I agree, Auto Picture mode is a masterpiece of Japanese technical wizardry.....but it and the scene modes it chooses from do nothing that a reasonable photographer can't do him/herself.

My MZ-7 tends to stay set to no flash auto picture, and I use the aperture ring to pick whether I actually want full auto or Av mode.

My DL2 might go into Auto Picture if I'm handing it to someone else, but my Camera is one of those possesions which I am very picky about who I allow to use it. Most of the people "cleared" to handle my SLR know how to handle the creative modes.

I don't expect to ever engage "green" mode on my K10D.

couldn't agree more, my K10D is the best camera I've ever handled and my *istDL2 is the second best.

What angers me is the apparent injustice towards Pentax. Injustice always angers me, particularly when it may lead someone into a decision they later regret. I know at least 2 people who have DSLRs of another brand (I'll leave you to guess which one ) who regret their choice having seen my Pentax in action. It wasn't even the K10D either, one guy is actually jealous of my DL2 dispite the fact that his 30D is worth 3 times the price. Good, relatively unbiased salesmanship and reviewing would have seen both these people with Pentax DSLRs around their necks and the happier for it.

10-1 they were scoring on out of the camera JPEGs at default settings.

The Sammy has (so I have heared) more aggressive sharpening etc to produce an image which needs less post processing, while the Pentax focusses on retaining detail for the photographer to bring out as he/she sees fit.

What annoys me is that it is extremely rare for reviewers to realise this

one thing you should consider is that the A series lens wont send its focal length to the camera. The K100D needs this information for SR, so you will have to set the focal length manually. With a prime lens this isn't really a problem, but with a zoom it will be annoying (or at least it would to me).

The F series 70-210 will transmit this data and will work properly with the SR system on K100D and K10D.

M42, M and A series primes are great on DSLRs, but I'm trying to avoid old zooms because of the focal length issue.

and as long as we're all happy with our purchases and can continue taking photos with the cameras we love, that's what matters right?

fair enough John, I had a suspicion you would have splashed out for the good ones and if that gives you added peace of mind equal to the cost then it's worth the money.

Interestingly, while my Hahnel and Uniross NiMHs are all but dead, and my Hama ones died 18 months ago, the 7DS set I bought shortly afterwards is still going strong and giving 600+ shots per charge in my DL2.

I'd be willing to bet most of them are made by Hahnel anyway.

None of us had the first worry about running our *ist series cameras off any old AA's, why the sudden concern just 'cause it's a Li-Ion and its a funny shape?

It's just a standard Li-Ion battery pack, and at £6.99 each they've got to die pretty darned quickly to justify £45 for a Pentax one.

My experience of 7dayshop brand Li-Ion packs is they are at least as good as the Panasonic one which came with my Lumix (which by the way is exactly the same as a Pentax Dli .

If these batteries caused actual physical problems the KM crowd would be shouting about it all over the internet by now. They aren't. Therefore the only possible problem with them is useful lifespan, and they've only got to manage 1/6th the life of the original to remain cheaper overall.

no, I tried using a Polar Bear as a substitute for a Polariser. He proceeded to splash around in the barrel making it even harder to see through the surface and then are all the fish

mmm I always have trouble with the reflections off the surface of the water when I try shooting fish in a barrel, perhaps I need to invest in a polariser

of course the snow leopard will either be several miles away or have decided you look tasty by the time the shot is set up.....