Hopefully many will go to those using a Pentax for the first time and increase the demand for lenses.

I was recently given Salgado’s Amazonia photo book, an extraordinary endeavour shot entirely in black and white over many years. There are basically two categories, aerial shots of the vast landscape and portrait photos of tribes some visited by the outside world for the first time. I gather for the latter black and white was convenient because of the low light levels in many scenes; we miss the vibrant colours of adornments but the focus of interest is on the faces. For the aerial landscape shots though I think colour would have given a far stronger message with all those miles of vibrant green.

I see some websites calling for a mono version of the GRIII which would make a lot of sense as well but I get the logic of using a platform compromising size with high resolution.

I agree it’s a great idea and a bold move. The problem for me is the YouTube videos including Ricoh’s own promotion use landscape and wildlife examples, none of which to me look better than if shot in colour. For instance, a stand of white birches with dead bracken providing the only colour of lovely tan would make a great colour photo if imaginatively framed but in mono just looks dull and flat. Where are the dramatically lit street photos, portraits or contrasty architecture?

Given the extra resolution the mono sensor achieves, and in the Ricoh video I could only see the difference in very high ISO comparisons, the best and sharpest lenses are needed to do it justice. Part of me thinks it would be a good buy but I would hate to be out and about with it and see a fantastic colour shot! I have been drawn to mono recently but realise that only certain shots work better in that milieu although I love the no compromise approach.

Thanks for your interest HarisF1, it is the Intuos Pro medium size. Your interest is tempting and I have considered putting it on eBay but the frustrating thing is it works fine as soon as it is plugged into my Macbook Pro and once on the iMac but the last time I tried it Wacom tech support gave up after the usual fixes and said my computer must be at fault, so if I ever replace my desktop then hopefully it will work on there as well.

A few years ago I damaged the second finger on my right hand and find now that it gets sore after using a computer mouse for a bit, so I dusted off my Wacom medium tablet to give it another go instead. The last time I set it up for the iMac I had to set up a new user account and migrate all my files across, so the Wacom would actually work. This time the same problem arose so I spent all yesterday and most of today trying to get it to work, only to completely mess up the computer to the extent it wouldn’t recognise my Apple ID (unknown error!). Luckily I was able to restore the computer to before I messed it up and packed the Wacom back into the cupboard. Just bought a trackpad to try instead!

In case you are wondering why I have spelt out my woes it is to remind myself to never ever get that damned tablet out again!

Hi All

I took this shot last week in TAV mode (K1 + 150-450mm lens) and hadn't realised until I got home that somehow I had spun the shutter speed down from 1/1000 to 1/6400 sec, the sort of speed I never get near to; this meant the ISO was 5000 so I expected lots of noise. There was some but not significant and the software easily cleaned that up, but what knocked me sideways was the sharpness and clarity of the image that resulted. I have always been conservative with shutter speeds to keep the ISO down but this has opened up new possibilities.

I was offered £300 for mine a while ago but I don’t have the heart to sell it, it’s one of things that you might need as soon as it’s gone!

Love them, I have the poppies all over my garden.

Thanks Lubbyman, it was their “official” photographer who asked for my photos and posted my link on Facebook. They could have downloaded medium size files which was my intention but I have reduced these now to minimum size files following Gareth’s advice. I understand and empathise with Parkrun’s approach but it was the accusation that I was not being honest and wanting to profit from the event that rankled.

Thanks again Gareth, model releases are only needed for commercial use and the major stock companies do not require them for editorial use so I am pretty safe there. Anyhow I have no way of contacting most of the subjects and the prints will only be viewed by a handful of judges and a small audience.