There are firms that do this for a living using the digitised drawings to accurately paste into a street view or landscape. I would recommend getting a couple of quotes as otherwise you could be at risk of misrepresentation if you get it wrong - google 'architectural visualisation'.

McGregNi I really respect your depth of knowledge and authority and you clearly know your way around the intricacies and capabilities of a modern camera so in no way is anything I said intended as a criticism, but before we flog this topic to death can i just make two points? If I was learning to drive I would wait until having mastered the basics before getting a Ferrari! And another motor related analogy: there is a button on my car which switches off all the computerised anti-skid controls if I want to be like a rally-driver; trust me, that button never gets pressed!

By now ReverendRobert must be getting very confused! McGregNi rather disparagingly refers to the scene modes which as someone new to digital I found useful, they modify colour and white balance as well as more obvious controls. I bought the K50 in order to get to grips with Digital SLR and these aspects I mentioned did not figure in 35mm cameras except in film selection. There is far more to take in when changing to digital than I anticipated and although I very rarely use scene modes now it is useful to see what settings get applied. Since I now shoot in RAW and have a rudimentary knowledge of processing they are less critical to get right when pressing the button. I see little point in encouraging someone new to digital to get the sort of camera a semi-professional enthusiast would opt for, especially as different models will be best suited to specific tasks: frame rate is important to sports photography for instance but not for landscape, and I have found my exploratory journey taking unexpected avenues so until now I wouldn't have been able to make an informed choice.

I have found the K50 to be a great camera with all the manual manipulation you could ask for, and capable of taking really sharp well rendered photos so as a learning tool and general all round camera is hard to beat. Contrary to McGregNi I use TAV (an exclusive Pentax feature I believe) almost as a default setting because by manually tuning the speed and aperture it also shows the effect on ISO at a given exposure, and it's a bit silly for people to criticise features just because they don't use them. I am now ready for a camera with other attributes but will keep the K50 as with it's light body and 18-55mm lens it is great for walking around with.

Finally got some results with this lens which won't go straight in the bin!





The last two at 17mm had lens correction applied in Lightroom but I thought the others were best left.

I have just bought the Manfrotto swivel monopod head for £17.99 from Premier Ink and Photographic; looks like it will do the job.

How do articles get into the NEWS section? I ask because if you look at the recent Photowhoa link there are several posts by 'new members' who have only logged on once, have iffy-sounding content and suspicious unrelated links. All makes the article highly questionable.

The support depends on what you are photographing; if staying in one place and photographing wildfowl, say, a tripod with a gimbal head is the no compromise option. In that situation, rather than the bulk and weight of a gimbal I use a fluid damped panning head (still weighs 1kg though); both of these can be used for a spotting scope as well. It is really important to get a steady tripod and robust head as the front of the lens has the annoying habit of dropping slightly when the head is tightened.

However as I tend to walk about more and not built like Arnold Swartznegger I have opted for a carbon fibre Gitzo Traveler monopod with a simple ball head. This combination is very lightweight and from first trial yesterday I'm really pleased; as well as being more portable and less bulky it is also much quicker to set up and doesn't get in the way for hand-held impromptu shots.

Back to Jessops it is then!

44,000 yen whatever that is. Here is the link: http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/japan/products/accessory/index35_closeup.html Amazingly, google will translate

Here is another one, same set-up as before but tried focus stacking 3 images and merged in Lightroom.

Still not getting the degree of sharpness I am after, so it's either equipment or eyesight and I am betting the latter!