I would say Movie Maker would probably be enough for a simple collection of clips with maybe a soundtrack. You can create dissolves by pushing the clips together on the timeline. Or fade to black between clips.

I use Corel Video Studio now which is more flexible, but a bit more complicated to use than ultra-simple WMM.

Extraordinary, I suppose the very high ISO has helped you here.

Windows movie maker... Free, it's crudeness is an advantage if you need to get to grips with it fast, should already be on your PC if you're on XP. Save your project often as it's a bit crashy

I tried one of those MZ7s in a local shop - felt like a lovely camera and the AF seemed pretty quick! I would imagine the transition would be quite easy if you are used to a DSLR, the controls will just be in a slightly different place. I believe the rocker around the shutter button is used for changing aperture etc, for example, a bit like the edial on the front of a K7.

I found this beautiful shot taken on the MZ7 (and the maligned 28-80mm kit zoom) the other day....

http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Africa/Cote_dIvoire/West/Haut-Sassandra/Digba/p...

Full compatibility with K through to DA lenses ought to be of interest to someone, even as an emergency backup if their DSLR breaks!

.... Not that Pentax DSLRs ever have any problems ;P

If you didn't have the 12-24mm the 16-45 would be the obvious choice. As you do, I'd go for the DA17-70mm if extra reach and SDM appeal, or the Tamron 17-50mm / new Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 if speed and sharpness are paramount.

I agree, better bang for buck than the 12-24mm! At 12mm it is pretty distortion free and plenty sharp. Most comparisons compare the Sigma at 10mm to the Pentax at 12mm, which is unfair! I was satisfied enough with the Sigma at 15mm to banish all thoughts of the DA15mm!

The new 8-16mm bests both lenses though, if you don't mind a bulbous front element. A while back it was available for £380 new from SRS!

Thanks Matt

The IQ is good but I think the noise/grain reduction is a bit high for my taste... there are times when you want the grain!

I did have a go at making a DIY copier this afternoon - a crude affair with two slits cut into a cardboard wine bottle tube. But it's not a good way to treat your negatives, and restoring colour balance after inverting the negative in PS defeated me! Would be OK for B&W though if I can get a proper neg holder...

Do you have any full size samples of the scan quality Matt? (If you could send one to willDOTdbATgmailDOTcom I'd be extremely grateful.)

There's an argument for getting a cheap scanner for general use and sending 'keeper shots' off to Peak Images for high res scanning. OTOH I don't know what the older style dedicated scanners go for second hand these days...

Stechford is N.E. of the city centre, not far from Star City!