You don't need a new Mac! I have a 450MHz Powermac with 1 GB memory, it works perfectly with heavy graphic apps, Portfolio, Photoshop etc.

In the UK you have http://www.2ndchancepc.co.uk/maccpus.html

Mac has both worlds Mac and Unix, what more can one want?

Hi Matt,

I have come to a conclusion to part-ex DL for the K10D, so thank you for that valuable information, also it is good to see the focussing screen can be changed.

The LL-80 AF Cross-Lined Matte Focusing Screen, would be for me. I was not aware of these optional screens.

So thanks for the info.

Cheers Steve

Yes I know it is a rangefinder, the point was that I have owned several cameras from relatively cheap to expensive over a number of decades and not one of them as ever shown up a problem of dirt on the focussing screen that I cannot get to clean without returning to the manufacturer for "repair". This is why I stick by what I said, in my mind this is clearly a manufacturing fault. Further this is something that will make me be cautious when replacing the DL for another Pentax - even though I love the rest of camera, the feel of it, the way it works and so on. I would be very annoyed indeed if I sold my DL , bought the K10 or K100, only to get the same dust problem on the focussing screen.

In 35mm days, I had Canon, Nikon and Leica - never a dirt problem on the focussing screen whatsoever from Canon AE-1 onwards to a Leica M, and if there had been dirt in the focussing area, I would have been back like a shot.

On My DL, I got dirt specs on the part of the focussing screen that a user cannot reach i.e. the top part, 2 months into ownership. Not impressed with that at all. I have had stuff on the sensor, but between a blower brush and an Artic Butterfly no problems. However the focussing screen dirt remains, and when look through the viewfinder you see it all.

I have been quoted 200 swiss francs to clean it, but so far I have refused to have it done.

From my point of view this is a design fault and I wonder whether the new K cameras have the same inbuilt fault?

FAQ is a good idea. I liked in the January Issue of the magazine the article on how to remove blemishes. That sort of article be it in the magazine, in a e-mail newsletter or here on the forum is what attracts me to clubs. Learning and helping others when I can. This is the fun for me in the User Club.

too right! I like very much the tree shot, really brilliant details.

on a no-name 19" lcd Claxan, I find the third one too dark, the second one quite nice, but I have to agree the first is the best on my monitor. It also depends on what you like! My preference would be number two as it looks sharper on my monitor. However I prefer the colours on the first one. The interesting question for me on all these is how close they are to original as seen by the photographer. As someone else says, we could talk around those subjects for days on end.

I have just installed Ubuntu 7.04 what does recognise k10d .pef images and convert to jpg is rawstudio, http://rawstudio.org

Actually this is what I had, a cheapusb/fw enclosure and a Maxtor 80GB drive. However the enclosure had a failure in its switching mechanism, which managed to as well as make the enclosure US, it crapped the hard disk as well.

So as in all things, one gets what one pays for.

I replaced with a Lacie ext HD.