Still making a profit though.

More relevant to this forum would be that Samsung have recorded their first ever quarterly loss. Just hope they don't cut down on the imaging R&D !!

Ask them, on the slow boat maybe ??

They're ticking over nicely it seems. After finding a severe lack of Pentax gear in Cardiff City centre yesterday I today ordered a Tamron 28-75 & Sigma 530 Super flashgun from them.

With the lack of Pentax availability for me I have to rely on views/reviews to decide what to buy. Of course I'm covered by distance selling laws & can return items (but this is at my cost). I'm sure both the items I've ordered on this occasion will exceed my expectations anyway.

I visited Cardiff yesterday with the intention of buying a WA zoom, Midrange zoom, a Macro Lens, a swivel flash & possibly even a telephoto. Had I been able to test any of these out I would have probably bought them on the spot, had they been satisfactory. (In fact I bought the 12-24 which I did find)

In 4 shops in Cardiff I managed to find:

Pentax 12-24 (bought it)
Pentax 100 (tempting but was kinda sold on buying a 70mm Sigma at time)
Pentax 50-135 (only Pentax Lens in shop & covered in dust in the window - so didn't bother asking for a price)
Pentax 200 + 360 flashes (want swivel capability so no go for me)
Sigma 28 f1.8 (Tried it out, nicely built, was tempted but 30mm f1.4 makes more appeal)


SRS by carrying good stocks, combined with competitive price & good customer service it seems are making a few quid & should be a model to others. Had they been sited in Cardiff yesterday I would have happily come away with all I wanted.

Did you manage to get a good price Vikram ?

Don, as you asked for feedback I'll be honest, I'm usually in the "if you can't say anything nice, then say nothing at all" camp.
So here are my opinions, right or wrong !

Canvas effect is at odds with the fine detail in the net curtains.

Right hand side of image far too blue. I know it's meant to be lit by the
moon but it's too saturated for me.

Lighting is all over the place - to really fool the eye with these types of images you need to get the lighting spot on so your brain doesn't shout "hang on a minute !" - Mainly the lack of any blue highlights on objects on the left third of the image & the strong top lighting on the small boy are the main offenders. I see you've given a localised glow around the boy to simulate a light source but it's still at odds with the brightness of his hair etc.

Pro's spend hundreds of hours creating a convincing composite image with immense attention to detail, I don't know if I'd have the patience, so well done for trying (especially as it's a family project)

Probably not, but I would be able to return it at any time during the next 12 months if it was defective.

Not having a go Peter, just thought I'd point out that it's a little overpriced for a private sale. On the plus side you are undercutting Argos who have the Samsung version priced at £391

Bristol Cameras have them brand new for £69.

It's at £411 with Walters PhotoVideo (my local Pentax Pro Dealer) - I popped into Cardiff today to feed my LBA, there was little on offer, but I found the 12-24 in Jacobs Digital & they matched Walters price. I didn't know they were out of stock in Walters at the time as most stores wont price match if out of stock.

Well I bought the 12-24 today for a very nice price of £410 - Now to claim another £50 back from Pentax.

I have some experience with that setup.
Firstly find the appropriate menu in Custom Settings to change "Using Aperture Ring" to "Permitted" then use Manual on the dial as you are doing. Once you've set the desired aperture on the Lens, pressing the green button should then stop down the Lens & Meter. It can be well underexposed though so check result & decrease shutter speed or open aperture using ring on lens as required to give a good exposure.

No need for optical preview.