Pentax make their shutter releases very sensitive.
Once you are used to it, it's no problem. However, a friend of mine who uses Canon 20D and 30D cameras is always surprised when he tries my K10D that it fires with no effort.

Maybe Pentax designers have delicate fingers and Canon expect you to be "butch"

Matt

Looks a tad dark on both my calibrated monitors
Great shot though!
Matt

Martin,
You might also want to check out LightZone:
http://www-old.lightcrafts.com/linux/

I rather like it's "zoned" interface
Matt

Can you feel my pain......




The


wallet


is



straining to



get



out


(Must hold tight!)
Thanks for the images Peter!
Matt

Welcome aboard Adam

No, I haven't attended any classes... yet.
I thought about the NYIP (www.nyip.com) but decided against it for now.

It depends what you are looking to gain, but these resources might prove helpful:
www.ephotozine.com (run by the same crew as this site ) Enormous resource.

Brian Peterson's books are worth a read:
Learning to see Creatively and Understanding Exposure (you might need to scout around for the new or second hand editions on Amazon)

Then, there's your local library for general photographic stuff.

And lastly, there's this forum if you have any technical questions (specifically related to Pentax, but also general ones too).

Hope that helps!
Matt

Clarky is right - it's the lighting that's the time consuming bit
Here are a few links that should give you some ideas:
http://www.tabletopstudio.com/documents/jewelry_photography.htm
http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com/jewelry-photography.html
http://www.mkdigitaldirect.com/tips/new-tips/jewelry_photography_tips.html

There's plenty more tutorials out there (the last of the three above looks good, IMHO).

It's all about experimenting (not having expensive gear )
Matt

Thanks for the links. It certainly doesn't help my LBA one bit

I also found this over the weekend:
http://www.pbase.com/image/83870445
And that really didn't help

I find I'm using the 50-90mm range of the 24-90 quite a lot, and the 50-135 would just about be perfect... but I reckon it'll be lonely on its own
So, looks like I'll be having a "lens churn" when I finally go for the two DA*s.

But, I'm still waiting for George's review of the 16-50 in real world use
Matt

There are CRV3 rechargeables and there are CRVC3 rechargeables
The original ones were 3.7V and would probably fry the *ist-D.

Later ones (such as the Uniross ones I have which are advertised as "100% Compatible" and specifically list the Pentax *ist-D) have three contact pins - the charger using the middle pin. This little setup means they can provide a voltage that's nearer the 3V required. So far, I've used these in the *ist-D and *ist-DS and find them very usable.

But... if your CRV3 rechargeables have only two contact pins... I would recommend trying out non rechargeable CRV3s, or decent NiMH batteries (incidentally, Uniross do some newer "Hybrio" batteries which have a very long shelf life. Normally NiMH batteries will go flat even when you don't use them. The Hybrios stay charged for at least 6 months )

Matt

Exactly what batteries are you using?
Matt

Ziggles,
The sensor on the digital SLR cameras is smaller than 35mm film.
Consequently, the digital will give a centre crop. For example, a 100mm lens on digital will behave like a 150mm did on film.

That's why for digital Pentax have developed lenses like the SMC-DA 12-24
Matt