I have been a member of the Pentax Club since it first started; when I tried to get new members some of the comments were: very expensive for 4 magazines a year, and too much advertising for expensive trips abroad. I notice there are no trips advertised now; I did some 'workshops' for them when Peter & Liz Cox used to run it; they were held in hotels; I would do a whole day of photography,to include camera controls, how to use apertures, compensation,lens effects etc and set up a practical lighting studio where the members could use my lights. I got a 'small fee' and free meals and stay in hotel. Maybe the members would like to have some more 'workshops' but all these 'digital' snappers seem to be EXPERTS not the BEGINNERS that used to belong to the Pentax Club !

http://www.ephotozine.com/gallery/showlargepic.cfm?photoid=846825
Is THIS what you mean George? I did what you said.

Thanks George: I'll try that !

I have only recently found out how to put photos on this site by joining another site; now I am too SCARED to show you my 'first attempts at Press Photography with the K10D' in case I get told off ( and they are only 500 pixels wide) so I put one on the ePHOTOzine site and I don't know how you make these 'link' things, so if you're interested go to ePHOTOzine and look in the Pentax Gallery for my Irish Dancers I took on Saturday for St Patrick's Day.

I found where these images went after using the card reader; there is a new folder created I think. I saw this glass ornament my wife got at a boot sale, balanced it on a chair back by the window and used my 50mm SMC Macro-Takumar screw lens with the screw-bayonet adapter, stopped down to f8, 200 ASA, 6MP jpeg best setting, auto white balance, shake reduction used as I was getting about 1/60th hand held.


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[Open Image] [Hosted by PhotoGalaxy.com]


[Open Image] [Hosted by PhotoGalaxy.com]

Thanks George for a few kind words on my efforts:I did take some indoors of childrens' toys, a few in the road outside the house and so on.This was the first 'expedition' to the High Street; I even managed to fit on the strap correctly.

[Open Image] [Hosted by PhotoGalaxy.com]


[Open Image] [Hosted by PhotoGalaxy.com]


[Open Image] [Hosted by PhotoGalaxy.com]
Taken today in my hairdressers, The Morenas (Italian) who let me 'experiment' with my cameras ! They are local 'characters' like ME-not many of us left now ! I used the 'kit' lens,6mp setting, jpeg 'best', aperture priority, white balance was difficult-daylight+fluorescents mixed.

Thanks for all you experts: I read somewhere that a guy had bought a Pentax Digital with 'only' about 8000 'activations' so I wondered how he knew.

I have heard about 'the number of shutter activations' of digital cameras ; how can I find this information on mine ? It's like getting a new car with 20 miles on the clock where they explain it as being driven round the compound or along the docks if it is exported.

Got the'call' from Jessops Chelmsford that my replacement K10D was in so I went on my free pensioners' Bus Pass over there ! The manager didn't know anything about it: I told him someone had 'phoned; he went into back office and came out with a Pentax K10D box this time sealed in sellophane, a good sign ! Also another lens but he said I would get only the body. I gave him back the faulty body and stuff and checked to see that the instructions were indeed all in ENGLISH this time; I explained my Chinese Mandarin was OK but my Chinese Cantonese was a bit rusty, but luckily all in English ! Well, I have tried it out, works OK with kit lens and 'A' series as well as a screw lens with the adapter. I haven't put on my Metz 45CL3 with SCA Pentax adapter this time in case it blows up the works ! Maybe I'll phone Metz for advice. I got a 'card reader'from Tescos Romford and followed the instructions but had trouble finding where it was in Computer; after a search found it and downloaded test pics into FotoStation and edited them and sent some to the Yellow Advertiser to see if they were OK . Did a press job yesterday ON FILM, a local yobbo had to clean up his Graffitti on the wall of a Chinese Takeaway while the owner and the police watched and 4 newspaper snappers snapped away.I'll take the plunge and try out the famous DIGITAL next !