. . . and the world is flat? . . .

Well, as I read it, the 645D IS a "digital SLR" and as such, will continue into production. I think it's just the medium format film cameras that will cease, as expected.

Delivery promises seem pretty similar to me . . .

Perhaps it's being made by Pentax.

Sorry, couldn't resist the dig.

C'mon George, you (nor the rest of us - shame viewfinder's not around any more) weren't surprised at all

Regards,

IMHO your £60 would be better spent on ebay. I'm sure there is some sentimental attachment to you dad's camera but that's not necessarily a good reason to start throwing money at it and you could probably replace it with something a lot newer for that kind of money.

Perhaps "appalling" was a bit strong. Maybe "I don't like it" would have been more accurate.

Maybe we should hear from Kemal at this point to explain how and why he took the shots. Did he choose a particular location for it's lighting? Or are his pics indeed, just snaps?

Pete,

Look at the bridge of Helen's nose and her right cheek (the one on the left in the pic, just to be absolutely clear), they look almost white.

I'm not saying Helen doesn't have good skin tone, only that it is not captured/displayed/presented very well in your photo.

The image is so sharp in places, you can see the tiny hairs on her chin. Portrait photography is not about sharpness, it's about accurate colour rendition and . . . flattery. Your pic does not flatter her and it is too sharp.

My Samsung 930MP monitor is calibrated with a Spyder 2 - it displays colours correctly, believe me.

The OP's pics may be out of focus or possibly a soft focus lens was used. It does appear to me that the plane of focus is a liitle in front of the 'bartender' model, evidenced by the somewhat sharper corner to the wall in the first two shots.

Pete,

If you only learn one thing about portrait photography, it's got to be skin tone. The original posters shots IMHO are excellent. Yours . . . .

The hair is lovely, the hair band is pin sharp, the fur around the collar is excellent, the coat is superb, and the backdrop is nicely out of focus . . .

BUT . . .

The skin tone . . . is apalling.

One word, Podcast.