image quality (polarisers excepted)?

The AF360FGZ suffers from, what I believe, is an outrageous design flaw and I think Pentax should offer to take them all back in exchange for AF540FGZ's. They obviously learned their lesson from the AF360FGZ's poor design and made sure that the problem would not reccur.

Just goes to show that putting that extra bit of effort into the advert pays off. It puts my auction ( 280118264282 ) to shame, but still I got £155.00 + postage for mine.

A picture paints a thousand words . . . and is generally more helpful .

Dan, sorry but I can't relate your reply with anything to do with the point I was making in my post.

Check the photo of the item you are selling as a Pentax fitting set of Kenko tubes. The image is not of a Pentax set.

Curious, offering Pentax fitting Kenko tubes, to Pentax fans, on a Pentax User list, from a Pentax oriented web site, at a price much higher than anyone else . . . shame the photo isn't of a Pentax fitting set of tubes.

Teachers note: Could do better, 7/10.

I think it's reasonably well known that the Samsung lenses are re-badged/re-packaged Pentax products. Many of their lenses in recent years have come from their factory . . . in Vietnam.

Flies are a bit of a nuisance at the moment where I live because there are so many of them in various shapes & sizes. In the spring we get the tiny 'fruit' flies but in summer, house flies and others are the norm.

At this magnification though, I do find a strange beauty about them, primarily because one can study parts of their anatomy that you don't otherwise get (or want) to see.

I'll probably not feel the same way about them at lunchtime tomorrow when it'll be a full time job keeping them off of my food, out of my wine, and whereever else they may decide to explore.

I've not seen one yet but apparantly we have 'flesh' flies here that give birth to live young rather than lay eggs.

Great pics, and I'm encouraged to dust off my bellows and stick a SMCP-A 135mm on the end of it to see what I can achieve.

Thanks for the images.