Thanks for the helpful advice all!!

I went for the HP in the end, and I'm glad I did so far.

Compared to my laptop screen there is simply no contest even straight out of the box. The factory default config is (somewhat uncommonly in this age of big numbers=better) not overly bright and gives pleasing colours. After setting it to 6500K and calibrating with my Huey, it is almost perfectly matched to prints from my Dad's Epson 1400.

The claimed viewing angle of 176 degrees seems credible, and it's certainly better than my laptop screen or my old HP 1520. Most importantly, being a P-MVA panel, it does not have the typical brightness problem of cheap TN screens where the screen appears dark when viewed from below and bright from above.

Overall, for £117 a superb monitor. If Morgan still have any and anyone else is looking for a new screen, highly recommended.

/me tips out contents of wallet on table. Counts:



1.....2.....3......4......5 pence........a button........

darn. £2143.75 short!

I have never tried this kind of photography, although I must say it sounds an interesting challenge.

If I were to try it, I would set the camera as follows

main dial in M, with exposure pre-determined by test shots to give the fastest shutter speed available. This will eliminate any possible metering delay.

Manual focus, to eliminate any possible delay associated with the focusing system.

SR Off - no idea if this might introduce a delay, but since you're on a tripod it should really be off anyway and it just might.


I really can't think of anything else which might have a bearing. As has been mentioned above, it's possible that the K200D simply isn't up to this sort of thing, best of luck!!

thanks everyone. I've just discovered that Morgan Computers have got HP L1955's for £117.

It has a P-MVA panel and every review I can find seems to be positive about it's colour accuracy.

Looks like Morgan are once again the bargain hunters friend!!

I'm considering buying a monitor for photo editing, looking for something in the 19" plus range, but no bigger than 24" as I don't have the space. Obviously colour accuracy is a major concern, it will be calibrated with a Huey but even so all monitors are not created equal. I understand S-IPS panels generally provide the best colour accuracy? is that correct?

any suggestions for brand/model would be most helpful. My housemate has a Dell 2007WFP which seems superb compared to my laptop panel, but they seem to have been discontinued and the 2009 is a TN panel. I have also been looking at the Hazro panels, which look really good but are really too expensive. Am I just going to have to find the cash for a Hazro or something similarly pricey, or is there a good cheaper option?

SRS are a bricks and mortar store and they seem to be doing just fine.

The thing is, even if Chris was 10% more expensive than the competition I'd still go to him over the likes of Jessops. I know in SRS I will get helpful and reliable advice from a person who knows their wares, the fact that he's usually cheaper to boot is just a fringe benefit (if a very welcome one! keep it up Chris and co!)

And some older Sigma lenses incorrectly identify themselves as Pentax lenses of a similar type. For example, my Sigma UC 28-200 used to identify as a Pentax SMC 28-135.

Yes, if you have the choice of the same lens in K or KA mount then KA is the way forward.

The Pentax DSLRs lack the physical aperture ring coupler of the older SLRs, which means they cannot detect the position of the aperture ring on the lens.

This means that lenses without the A series contacts can only be used in stop down metering mode, or on Av auto locked wide open. This in itself takes some getting used to but isn't too bad, however the K10D in particular doesn't like metering in stop down mode. You can compensate for its ideosyncracies once you get used to it, but it takes a lot of getting used to and is a hassle.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy an M series lens for a good price if it was a focal length I particularly wanted, but the A lenses make it a lot easier.


There is one important caveat when buying third party KA lenses. Some are designed to fit the Ricoh version of the KA mount, which has an extra lug. This extra lug can become jammed on Pentax KAF mounts, requiring professional help to remove the lens.

I don't have a K20D, so not sure, but isn't there an option for applying the same adjustment to all lenses? it sounds as if your K20D just needs a global ~-5?

Get yourself into the "your photos" section.

You don't have to post your own shots until you feel ready, although receiving honest critic on them will help you a lot.

What I found really helpful was looking at others work and deciding what worked for me and what didn't.

Don't be offended when someone doesn't like your work. They will probably offer some constructive comments on what they would do differently. Take these onboard, try them out if possible (for example a different crop is easy to try). Sometimes you will disagree with what the other person says, sometimes it will turn what was an ok shot into a wall-hanger.

above all, enjoy yourself!