Thanks for the clarification Kim!
As you said, the 28mm F is no slouch! It is lovely (but the SMC-DA 16-45mm has largely taken its place, and it's a wonderful lens )

Matt

Well, here are some Pentax lenses I can wholeheartedly recommend

Pentax SMC-F 50mm/f1.7 - stunningly sharp. Fantastic for theatre work and low light. Picked mine up for around £50 online.

Pentax SMC-F 100mm/f2.8 macro - wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Love this lens! It's still expensive, but I managed to pick up one for £200. Produces achingly beautiful portraits too.

Pentax SMC-F 28mm/f2.8 - again, lovely glass. Got mine for a snip off eBay

The SMC-FA series are the newer version in black. Optically the same (I believe) to the SMC-F series, but the SMC-F is dark grey. All work an absolute dream on my *ist-D. Contrast is stunning, flare control second to none, solidly built. All in all - they're dream lenses.

Here's a few places to get you started looking:
www.mxv.co.uk
www.ffordes.co.uk
www.parkcameras.co.uk
www.lcegroup.co.uk

Not all places state which series, so it's worth knowing what they look like so you can ask. The place to look is here: http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/index.html

Hope that helps you find them! They're definitely worth the effort finding!

Regards,
Matt

It not just the resolution that's different. Digital has a linear response, while film is logarithmic. "Out of the box" digitals (especially the consumer cameras) tend to be over saturated, and a bit clinical, IMO. The *istD is very film-like, and once you've got the hang of the response (much like learning the difference between negative and slide) it's great

Oh yes, and as has been said, there's a large investment in auxilliary pieces of kit - large cards, portable storage, etc etc. However, in my experience CD and DVD storage is not much different to slide storage. Some of my slides were not stored properly and they've got mold growing. And I've not had a CD fail yet, in 8 years of burning (mostly use TDK branded disks and store them well).

Like all cameras, it's what you make it, not just the resolution, number of bits etc etc.

My advice is to take a look at www.ephotozine.com (run by Peter Bargh who runs this site) - you might be pleasantly surprised at the results of digital www.pbase.com also has a search ability - you can search by camera model and you'll see the results, just like film, range from average to sublime.

Matt

I have to agree with George

I haven't touched my film Z1 since getting the *istD, and IMO my abilities have improved drastically since going fully digital. I've taken about 3500 images in 7 months (which is quite low compared to other digi users), which is quite a saving in film

I am, right now, retouching some wedding images from last year on Fuji NPS and Fuji Provia and I cannot believe the difference in quality. The images are almost flooded with grain, and now I can't wait to do a wedding with the *ist-D

Coupled with Photoshop, the *ist-D is a formidable tool.

Matt

If you want to improve your photography, you'll find some very good tips and tricks, plus a great user community at www.ephotozine.com

ePhotozine is run by the same crew as this website

Matt

Additionally, the focus screen in the *istD is amazingly bright and clear.

When using the Pentax 100mm/f2.8, I often switch to manual for macro and portraiture and it is really easy to focus (and I wear spectacles). The focus indicator is very useful, but I find I don't need to rely on it.

(And the beep can be disabled in the *istD menu - I don't like it )

Matt

Just to add to Kim's thought:

Park Cameras have a second hand MZ-10 for £69.90 (including 3 month warranty).
MXV ( www.mxv.co.uk ) have an MZ-50 for £89 (includes warranty, but can't remember if 3 or 6 months).

Other places to look out on are www.ffordes.co.uk , www.lcegroup.co.uk (MZ-50 for £80)

Alternatively there's www.asahiphoto.net for repairs in the UK, and don't forget that members of Pentax User can receive a repair discount from Pentax UK

Hope that helps,
Matt

Well, the date is embedded in the EXIF data in the JPG (or RAW) file.

There are applications out there that allow editing of the EXIF data
Here's the first one off a Google search: http://www.robophoto.com/exif.html (no idea if this will help you or not)
And some more: http://www.digital-photo-software-guide.com/exif-editor.html
And finally, a free one: http://www.friedemann-schmidt.com/software/exifer/ - think you can edit all the EXIF data

(I think Photoshop CS can do it, but I've not tried because I've never had a need to.)
Matt

No problem:

Press MENU
Scroll down to "Date Adjust"
Press right, and change the date and/or time in there

(There are other interesting things in the MENU. Take some time reading the manual and investigating the options )

Matt

Jules,

Park Cameras (www.parkcameras.com) are listing the *istD at £999.99 with free shipping on mentioning the website

Go for it!!!

Matt