C and C, please.

Thanks, K.

Personally I'd go for your option 3.

K.

K.

The official repairer did a good job on my lens but weren't quick...

Use the Pentax kit, the blowers can cause more problems than they solve. There is a video on youtube demonstrating its use.

By the way, someone at Pentax has a sense of humour as the part number for the kit is O-ICK1

K.

Very true Mike but I don't often cart grey cards around with me, e.g. on the cliffs of Cornwall last weekend where the blue of the sky/sea was messing up the white balance and the howling gale would have whipped the cards out of my hands in a flash... For photographing artefacts I use a grey card both for white balance and determining exposure.

K.

Nic,

Sorry to hear about your K10.

1) Yes, there appear to be big differences. The shutter in the K7, for example, is much quieter and faster than the K10, and even the K20 seems (to my ears at least) quieter suggesting differences in manufacture.

2) The K20D is a good upgrade from the K10D while being familiar enough that there is no learning curve.

Best wishes, Kris.

If you are really concerned about the white balance shoot something white and then use that to correct your WB at the RAW conversion stage (or in camera at the shooting stage if you are using jpeg).

I have found that auto white balance gives different values when shooting exactly the same scene but using different lenses at the same focal length.

Best wishes, Kris.

The poem "In Flanders Fields" starts:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

The poem was written by a Canadian, John McCrae, but inspired Moina Michael, an American, to make 25 silk poppies for a conference which in turn inspired a French lady, Anna E. Guérin, to sell poppies. In 1921 she sent poppy sellers to London where the symbol was then adopted by Haig.

K.

The Tammy has other annoying quirks though and I miss quick-shift but for 40 quid I am not complaining and it gets a lot of use (and is currently my longest lens). The "macro" mode is rather nice though.

K.