Awfully Portly Optic?

Michael

And me now. I was getting a 'could not be found' earlier.

Michael

Tim,

That link fails for me. Is it correct?

Michael

Perhaps I might add a few words in support of George's plea for proper English.

Obviously being understood is the most important thing, but correct use of a language in terms of spelling, punctuation, capitalization and so on actually helps readers to read, and so understand, more quickly and more easily.

Whilst most regular posters here appear literate and therefore well able to cope with irregularities we should perhaps remember visitors looking for information who may have problems reading (and there are more of them than we realise) or for whom English is not their first language. They will not find it as easy to read a badly written post neither will they be helped to improve their own English.

And then (in other places rather than here) there's textese

Michael

And we may come across guys on journeys, just like any plural noun with a vowel before a final y when in the singular. Everyone who writes proper English knows that.

John,

So what? Expectation is no guarantee of performance. I would not have expected an Apple battery to be potentially dangerous, but some actually ignited in use.

Branding may sometimes give a greater chance of redress in the event of problems. It may sometimes reflect care that the manufacturer takes in sourcing and monitoring suppliers. It may also reflect the fact that the cheapest bidder has been told to stick a certain label on.

No one here has given any information about Pentax policy on sourcing, or seems to know where Pentax batteries are made or provided anything other than anecdotal evidence about comparisons with non-Pentax batteries.

In the absence of hard facts I would suggest that buying an appropriately specified item from a reputable supplier is just as good as buying a branded item (except of course for the brand dealer who loses the mark up).

Michael

I had to manage without my laptop battery for a while because the original Apple battery was one of the exploding variety made by Sony a bit back.

Surely what matters is not the name on the label, not even the name of the manufacturer, but the standard of materials and the quality control in the factory?

Michael

An Olympus Pen D half-frame, a fantastic little camera that I've had for over 40 years. I still take it on 'major' holidays with a roll of print film in it in case my two Spotmatics go belly up.

A Lubitel 166B I got in the 1980s to see how a TLR worked (and got some great results with it). I haven't used it for a very long time, but still fire the shutter from time to time in case I want to try it again.

A Panasonic FZ7 I got a few months ago and which converted me (a confirmed Luddite) to digital photography. Which is why I have a K10D ordered.

Michael

There's an eBay dealer called camera.japan who sometimes sells 'used' genuine Pentax M42 adaptors which appear to be new. Around £16.50 air mail via Buy It Now. Seems reliable and helpful. Keep an eye for him when searching eBay.

Michael

I just got one from PC World Business for £82 delivered.

Michael