Tony,

Grip received in good order and in much better condition than your description implied . Fits my old GX10 perfectly!

Regards,

Jon

Another vote for the Sigma 100-300mm F4, if you can find one, plus 1.4X TC: you won't regret it!

Jon

PM sent

Jon

Thanks, Galoot: just when I was beginning to believe that it wasn't only my handsome visage that bore close scrutiny

WTB: Pentax Prozac DA* 20-60 mg in 'mint' condition

Jon

P.S. No, I'll not be uploading a recent self-portrait for you all to admire in case I've been wrong about that too

Many thanks Gwyn for judging this competition and for providing such a wealth of feedback

I have to agree with your choice of David's entry for the 'top spot'. When I first saw it, and indeed the quality of the other entries, I very nearly succumbed to an overwhelming urge to 'turn tail and run'. Fortunately I did not, as otherwise I would have denied myself the very real pleasure of reading your generous comments regarding my own effort

Kind regards,

Jon

link

Given the PhotographyBlog seal of approval (4.5/5: Highly recommended)

Jon

IMO, the distinction between amateur and professional has always been clear: if all or a major part of you income comes from photography, then you qualify as a professional. If an amateur, whether you are, or others view you as being,'serious' is, again IMO, more a function of how much time you spend taking and perfecting your photographs, and studying those of others as part of a programme of self-improvement, than of how expensive and extensive your kit is.

I'm fortunate enough to be in a position to buy a K5 now. I choose not to however, because the K20D I am using meets, and, in all honesty, exceeds my current and projected (next 12 - 18 months) needs.

In case you are wondering, no, I do not wear a 'hair shirt' and in the last 12 months I have spent a sum at least equivalent to that of a K5 on a lens with matched 1.4X converter, tripod, monopod and macro-flash unit; all of which have enhanced my photographic range (no pun intended) and the quality (sharpness, clarity and contrast) of many of my photographs.

Having pursued and developed my interest in photography for 40 years now, I would definitely class myself as a serious amateur: albeit one for whom there remains considerable scope for improvement and further experimentation

Jon

If your monitor is fairly recent it will offer a choice of connections: VGA, as in the first image, or DVI, as in the second. The majority of graphics cards are similarly equipped. The preferred choice is DVI, as this allows the monitor to communicate its optimal settings to the OS, which will set them accordingly. The same is not true of the VGA connection. If you have both, and are using VGA, you should switch to DVI. If you don't have both, or don't have a DVI cable, you will need to do as Graham suggested. The optimal resolution for your Dell monitor will be given in the manual, be it printed on paper or supplied as a PDF document on the driver CD that will have been supplied with it. Failing that, search the WWW or the Dell support site with the monitor's model number.

If the problem persists you will have to give model numbers for both the monitor and graphics card before any forum member can help you further.

Jon

Past Midnight

[img]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5195486417_c757641d9d_b.jpg" class="comment_image" />

Past Midnight by prsjnb, on Flickr[/img]

Two, hand-held shots taken at 1/50s (watch) and 1/13s (mechanism)at f8.0 using daylight-balanced (6500K)low energy spot lamps and combined in PSE. Captured using a K20D and Sigma 70mm Macro. It was supposed to be a trial run but I found the outcome quite pleasing

The watch is a Waltham Giant mechanism in an Elgin case and it dates from around the time of WWI. It still works pefectly, which is more than can be said for most of the watches I've owned in my life

Jon

Raynox 250 with 50-200mm does work but the working distance is not great and the DOF is, as you might expect, minimal. I went on to buy a 150 which is slighly easier to work with. I keep one, or both, in my bag at all times just in case I spot something interesting and I don't have my macro lens with me. Below are a couple of examples taken when I was just experimenting and further example previously uploaded to my gallery link. All were taken with the Samsung D-Xenon variant of the 50-200mm which I had at the time.

[img]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/5193549860_1efe994659_b.jpg" class="comment_image" />

D-Xenogon 50-200mm + Raynox DCR-250_2 by prsjnb, on Flickr[/img]

[img]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/5193548992_8a3b6c661b_b.jpg" class="comment_image" />

D-Xenogon 50-250mm + Raynox DCR-250_1 by prsjnb, on Flickr[/img]