Out of those three, DA35 is the way I'd go! The 35mm focal length is closest to a 'standard' (or normal) prime, great walkabout focal length. And the sharpness and rendering of the lens is pretty legendary.

Throw in genuine 1:1 macro and it's a sort of 'desert island' prime lens.... By which I mean, if I could only choose one, I'd choose this one!

Hardly ever use the sofa, or the camera?

I can't think why the sofa would be any worse of a place (fungus-wise) than anywhere else, other than the obvious risk of knocking it off or sitting on it! Do you not have a shelf, or top of a wardrobe, Aura?

They charge you extra for those special 'gourmet' (bwa ha ha ha) burgers they do in addition to the standard Big Macs etc. That's what the K5iis is - a gourmet camera for conoisseurs of sharpness!

The Nikon D800E sells for over 300 quid more than the standard D800. You can hardly blame Pentax for following suit, after Nikon established that many people will indeed pay extra.

Past about 24mm it will work okay (ish).

Removing the AA filter isn't going to appeal to all potographers because there is a slightly higher risk of moire. So it makes sense to offer the K5iis as an option. And the reason the price is higher is partly to pay for having a second line of cameras being produced. And partly because, in basic terms, Pentax can get away with charging slightly more, because there's a demand.

I'm sure in terms of the actual cost of the components going into the camera, it makes no difference whether they fit an AA filter or not.

People who want that extra little bit of sharpness will pay a little bit extra. Compared to the money folks spend on lenses, it's trivial. People who are on the fence about what that extra 160.00 will get them - there are plenty of samples out there to pixel-peep. And if you are still in doubt, just go for the cheaper option.

You should. The trouble is with the gel packs is when they have absorbed a certain amount of moisture, they stop working. Thus your precious equipment might be developing fungus, out of sight. (Although to be fair it's not a huge risk). But better to keep it all out in the open where the air can get to it, and you can keep an eye on it.

Pentax P30. Got it in my late teens, and was still using it when I got my istD2L.

Thanks for posting, David. I'll try and make it too!

I think you've captured the effect of golden evening light on lush green vegetation really well. That warm sunshine raking across the scene really transforms a landscape; I was out on Wednesday evening at around sunset, and these shots remind me of what I saw.

Yup, on the Q all you're doing is cropping images from a lens designed for a much bigger imaging circle. If you're going to do that, the lens has to be spectacularly sharp... and the 18-55mm isn't really that. Better to use lenses designed with that tiny sensor in mind I think.