I like the Pentax lab software under windows (silkypix based?), I find it nice and easy to use while being powerful enough for my needs at the moment.

Under Linux I use UFRAW, which has some excelent automatic features including an auto curves adjustment. It has no batch mode, but overall I think its my favourite.

no, it was his 30th, it's just that he posted it a week ago and he's up to 57 now.

The counter in your posts always shows what you're on now, not what you were on when you posted the message.

whereas I, dispite my Veteran status, am younger than the ME-Super, let alone the K mount.

but that assumes you plan to sell the item, personally I tend to buy things and use them until they either break or are no longer fit for purpose. By the time I come to replace any DSLR I ever own its resale value will be negligible anyway.

The reason I will buy Pentax over Samsung is I have had some VERY bad experiences with Samsung after sales, as in there basically is none.

lens quality has a lot to do with focusing ease as well. I used to have a Sirius coke bottle of an 18-28. I think it was something like F3.5-4.5, making it roughly the same speed as the 18-55 kit lens which came with my *ist.

Compare the ease of focusing however........

the Sirius rendered a viewfinder image which hardly changed from close focus to infinity. If you zoomed all the way to 28mm in very good light and concentrated hard you could just about focus it, but you'd better be using a tripod.

The Kit lens by comparison snaps in and out of focus like a dream come true even at 18mm.


These two are the same focal length and aperture, all that changes is the lens quality.

If you are interested in doing any Macro photography it's worth picking up a 49mm reversing ring. You can get these on Ebay for about a fiver. The 50mm is the classic lens to use with such a ring and works well, and if your 35-80 is the same as mine then you'll be surprised how good a macro lens it makes when reversed.

I took a few macro shots with my 35-80 reversed a while back and several of my photog friends were truely shocked to find out the lens I had used.

once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature to hit the button every time you re-frame. It's a very neat work around

mmmm hyper program, I love hyper program, it is the only thing I miss going from my Z-50p to *ist DL2

I am confused, when you say it "reports no batteries" what does it actually say?

I have the DL2, and when it has no batteries in it, it just wont turn on.

Oh and I use nothing but NiMH rechargibles in my DL2, I always used to carry a set of Lithium single use batteries as a backup, but now I just carry two sets of NiMH's. Never been without power yet.

Glance sideways at the name K100D

Consider the name of Pentax's most famous product