Just thought it was worth sharing my experience of my new printer.

My last one broke (basic home model - not really designed for photos but used for general printing, scanning etc) and the cost of repairing wasn't worth it. I was looking for another all-in-one printer to replace it, again not really looking for a printer to replace my photo printing needs (for which I use DSCL).

I ended up with an Epson XP760 at £120. It performs well for my needs and I figured that, at that price, I may as well opt for the 6-ink model and print the occasional one-off photos at home (for snapshots or when I didn't have enough to justify the postage from DSCL).

Having printed some photos at the weekend I am very impressed! I'm using PermaJet Oyster 271 and the combination gives really excellent results! PermaJet's website has some basic setting suggestions for their paper and Epson Claria inks and these work wonders. I'll still do my larger format and different paper printing at DSCL but for 7x5 album photos this is all I need. I can print the pictures frequently and enjoy them rather than saving them up for a bulk order at DSCL. I compared next to some lab prints and I couldn't see any difference.

PermaJet do a free profiling service for their papers so I may even do this to squeeze the best results out.

I was planning on installing a CIS system for home printing. I have found one that takes Epson OEM inks so have ordered it. I'll try the prints but it won't be the Claria inks so quality may suffer. If it does I will keep a set of the cartridges around for photo printing and use the CIS for documents etc.

I know this isn't a replacement for the more professional or semi-professional rigs that a lot of you use. However if someone is looking for a general printer replacement and doesn't need A3 then I can highly recommend the XP760.

OK, strictly speaking this is not a "deal" but these cases are generally unavailable in the UK. Importing from B&H in the US seems to be the only option to get hold of them. However...

Microglobe currently has them in stock. I can confirm this as popped in at lunchtime and picked one up.

link

Not exactly cheap at £38 but if you compare it to the cost of a plane ticket to buy one from the US then it is a bargain

Just wanted to add that the package arrived quickly and well protected. The flash was as described and I'm looking forward to using it properly.

7avensis7 was a pleasure to deal with.

WG

Can't comment on the 21mm but I understand it has lovers and haters (haters might be a strong word... we could say some people don't seem to get on with it)

I own both the 15mm and the 12-24mm though and both are excellent.

For dedicated landscape shoots I would definitely take the the 12-24 and a tripod. The versatility in framing and extra width really make a difference, and the the image is sharp across the whole picture. Also, if you are walking around a crowded city, the extra 3mm width can make a difference to fit a subject in.

You cannot beat the 15mm as a compact wide angle option though. If I'm carrying a few lenses and not expecting lots of landscapes then I will bung it in. It has fantastic image quality and once you stop it down a bit is very sharp across the frame (which is likely how you will be using it). Centre sharpness is brilliant from wide open.

There's also filters to consider and I can add an 8 stop ND filter and a polarising filter very easily for the 15mm but the equivalents for the 12-24mm take up a lot more space.

Ultimately I think it depends on application and what you prefer to compromise. Simply put, the 12-24mm sacrifices portability for versatility.

On my way to work (from Wimbledon) I always see a couple of flocks of parakeets in the morning and usually some on the way home. That's changed over the 5 years I've been there as they used to be a rare occurence. Seems they are thriving in the UK.

Happened to me once in Iceland. I wasn't sure if it was the cold.

Nothing since though so doesn't seem to be a recurring problem with mine.

Thanks guys - rapid responses and very helpful (I love this forum).

I thought I'd checked SRS and thought it was more expensive. Must be going mad...

I still think £19 is a bit steep (although the best price out there!) but I'm unlikely to find anything equivalent. Looks like I'll place an order this afternoon.

Manesty - very interesting! I'll check some of the images tonight. If nothing else it will give me a better idea of the temperature than I currently have. The -9 was from a roadside temperature sensor about 15 mins from where we were watching for the lights.

Afternoon All

I had a slight accident while on holiday in Iceland and the lens hood for my Samsung 12-24mm (essentially the same as the Pentax equivalent) fell off and was immediately blown over the edge of a cliff. Better than losing the entire lens, I suppose!

Anyway, I'm in the market for a replacement lens hood. The Pentax offical one is an eye-watering price for a piece of moulded plastic. Does anyone have any recommendations for me?

Incidentally, I performed an inadvertant cold conditions performance test of the K3. I can confirm it works perfectly well with a crust of ice over one side of the camera in sub zero conditions (estimate -9 C)

Are you trying to encourage people to sell, Mike?

It's a classic discussion on here - the old 3rd party battery question.

I reckon it comes down to what you're willing to pay for with regards to peace of mind. There is no doubt that the 3rd party batteries are far cheaper - what is uncertain is how well they perform (or in extreme cases, whether they are prone to catastrophic failure).

As long as they perform reasonably closely (and not 1/10th of the power) then arguably you have more bang for your buck.

Personally I have used 3rd party batteries for years and the performance has always been broadly equivalent to the OEM batteries (to the point I can't recognise a difference in the field). None have ever exploded or leaked. If I had bought Pentax originals I would have spent over £200 more on batteries.

HOWEVER: I've never had a problem. If a battery did fail then I'm sure I'd have a different point of view. Hence why it comes down to peace of mind. Personally I've never seen any statistics on batteries failing. It mainly seems to be annecdotal but maybe I'm wrong.