There is usually an option for maintaining a specified aspect ratio on the crop tool. I haven't used PSP, but it's almost certainly there somewhere.

here is the 7dayshop battery in question

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_3&products_id=99219

The Pentax D-LI 50 is exactly the same as the Fuji NP-400 in terms of size, shape and voltage. Capacities vary slightly but not enough that you will notice the difference.

I believe the official term is "venting with flame"

not something I would ever like to witness. It can also be caused by unscrupulous manufacturers stuffing more reactants into a battery than is sensible to increase capacity. For this reason i would always be skeptical of any battery which claims significantly more capacity than the original. In the case of the K10D, I think the original is 1600mAH. I've seen 1500 and 1750 models, and frankly I suspect that much variation can be accounted for in differing test conditions. However, if I came across a K10D battery claiming 2000mAH I'd be asking some serious questions.

Particularly with Li-Ion batteries, I would always buy from a trusted supplier.

The reason is simple:

Lithium reacts vigorously and can explode on contact with water. It's potent stuff and should be treated with the utmost respect.

The absolute best way to make sure the batteries are up to spec is undoubtedly to buy Pentax stampeed ones. No, Pentax don't make them, but they will not have taken supplier selection lightly. Just think how it would look if a Pentax camera running on a Pentax battery were to blow up.

Saying that, I use the cheapo ones from 7dayshop.com in my K10D. I consider them to be a trustworthy supplier of high quality batteries at low prices. The best performance I have yet seen from a AA rechargeable is with 7dayshop own brand 2700mAH batteries in my *istDL2, and the K10D battery I had from them is at least as well made as the Pentax D-Li 50.

Someone above suggested Hahnel and i would say they are a very good halfway house. The chances are good that they make the Pentax batteries anyway and their kit is always of a high standard while being reasonably priced.

hi oldtimer,

I'm using Ubuntu on my main laptop and PCLinuxOS on my EEE. Both seem well rounded and easy to set up and use. I particularly like Ubuntu because on the face of it it's easy to use, but if you want to break out the command line and get into the nitty gritty then it doesn't get in your way. Be warned that the world of digial photography on Linux isn't especially mature. All the programs you need are available, but you will have to compile some of them from source code. The good news is that doing this isn't even close to as daunting as it first appears, and there are now a few of us on here who have done it so someone will be able to help you if you get stuck.

I use UFRAW for my raw processing and there are any number of packages for dealing with JPG/TIFF images once you've processed them. GIMP is great as an editor, it can do just about anything photoshop can do that you will actually use on a daily basis.

Also Silkypix seems to run pretty well under WINE (think of WINE as a windows emulator, even though technically it isn't). The only reason I don't use Silky at the moment is I can't justify the cash for a paid for version, and the free version has no batch mode.

PS this post brought to you via my Asus EEE 700. My advice is get the 701 if you can, or one of the new ones with the big screen. Only having 2G of primary storage is not a show stopped by any means, but it is a pain sometimes.

well I've just taken delivery of a 16-45 and 50mm F1.4 (Thanks Chris@SRS, perfect service as always!)

both are even better made than I had imagined, the FA 50 1.4 in particular is lovely. The manual focus feel is far better than my other FA series lenses.

now to get some practice in before the weddings start!

That was my solution to the "my image tank is broken" problem. seems to work pretty well, and the eee is more generally useful than I expected.

does it come with a spec sheet of any kind? the MKII has one less element than the Mk I

I've not used the VP 5500, but be wary of the build quality on Vosonic products. I had one of the older models without the colour screen. It did what it said on the tin for about 4 months then died unexpectedly. I opened the back to discover the HDD was held in place with nothing more than a piece of foam, and had come unclipped.

Plugging the HDD back in resurected it for the remainder of its warenty period, but it died completely a few months ago.

I have no reason to suspect all Vosonic stuff is this badly made, but it can't hurt to be vigilent.

and he's very happy with it, having finally used it in anger last week. Thanks Dan!

Sockpuppet, my 90mm is the F2.5 version I'm afraid. I regularly use the 2x converter on it and it produces some very good pics provided you stop down a bit. F4 on the lens (F8 working with the converter) is generally enough to sharpen it up nicely, F8(F16) works even better.

Of course the lens is better without the converter, but 180mm is a lot more helpful than 90mm for "in the wild" macros.