You must have a high ceiling if bouncing doesn't provide enough light. Make sure it's on full power setting. Are you actually using the onboard flash to trigger? Is there no wireless control on the Kx?

If you want to reduse the impact of the onboard flash, set it to the lowest power (-2.0?) or put a baffle in front of it.

I haven't tried those Stofen things but I can't see how they can be effective. You need to increase the size of the source of light.

One of those ebay mini-softboxes would be better, although still not great. A tupperware box lined with white paper and a hole cut for the flash head works OK too! Howabout an umbrella? Effective, and cheap.

All these methods will still reduce the flash brightness though. Which takes me back to my first point. Increase the power of the flashgun to max. Reduce the power of the onboard flash, if used as a controller. Raise your ISO if needed. With a Kx, you should be fine.

Hmm, that's the problem. If the K30 feels too small in the hand, there's currently nowhere else to go in Pentaxland (645D aside). The K30 grip felt (to me) more generous than the K5 - bit deeper and a bit taller.

For me the K30 felt just right, and I have fairly big hands. Perhaps it's something you get used to?

Sharpness - The DA15 wins in the centre, but the 12-24mm takes it for overall sharpness. It is possible to get sharp edges with the DA15 but you need to work at it!

Distortion - The DA15 and 12-24mm are both really good with little distortion. The DA21 has lots of barrel distortion.

I prefer the DA15mm because it's just so lovely to have such a small UWA lens, and the clarity of the images is really nice. If I was shooting landscapes, though, I'd go for the 12-24mm although I'd really want to go for the Sigma 8-16mm which seems a remarkable lens.

The Q is almost within your budget right now, and the MX1 looks worth stretching to if you possibly can! The cheaper Pentax compacts image quality looks rather so-so compared to Sony, Canon etc but the Q or MX1 will beat them all!

Congratulations Shaun. I love that first shot, such an excellent composition.

Seems to me that RAW files aren't always as RAW as we think. Not so much raw as carpaccio.

It seems logical that all Pentax cameras apply some default sharpening to the RAW files to compensate for the AA filter, except the Kiis, where additional sharpening is likely to produce an over-sharpened appearance.

If money was no object, I would therefore go for the Kiis. It's better to have a pin sharp file to begin with, than have a digitally sharpened one. Sharpening only creates the impression of sharpness by enhancing contrast along edges, and that can increase noise levels. OK, fractionally in this case.

If I was thinking with my wallet, or shot a lot of subjects that are prone to moire, I might get the K5ii instead*. The difference in sharpness is there, but it's not like night and day.

*In fact I'd probably get the K30 which delivers just as good IQ as the K5ii, IMHO...

I love my K10D too. I only bought it as a stop-gap, but it does everything I want well enough so I don't have any buring desire to get a current model - although a better LCD and live-view would be nice!

I love no. 3. Perhaps I'd have a go at straightening it up a bit?

I just remember one story on PF about someone who had sealed their lenses up with some silica gel packs... and out of sight, out of mind, the lenses all developed fungus. The seal can't have been 100% so once the gel packs had reached capacity, the humidity equalised. So the lenses were in a dark place with no air circulation, and the humidity levels maintained by the fully saturated gel packs. (To be fair, this was in the US and the air humidity might have been higher than we expect in the UK).

I appreciate if you rigorously recharge the gel packs you should be OK, but I know myself better than that! All it takes is one slip up.