There seems to be no firmware update for the DL/DL2 but keep an eye on this Pentax page for upgrades that might appear in the future. If you haven't upgraded to the new Pentax Photo Browser/Laboratory version 3 yet, you can find it here.

This is the version which includes RAW processing technology from SilkyPix.

I remember (just) as a child visiting my grandparents allotment where a white blackbird was a frequent visitor. Shame I didn't have a camera in those days.

Beautiful plumage . . . the white starling. Doesn't really have the same ring as Norwegian Blue does it. You'll be sitting out there 'twitching' next

Mac,

Is leather a wise choice of material for drawstring pouches? It's fairly well known that leather hard cases can harbour fungus spores and have contributed to the demise of a number of lenses. Would the same not be true of soft pouches?

Regards,

OT: Have you ever tried positioning yourself on the outside of a fast bend of a forest rally stage ?

I made that mistake when I took some time off from marshalling at Wales Rally GB, the UK leg of WRC, a couple of years ago and stood my camcorder on its tripod (I'm not daft enough to have stood there with it) and positioned myself well enough away with my remote to hopefully catch some of the action.

I got some good scenes . . . then it was Gronholm's turn. Throwing up gravel the size of boulders on his second run through Resolven, one of his lumps of rock hit the tripod and knocked the whole rig over. Fortunately no real damage was done because the tripod/camera had a soft landing in the surrounding bushes.

Never again.

I just thought I'd share that with you.

Cheers,

All filters affect the light passing through them (they wouldn't be called filters else). In most cases they affect the light in such a way that enhances (we think) the captured image. In some cases they affect the light in some miniscule and probably imperceivable way, but affect it, they do.

I tend to use UV filters on my lenses rather than skylight etc. for protection only and if I come across a particularly striking composition . . . I remove the filter, take the shot(s), then put the filter back. Why? I prefer to use these filters only for protecting the front element of the lens when wandering around woods, crowds etc. because I think the lens manufacturers have enough coatings on their products that are far superior to most, if not all, available filters, even multi-coated ones. So where is the sense in covering several hundred pounds worth of state of the art optics with a £5 filter ?

Many pro's, even those who crawl around jungles and through rivers with their gear, don't use protective filters, only perhaps polarizers and ND grads etc. for effect, not protection.

Cheers,

I just came across this and thought somebody might be interested:-

Kenko Extension Tube set for Pentax AF Was £89 Now £49

Under Photographic Section - New at Warehouse Express bargain basement

They had 2 sets @ 17:20 today, I just bought one. Might not work with DA lenses though. The newer DG versions are £110.00 so I thought this was a reasonable price to pay for use with the older (pre DA) AF lenses.

Note for Matt: I bought a copy of Capture One LE too. Love it, much better than RSE & RSP, and I don't like Lightroom.

There does not seem to be any really reliable info available about the K10D DSLR from Pentax.

Rumours are rife of course. These include:-

• K10D will possibly use a proprietory rechargeable battery (bad, bad, bad idea) ? ? ? This could be an anti-rumour propogated by Canikon users
  May have a weather resistant body ? ? ?
  May be available to resellers for appraisal by end August ? ? ?
  May be released to the general public in September (was previously November) ? ? ?
  May have a vertical grip like the *istD (I hope its the same as the D) ? ? ?
  10 frame buffer @ 3fps ? ? ?
  DNG RAW compatibility (option) ? ? ?
  May have a street price of only $1000 USD, that's £1000 to ripped-off UK customers and €1000 to the rest of europe ? ? ?

But, who knows . . . Pentax certainly aren't giving any clues which I guess adds to the expectations of a large number of Pentax owners.

George,

Surely it is only UK VAT registered businesses that can pay for EU goods VAT free. End users still have to pay VAT. I regularly buy goods from EU for my business and if I don't supply a VAT number, I get charged VAT at the prevailing rate of the supplying country.

SMC,

Deep in Pixmania's terms & conditions you will find a statement saying that Pentax (and other makers) items are sold with non-english manuals.

Cheers,

Don,

Is it possible to have a digital image transferred to canvas? My son was asking me the other day and I couldn't answer him. I've no experience of anything other than paper media. Anybody know of a service in the UK?

I like it . . . a lot. Very reptilian looking and excellent use of colour to give the right impact. I'm impressed and encouraged to be a bit more adventurous with my own images.