I only knew because Stephen Dawkins mentions it in a recent book, but sayin 'Fora' and 'Stadia' always seemed a bit affected, as the words are now part of the English language. Oh, I love a bit of pedantry (when it's not directed at me!)

Are there any Latin words which have entered the English language which do retain the latin plural form?

The OED quoted in the 'Pain in the English' website link

A1 size? More like the size of the side of a house.

Actually there's a theory that the pixel count doesn't matter once you pass a certain point, say 5 mega pix. The reason is that the larger the print, the further back you stand - so while you peer at a 6x4 inch print, you stand several feet away from a wall mounted A2.

But the theory doesn't hold water for me, because whenever I see a digital print, I am not interested in the composition, lighting or artistic merit. I just press my face against the image and see if I can see the pixels.

Received today with thanks

It's forums. Unless you are specifically talking about Roman public squares!

Well I said it was 'one argument', not that they should do it - who am I to say? I haven't the foggiest whether it's economically worth pursuing, but they'd be tripping if they didn't at least consider it because FF is becoming much more mainstream. Yes the 645d will provide prestige but unfortunately the lenses are different - this isn't about prestige but allowing users to keep their future options open!

I would certainly hope Pentax don't attempt to emulate Sony, fortunately they're taking a much more shrewd approach... smallish range, but definitely moving in the right direction.

In a few years we will probably look back on this idle speculation and smirk, because we got it so spectacularly wrong. But there does seem to be a renewed seriousness and joined-up-thinking since the K-7 arrived, which makes me think that however things pan out, the next few years could be very interesting.

Well, it's a lot easier to shoot macros with the DA35 than the FA, Mike! Makes the DA a convincing lens for nature rambles when you don't know what you might find.

The DA35 is supposed to be an 'optical paragon' with Zeiss-shaming sharpness. The FA has nicer bokeh from what I have seen.

I like bug macros shot with the 35 macro lens... gets you into their environment. And for non moving subjects, less of an issue. link

But I like the fact I could use the FA on my film camera, and always aim for 'crossover' if possible.

Aarghhh.. curse you, Pentax

Nice shots Ems. Oo Dungeness! Always wanted to go there after seeing documentaries about Derek Jarman's house and garden on the shore, overlooked by the nuclear power station. Interesting area.

The f1.7 is also very good, and half the price. This is worth a look - a lot of owners atually prefer it to the f1.4, although these are just opinions of course. link

But if you have got a 1.4 for a good price - you haven't anything to lose as they are very sought after and their value can only keep going up!

Pentax F 35-70 is a good one. The 35-80 less so. None of these zoom lenses are true macros though, but they'll be fine for basic flower portraits of roses etc. A true macro will open up far more possibilities.