Being a "pro"... being a "pro" what? Wedding photographer? Newspaper hack? Sports photographer? Fashion photographer? The photographer at the Institute of Archaeology? Paparazzi? Bit of everything?

The Pentax system, in the right hands, is capable of producing extremely high quality images. The Pentax range is a bit more limited than other makes. For example, we do not have a tilt-shift lens and the choice for ultra-fast long telephotos is rather limited but there is an excellent series of wide/normal/short tele primes and zooms of superb image quality and excellent build.

To take an example. I recently went to an exhibition of photographs of New York City parks by Joel Meyerowitz. Joel had used an SLR system for his images on the aftermath of the World Trade Centre attack. As I went around the display I was stunned by the size of the images (they often took up a whole wall), how sharp they were close-up and the amazing depth of field. "I wonder if he used a 5x4 view camera" I said to myself. The book of the exhibition confirmed my suspicions. The point of this digression is that he used the best tools for the job not that he used Nikon or Canon or Pentax. I couldn't tell you which SLR system he used previously, nor could I tell you which 5x4 system he used.

You need to define what equipment you need for your particular type of photography, and then see who makes it. You may find you have no choice, you may find you have many options.

Best wishes, Kris.

Thanks for letting me know about Aperture and non-destructive editing. It is a superb way of working.

The BW conversion I have in mind is quite specific in that you have the ability to click and drag on colours you want lighter or darker. For example, you can click in an area of blue sky and drag to make it dark like using a red filter, or you can click on a face and drag to darken or lighten the skin tones. It is the most flexible way of converting to BW I have come across and allows for very subtle conversions.

Best wishes, Kris.

My thoughts exactly. I prefer sniping largely because it stops me getting carried away with bidding.

BTW Mike... haven't you sold that 85mm lens?

K.

Does Elements / Aperture have something like the B&W conversion layer that CS3 / Lightroom has?

One big advantage of Lightroom is that the edits are non-destructive so you can always go back to the original file without having to save/keep multiple copies. You can also have virtual copies so you can try different edits and compare. I dare say other packages do something similar, but it has been a major plus point for me.

K.

I must admit that 68 quid for a metal ring with a spring is a bit OTT. I was a bit taken aback when I bought one before the price rise! Luckily, I just got a second one attached to the back of a screw-mount lens.

K.

Don't make the mistake of under-rating the kit lens, it is a pretty good performer. This was taken with one.

K.

I have some nice macros of a wild orchid taken with the 40-80mm using an LX and Kodachrome 64 and they seem pretty sharp. I haven't scanned them yet.

K.

I have just one word to say: esnipe

K.

You would probably mess up IQ something rotten. I'd go for the Sigma or similar if I was you. K.

I love Lightroom, but it is pricier than Elements. If you are on a budget, check out GIMP. It is free...

K.