Wow! Wish you hadn't posted that link....that is gorgeous...just like having my old Zorki 4 back! Hasn't got a zoom lens though, fortunately for my wallet

Can get punched round my way just for looking at a person, let alone photographing them...

The Sigma gets mixed reviews but a lot of people say it is a great lens. I use the Pentax FA 31 f1.8, which does the job very nicely but costs twice as much. Is it worth the extra? Dunno really, because like most people I don't own both to do a genuine comparison.

I'm not convinced there is much to choose between any current Pentax lens for centre frame sharpness at moderate apertures. They are all good. The difference shows at the edges and wide open.

Primarily to try out my long awaited FA 31, a couple of weeks ago I tested all my lenses by taking shots of a skin lotion bottle with a lot of small print on it, using available light, f8, camera on a tripod with remote release. The 18-55 WR and 16-45 were among the other lenses I used. The result was a damp squib...however much I enlarged them they all looked equally sharp.

Since then I've put my new baby to some real world use and it is starting to show it's worth...thank goodness

I'm interested in this thread as I too would like a wider lens to add to my DA 21, which I use a lot. My preference is for small lenses so I'm most tempted by the DA15. The combined weight of the DA 15 and DA 21 is significantly less than the DA 12-24, and they focus closer (and I already have a 49mm CPL filter, the cost of a 77mm is worth thinking about). However would 15mm really give me that much more than the 16-45 I already have? And, as Simon says, the reviews of the DA 15 are critical of sharpness wide open...

...all of which means that I'm also undecided and interested in what people have to say on the subject

http://www.flickr.com/photos/railwayman/5371047702/

I took this shot of my collection the other day, all Pentax and mostly primes as you can see. My latest is the 100 macro (thanks Currys). I would like a DA15 at some point. The old M50 1.7 looks good on the K5 doesn't it...

I've also been looking for a quality compact but I've yet to find one with all the features I would like; I'm sure one will come along soon.

FWIW this is my personal list of pros and cons of the main contenders-

I like the idea of the Olympus XZ-1 because it seems like a long overdue update of the C5050 which also had a quality 1.8 lens and produced stunning results. That was my first digital camera 7 years ago and exceeded my expectations in every respect bar one - durabilty. It broke after 3 years careful use.

I'm sure the G12 will give good results (my son-in-law has a G9 and it is very good) but it is a tad large and I would have liked a faster lens.

The LX5 has a lot going for it but is maybe a bit small to get a decent grip and does not have an articulated screen, which is a feature I find handy. Same for the S95.

The EX-1 fits very nicely in the hand and seemed to have it all - until I read a review that said it was not very good at controlling noise.

So I'll carry on using my Sony TX5 as a pocket camera for now. The images are not up to the standard of any of the above but it is waterproof and tough (though not as tough as they claim, my daughter dropped it onto the kitchen floor and it now has a dark area at the edge of each shot - hey, ho)

Yup, that method works nicely. I've had PSE for almost a year now and I'm still only scratching the surface of what it can do.

Thanks Jon, I'll go and have a play...

When reading lens reviews I often see comments like 'this lens suffers from some purple fringing but this is easily removed in processing'. I use PSE 8 and have yet to uncover this facility (other than by laboriously cloning). Am I missing something or does PSE not have this feature?