Yes, the virtues of WR are sung loud and clear, and from the point of view protecting the innards of the equipment its a worthy feature - practical shooting in wet weather is another matter. No doubt there are plenty of great atmospheric scenes begging to be captured, but many of these wide angle lenses have large front elements, and as soon as you point them at something in the rain then it only takes one spot to ruin a shot, and there's all the wiping and smearing to contend with.

I didn't think this was the case - I understood (at least on the K7) that without an autofocus lens mounted, then the only af point that is active (and therefore will flash) is the centre one.

So if I can put together what has been said here, it is the Green Hexagon that offers focus confirmation, but the red flashing centre-point that tells us it is the centre part of the viewfinder that is actually in focus. But I don't think any other point can flash red and indicate in manual focus ? so we can only really get focus confirmation for objects in the centre of the frame. Does that sound like it?

Yes, that would be so in AF, but in Manual focus I understand that only the centre point is used - so I was wondering if it is actually responding to something different than what the green heacon is showing?

Thats very interesting, thanks! I checked the manual and it does indeed refer to the 'Focus Indicator' (with a picture showing the green 'heagon') as indicating 'in-focus'. I'm sure I have seen references to the red focus point flashing in other internet resources, such as those various guides to using manual focus lenses that are about.

In any case, I'll start to look at the heacon now! I must say, it is easy to disregard it, I find it doesn't grab attention along the bottom there. But what therefore is the flashing centre focus point indicating? I do have 'Catch - in focus' active - could this be it?

I'm guessing you've already updated - had a look at the earlier posts. And yes, of course, contrast AF is for LV. Has anyone noticed the improvements promised with this firmware update?

Just spotted the News article over on the right side about the K30 firmware update : 'Pentax has announced a new firmware update for the K-30 camera.

Firmware update software version 1.01 fixes two issues. It improves the performance of contrast AF, and enables improved stability for general performance'.

Not sure what 'enabling improved stability' is all about, but improving the contrast AF sounds like a good idea!

The ultra wides are certainly tempting, and I'm delighted with my new Samyang 14mm (a full frame model, gives about 22mm in old film terms on the K7).

But it takes getting used to composition wise. Its easy to stand back and shoot the big view, but you risk ending up with vast spaces of dull foreground and a subject way off in the distance. Its fun though trying to be creative and getting things right up close in front of you. Frames of some kind work well, and low viewpoints featuring textures on the ground. Snoothchies (Chester ?) shot has both of these elements supporting it.

On my K7 when working with manual focus lenses I do get the centre focus point flashing (in red) briefly when focus is confirmed. But I have to say that the reality is this indication is really more of a 'range' for focus - its not really a pin sharp exact point. Good as a quick guide, but I still find I need to use my eyes very carefully from that point on.

Yes, for sure - RAW is often slightly soft out of the box, and the OP did say he hadn't done any PP other the convert to JPEG. Maybe a notch or two on the sharpness slider would help.

Apart from the key image quality improvements (which David listed above), the K5 (like the K7 before it) is built around a much more 'Pro -Spec' design. By this I mean easy access controls on the body - levers for AF point select, Focus Mode, Metering Mode, DOF Preview, 100% Viewfinder.

All of these key shooting controls have been valued by professonals on SLR bodies for years (long before Digital), and they still help now. I know you'd have to get used to operating the camera, there's a learning curve, but I'd have thought that when on a wedding job the last thing you'd want to be doing is scrolling through menus to change key shooting settings.