WHAT THE.......??? Italians or Russians maybe, but the Dutch?

I think there will be a lot of interest in the 70-700mm f4, I hope it will be another *lens. The f2.8 is great, but it is large and heavy; will I keep that as well? It depends, I suspect it will still have the edge for specific shoots and I wouldn’t just swop one for the other. The new 85mm could be a good portrait lens especially if it is as good as the 50mm f1.4, which is highly desirable but I am struggling to justify it although it means I am loathe to settle for the cheaper alternatives.

I agree about the quality of the Pentax 15-30mm but as with all very wide lenses you need the 150mm square filters which are expensive and take up a lot of room. To be honest I rarely use it wide open so I could get away with the 24-70mm f2.8 most times, and have the 100mm square filters instead. For astro though it probably has the edge.

Image sync in my experience acts like a proxy rear screen but with your controls added so has additional benefits when taking shots; for exposures you can scroll down speed, aperture, iso etc. very easily. Best though is with a touch screen like on an iPad you just touch any part of the image to select a focus point, and of course you can activate the shutter remotely. You cannot zoom the lens though of course because this is a manual function.

You can also review your shots but the resolution appears like that of the camera’s rear screen and stays at that level, so when zooming in the image looks unsharp, unlike when you do the same in camera. Not great for checking whether you have nailed focus then.

As it uses touch screen I guess that’s why it won’t work on Apple laptops but maybe others. I can see the benefits for studio work, so if you do a lot of that it may be worth getting a tablet.

Image sync doesn’t transfer files, it shows what you see in live view or review.

I just tried downloading the image sync app onto my macbook but it says only for iOS devices, so I guess you can get it for Windows?

I know what you mean Derek, the camera’s exposure system always tries to make everything look like midday but that can ruin the atmosphere. I am with you on truly reflecting the twilight as seen, and often leaving dark shadow or silhouette creates more intrigue.

That’s a beauty, is it me or does it have a nice smiley face?

Stepdaughter asked advice about her first camera, so I rashly “lent” her my K50 to get an idea, and discovered automated settings and effects I never used and forgot about. “Toy camera”, anyone? She didn’t take it with us to the beach so it wouldn’t get wet, how I laughed! Yet to see any results but if not too long then maybe publish here.

Did I mention an extraordinary coincidence earlier this Year? If so please bear with me, I am getting a tad forgetful. Rummaging in my plan chest I rediscovered a perspective drawing I did whilst working in an architect’s office in Norway in my twenties, of a church we were designing. So I googled to see whether it got built, and hey presto a photo almost exactly as drawn! Anyhow whilst at it I googled a friend from the office I had lost touch with many years ago but stopped short of getting in touch. Just TWO DAYS later he emailed me, just moved house to Oslo with wife no. 3 and updating his contacts, checking to see if I was still alive. Børre has accumulated a collection of cameras, mostly film, which he uses and processes, then scans. Am I allowed to mention Hasselblad, Leica, Minox, Toto, and a host of others? A curious diversion for a retired computer applications lecturer! Every year is recorded on a page on his website with 52 snaps, one for each week, a great way to compile a family album. Børre Ludvigsen’s more creative images are on Flickr, and we have maintained correspondence ever since.

PS forgot to mention a new shop just opened near our Swedish office, called Ikea, I wonder if it is still around!