Malcolm,

Good point

However, the firewire readers I have seen were around £60, whereas the USB2 reader I bought for £18

(Just jump to http://www.7dayshop.com and search for "USB 2" and it should come up first on the list. Just in case though: http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=86468 - I have the earlier 6-in-1)

Speed and price

Matt

Hi George,

The Lexar 40x 512Mb is a very good card to go for. I wish I had gone for that instead of the IBM Microdrive. The Lexar cards have WA - Write Acceleration - which is a technology that has to be supported by the camera. The *istD does support this. It should speed things up even more (see Lexar's site on the WA).

So you see, it is true that not all 40x CFs are the same
The WA will give you faster write times, which will be useful if you are using RAW or TIFF mode all the time. Having said that, I find the Microdrive speed to be adequate, and only very occassionally am I aching for speed I found it useful to invest in a USB 2.0 reader to speed the download though. Reading from the *istD via USB gets about 700k per second, as does reading through a 6-in-1 USB 1 reader. However, the USB2 reader clocks up 3.5Mb per second from the microdrive (Available from www.7dayshop.co.uk)

Don't forget, if you are ordering from the US, that you will have to pay import tax and VAT so the prices may not seem so attractive. When the courier delivers the goods, they will want the money from you before they leave the parcel. If you weren't prepared for it, it's a big shock! (Anything above $28 worth get's whacked with VAT, a customs handling charge, and a postoffice/courier charge too). It might make the Park Camera price look more attractive

Regards,
Matt

Hi Andrew,

There are some scattered reviews.
Check these out for starters:
http://www.cmpsolv.com/photozone/lsurveyPentax.htm

http://www.photodo.com/ (mostly older lenses)

I too have the *istD and find that the AT-X range Tokina lenses are very nice indeed - the 24-200mm is a very useful brute. All are large though, with whopping 72mm filters. They review well too The more expensive Pentax lenses are also lovely - but you'll have to pay for them! Some Sigmas are okay too, although not as well built as the Pentax and Tokinas.

Hope this helps!
Matt

Hi!
Looking around the second hand marketplace (www.ffordes.co.uk, www.mxv.co.uk, www.waltersphotovideo.co.uk etc) these are some rough guides:

LX : £220 - £270
50mm f1.4 SMC : £59
28mm f2.8 SMC : £60 - £70

But then, here: http://www.fotofrenzy.com/m-s.htm has the 50mm at £100, the 28mm at £89, the 85mm at £279.

I suppose it depends on the condition, and whether you can find a buyer

Hope that helps!
Matt

Joshua,

Yes, it's a shame there's no green or gold.
Fitting is just about perfect. Just slides over the end of the AF360FGZ. I'm leaving mine on there

Best thing I bought, apart from the AF360 itself

Matt

Just received my StoFen Omnibounce for the AF360FGZ, part number OM-PZ8. Ordered straight from US. Took only 5 days to be delivered! Couldn't wait to try it

Initial results are lovely with the *istD. Produces a warm, soft cast. Great for close portraits. I'll try and get a sample or two on my gallery in the next week or so.

Definitely worth adding to your armoury of Pentax gear
www.stofen.com

Matt

Wow

Thanks again Shotgun
...and there I was looking in the wrong place, waiting for a firmware update

I like the 'microwave oven' icon - I'm gonna go and cook my *istD with some new firmware
(It does mention it in the instructions, but do make sure you have fully charged batteries before you begin )

I'm on the case, and I'll be testing the exposure/flash issue again.

Matt

Hi all

I'm a very happy man

The AF360FTZ images are great again. Still some slight variations (one third stop now) between lenses, but that's perfectly acceptable and understandable.

Now, I'm going snapping to see how solid it is

Matt

Hi Shotgun,

Many thanks for the link
Regarding LHA - yes, it's still around and in use. (Some of the non .ZIP compression formats are either better compression, or generally more readily available in GNU/GPL and Linux

Try this link for a nice compression tool that supports pretty much everything for free:
http://www.ultimatezip.com
(and there are others out there too)

Enjoy
Matt

Malcolm,

Yes Park rang Tuesday so I whizzed up and snaffled it
I don't mind the build so much - it's not as plasticy as the Pentax 28-70/f4 I had on my MZ5. But the build is not as nice as the SMC-F primes, IMHO. However, it's got a very positive feel to it, and it's nice and light.

Only real niggle is the lens cap. You just can't clip it on and off when the petal hood is on. Have to replace it with a Hama cap that has centre squeeze buttons.

Optics, needless to say, are just lovely - but then I don't need to tell you that!! Here's a shot with it: "High Rise"

Yes, the wide angle is great to have back. I even tried putting it on my Z1 and was surprised there was not that much vignetting. I shall hopefully be putting it through its paces this weekend...

Matt