Which genius started bidding rather than take the BIN price? Lol. Glad that the temptation is gone though- it may have been a bargain but I still can't afford to splash that sort of cash.

I'm not aware of any problem with discussing making money from photography Stefan. I'm sure you aren't supposed to take the comment above personally

It's the lens you know will 'deliver the goods' in a given situation - the one you 'go to' for, say, macro shots, or low light shooting.

No.1 is my favourite, although there's a wedge at the bottom left. Aligning the camera perfectly to the case would have been ideal, although you could crop and straighten the shot. The others have awkward 'crops' though, and there are sharpness issues and a bit of flare in no. 4.

I have to say, your discount for Pentaxians is really generous. Next time I want a quality print, i'll be in touch!

Here's an interesting article reviewing some of the common brands of polariser: link

I like the 'econo-rating' in the chart at the bottom, where they take cost into account! Note the test is for circular polarisers, but don't rule out using a linear polariser - they work on Pentax DSLRs.

Yeah I changed my mind after re-reading the options!

I've sold a very few prints. First was a black and white seascape of Traeth Llyfn, which someone spotted on Trekearth and requested. It was taken on an istDL2. A few others via my sister's shop - mainly shot on an Olympus c5060!

Clicked the 2nd option. But should probably have answered 'pure hobbyist' as these were exceptional events!

You can't use a lens hood with filter holders, but a lot of people do use them and I think with a little care there is little effect on iq.

People use them because there is no way of reproducing the defect without making multiple exposures and pp-ing. Screw in grads don't give you enough control. PP is the only real alternative. It's probably worth exploring before you invest in a filter system, unless you are averse to photoshop.

Amateur photographer did a grad filter test last year. From memory many of them induced a slight colour cast. Kood seemed slightly better than cokin, of the budget options.

I'd pick up a couple of round polarising filters for your most used lenses, and you can always get stepping rings to adapt them for other lenses if need be.

Anything Hoya is probably acceptable. I'm not sure if you need the new slim-fit, HD-ready, "it's got electrolytes" versions. I use an old second hand Hoya basic linear pol - it's fine! Perhaps there would be a bit more flare compared to the new so-called pro versions, if I shot into the sun, but I can live with that. If you bought 2nd hand and you aren't happy with the results, you can resell without being left out of pocket.

Even with a screw in pol, you might sometimes have to take the lens hood off though! Some lens hoods make it tricky to turn the filter.

I would only invest in a square filter system if you want to use grads. I find them a bit unwieldy and over-conspicuous in use, but acceptable shooting landscapes.