I find that on the odd occasion that i have used autofocus, I will generally have a DA* lens fitted to my K7 as they are faster, quieter and more accurate than the other Pentax autofocus lenses that i own. However i will only use autofocus if the point of focus has enough contrast, A plain area of even tone will send the autofocus loopy! also if the background is distracting then it is sometimes possible for the autofocus to pick up on that instead of the subject. My non DA* lenses are noisy, very hesitant and stuttery. I do not believe that the K7 body lags behind other makes but rather it is the lens line up that is in much need of an overhaul to bring Pentax into line with the competition in the autofocus stakes.

Regards - Pete

Back in the early 80`s i cancelled my membership of the NT when they began to prevent the use of Flash photography in their properties. (They already had a ban on tripods.) But when i started Digital Photography around 5 years ago i began to visit their properties and submitted my photo`s to Photolibraries. Last year the NT forced Alamy to withdraw all photographs of NT properties unless taken from public land or by their own Photographers. This prompted me to cease my visits. I did not make much out of my NT photographs but enough to cover the cost of the visits so they are the ones losing out ultimately! They now have made a partial reversal in that they now permit Amateur Photography inside their buildings again. (Reported in Amateur Photographer Mag last week)

Regards - Pete

Yes i have a slight noise/vibration after the mirror has returned, I have to say that i had not noticed it before!

Regards - Pete

That takes me back! We used to go blackberry picking years ago and i used to make a fantastic Blackberry wine! I used 4 1/2 lb of Blackberries per gallon! Though the recipe called for about half of that. We used to make a spritzer for the kids (and ourselves) in the summer using a Soda Stream. Glorious Days!

Regards - Pete

Yes it took some extensive research to hunt down a decent Cider! The Apple Fest was a great experience. It was held at a National Trust Property called Erddig near Wrexham the grow over 300 varieties of apple. Gillian Bulmer told me that it is important to include Protein when brewing Cider. My father who was Cornish told me stories of dead rats in the Cider when he was young. So plenty of protein there then!


Regards - Pete.

I am more usually a strong lager drinker but when i was attending a 3 week course in Hereford a few years ago i enjoyed a draught bitter called Flowers. I have since tried it in a can but that was awful!
I went to an Apple Festival last October and there were loads of Ciders to sample and had a good long chat with Gillian Bulmer. Since then i have been hooked on a Welsh Cider called Black Dragon. It`s a pleasant change from my usual Carlsberg Special Brew!!!

Regards - Pete. Hic!

I just tried my K7 on "B" and it too took about a minute before the ready lamp illuminated, Yet when i am using a normal timed exposure in other modes like "Manual" the Camera is ready to take the next shot almost instantaneously even with low speed NR switched on so if you are using 30 seconds or less perhaps you might find it better to use one of the normal shooting modes rather than B.
Regards - Pete

If you ever find yourself in Dublin check out one of the Porterhouse Pubs,
They only sell real ales including their own dark porter (Like Guinness but without the nasty chemicals) their menu lists hundreds of beers from all over the world! Well worth a visit just take a good supply of beer tokens (otherwise known as Euro`s!)

Regards - Pete

I agree, I normally use a composite image when i include the Moon in my shots. I use a long exposure for the subject say 20-30 sec and then combine it with one of the photo`s taken years ago on my old K10D during the Lunar Eclipse. I feather the edges by a pixel or two and often brighten it a little to help make it look more natural then re-size it to cover where the original burned out Moon is in the start image.
as for cloning i use either the Patch Repair tool in CS as Malo described or sometimes just the standard Healing Brush if the area allows.

Regards- Pete.

Sleeping with the Enemy
Right Stuff
Serenity
The Thing
The Killing Fields
Highlander
Midnight Express
Avatar
Double Jeopardy
Mouse Hunt

I`m a Sandra Bullock Fan too but i suspect that everyone here is !