Although I now buy and largely enjoy AP, I find it highly variable and occasionally just plain wrong, e.g., the tosh they printed about focal lengths in the autumn.

K.

Nor is it a ipad forum but that didn't stop 'em going on for pages and pages and p..zzzzzzz......

It is funny that CAMRA largely campaigns for "real beer" rather than "real ale". Originally "ale" did not include hops whereas beer did. That rather nice [in the original meaning of the word 'nice'] distinction has gone the way of all things. Also, I guess, CAMRB doesn't trip off the tongue quite so easily.

K.

Two weeks ago I bought a lens from Ireland. It was sent on the Monday, should have been delivered on the Wednesday. It didn't arrive so I phoned up "FedExUK". There is an address problem, they said. So I gave them the correct one. Friday came and went. Saturday, nobody answered the phone. Monday I rang. There is an address problem, the lady said. "I'll upgrade it to our before 12 service" she said. Note this is "before 12" a week late. Tuesday came and went. I phoned again. This time the lady said they would phone me at 7.30am on Thursday to confirm delivery instructions and it'll be there before 12. I got up in time for the early call. Nothing. at 12.30pm I went to the office, no sign of the lens. It was delivered to my neighbours at 5.05pm. When I checked, the original label had the correct address, the one added by FedExUK had the wrong one.

Last week I bought three things. All were posted on Friday with the Royal Mail. One was sent "guaranteed to be delivered before midday Monday." All arrived on the Saturday.

Essentially, if you live out of the way, private courier companies cannot be bothered to deliver it most of the time. The Royal Mail has let me down once in eight years. When I order stuff online I now specifically ask the sender to use Royal Mail. Anyone else is a disaster.

K.

The M40 isn't rare but it is popular hence it's inflated price compared to other lenses. As I am about to sell one the more over-inflated the price the better.

Rare is one of the most over-used words on ebay. I have even seen copies of Monopoly described as "rare" The K/A 50mm f/1.2 lenses are always described as rare and although they are much less common than some lenses, they turn up on ebay pretty regularly. The M 30mm that Clarky got in his bargain purchase is pretty uncommon though. The lesson I learnt early on with ebay is that there is almost always another one along soon, and patience snags a bargain. Sometimes.

K.

Like Clarky I have bought some odds and sods from him for OK prices (like an M series winder cover) all by making an offer. One item went astray recently but he refunded me immediately which was good of him. Generally, however, his prices (especially for lenses) is way OTT.

K.

I second that (with tilt too, please) but I thought this was the realistic wants list...

K.

I'm afraid my rinky-dinky ebay sales database is a bit out of date now. I got rather fed up with it when I could no longer just right-click and save the image on the ebay sales page.

For what is worth, the 19 sales of this lens I have in the database average at 60 pounds, but given the current price inflation I think you could easily add 20 to that now.

I, too, will have one for sale soon. I bought a job lot of stuff which included this lens and I shall be selling it on ebay, along with a 50mm f/1.7 and a 28mm f/2.8 (all M-series), and probably various other bits of surplus stuff I have ended up with over the last few years.

Best wishes, Kris.

I picked up one of those as part of a job lot a couple of weeks back. Currently loaded with Delta 100 but haven't had a chance to use it yet. On first inspection it looks a but fiddly compared to the MX or LX I used most of the time.

K.

They are all very good photos. I especially love the simplicity and graphic nature of the second shot, really nice. The first one is the sort of shot I think about taking and never have the guts to actually do! It is excellent and full of character. I am not so keen on the last one though, the statues are very dark and there is a bit of burnt out sky. I might have tried a slightly different angle (if that is even possible) so that the range is a little less.

Which lens did you use for the second one?

Best wishes, Kris.