For waterproofing (at least against rain) I'd recommend Timbuk2. I haven't actually used their photo bags (import tax putting me off at the moment) but they're basically a Timbuk2 messenger bag with a padded insert to hold photo gear. I've had one of the standard messenger bags for a few years now, and even when caught in the monsoon-type rain we get once or twice a year in Glasgow the contents have always been completely dry. It's the fairly standard ripstop nylon exterior (though much thicker/better stuff than most bags), but the real trick is the TPU-type lining on the inside: in the unlikely event that any rain gets through the outer material, it still won't get anywhere near your stuff.

If only they had a UK distributor

Isn't it "of interest to Pentax users" that Nikon's new APS-C DSLR has a 50% increase in sensor resolution and 51 AF points (15 cross-type), while Pentax's new APS-C DSLR has a 0% increase in sensor resolution and 11 AF points (9 cross-type)?

Of course megapixels aren't everything, but for making large prints sensor resolution always helps if one's lenses are capable of matching it.

Don't. I did it once as a favour to a relative and, even knowing most of the people there (who went with who and so on) and being able to borrow folk to do some of the 'cat herding', it was still a nightmare. Do yourself a favour: buy a 70mm Limited to go with your 35mm and go take some landscape photos - much less stressful!

To be fair, this is a Pentax forum and Pentax DSLRs don't even AF in video yet.

Not a lot of 5-star places in Helmand province, and the bases are changed often enough that it isn't worth building permanent structures.

As for Pentax and Afghanistan, there was a thread on the other forum a while back of a German soldier (or may have been a German-born US Army soldier, I can't remember) who took a Pentax DSLR and the two DA* zooms with him on deployment. They survived the sand quite well IIRC.

Especially relevant given the recent news about Jessops (ps: haha)

Edit: With my usual sense of timing on forums I see the OP has already bought his K5. Ah well!

DA35 Limited. Sure, it's slower and more expensive than the DA-L 35, but having a normalish FOV and essentially no minimum focus distance means its value as a walkaround should not be underestimated.

Step 1: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all.html

Step 2: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/

Step 3: Profit

True, was just clarifying in case the OP wasn't aware of the difference. Some unfortunate people just see 'liability insurance' and think they're sorted.

I'd forgotten about Handbrake, but 3x realtime before even starting the upload is still a bit of a pain. A typical clip (I understand somewhere north of 5 minutes is the sensor's thermal limit) taking 15 minutes to encode before I can start the upload/transfer to tv etc.

Although I can see the advantages of the K5/K5 II (I'm still making sure about dynamic range), I am beginning to like the K30 a lot and I'm sentimental rather than sensible when it come to camera gear.