the view across from any of the other 3000 footers in the area to Snowdon itself is always depressing, it looks like an anthill on any vaguely decent summer day.

And that right there is why I like the Glyders.

The cantelever is a much better photo op anyway, and you don't have to queue.

don't forget that as soon as the flash is kicked in, your top shutter speed is reduced to 1/180th (unless you have a HSS capable flash, but then you lose flash output)

This makes it quite likely that you'll blow out the background in sunlight, just because the camera has nowhere to go with the exposure.

I'm no expert on flash because I rarely carry mine around with me, but on the rare occasions I do use it for fill in I tend to start off in Tv mode on 1/180th, set up the exposure for the rest of the frame and THEN activate the flash.

As soon as I saw the words "action mode", I decided it wasn't aimed at visitors to this forum and clicked away.

Scene modes? Really?

for the avoidance of doubt, I was exagerating my disgust for comic effect

by any chance, was there also a partrige in a pear tree?

TBH The K5-II is the first camera Pentax have released since the K10D that I've looked at and thought "I want one of those, if I had the cash I'd phone SRS right now".

Nothing previously has (for me and my needs) offered a significant enough upgrade from my K10D to entice me. So I can deffinitely see why a person who already had a K-7 might not be ready to upgrade yet.

for obvious reasons I've never mounted a lens with fungus on my camera, (probably not as bad with a sealed telescope but I'd still keep it well away from your other lenses if I were you) but I did used to have a 600mm reflex lens with a corroded primary mirror, which I suspect will be comparable in effect.

In the case of my Reflex lens resolution was more or less unaffected, but contrast was shot. Actually my Dad is now using that lens with a reflective sun filter as a solar imager and has got some nice sunspot images on occasion.

As a telescope owner I'm sure I don't have to tell you this, but it seems to be more obvious when using a camera so I'll mention it anyway, don't forget that atmospheric conditions will have a larger impact the further away the subject is. The fact that the close by shots were ok might indicate that it was just a bad day for it atmospheric wise.

I think the good old Mk1 Eyeball is pretty good at filtering out those kind of effects so you don't notice them as much with your eye to the scope as when you try to take a photo.

Especially when you consider the kind of punishment something like a K-1000 or MX can take and keep on clicking. Mine has dinks and scrapes all over it and most of the trim is missing, but the bits that matter are perfect.

If anyone else is looking at this and thinking "I wonder what spider is refering to, I'll flick back a page and find out" I have some advice for you.

DON'T

I did, what I have read I cannot unread. Save yourselves.