I have never really used DoF tables, but I have used the markings on the lens (if the lens has them). Most often that involves putting infinity at the mark for the current aperture so as to maximise the depth of field.

From a business point of view, this sort of thing makes me despair. We all love Pentax but some jobsworthy is shooting the company in the foot.

Scenario A, the one with have here. We are all groaning how daft this is. It is now on this list and will be available for billions of people around the world to read for many years to come.

Scenario B, someone with half a brain gets your email and thinks "Not worth worrying about" and posts you one. You are happy, you tell us you are happy, we all think "Good ol' Pentax". This time the posts available to the world are positive and happy. Worth a couple of bucks of anyone's money.

I find it interesting so many people say "I don't like HDR..." HDR can go from really very subtle to horribly garish depending on how you do it. Some photographers deliberately go for the "over cooked" look which is where, I guess, the feeling is coming from. At the other end of the scale it is possible to use it to prevent burnt out highlights and noisy shadows in a more subtle way.

Back to the OP... I love the composition and again I find myself liking a fish-eye image despite myself. I do feel in this case, however, the HDR is a bit over-cooked as you said from the outset.

Cheers, Kris.

I think that too... less beer, more exercise, no kneeling in the mud. I wonder if the titanium in my knee will affect the trade in value...

Mine too, hence the spirit level comment. You cannot beat using a tripod for these sorts of photos.

Expose to the right, i.e. check the histogram and make sure that there is nothing beyond the right hand edge. The photo overall may look horribly dark and under-exposed. Then use something like CS3's shadow-highlight tool to bring the shadows back. If you overdo it, however, it will look noisy. In extreme cases you might have to use a HDR (high dynamic range) program which essentially sandwiches several exposures of the same photo together.

Best wishes, Kris.

As everyone has said, inside shot much nicer. I have found that using a little hotshoe mounted spirit level helps hugely when setting up this sort of photo. Some tripod heads have built in spirit levels.

With outside shots, don't be afraid to get everything level then crop a big slice off the bottom, unless you can find something eye-catching to fill the foreground such as spring flowers or interesting tombs.

Cheers, Kris.

The SMC Takumar 85mm f/1.8 is legendary. Unfortunately, it goes for legendary prices too

The Super Tak/SMC Tak 135mm f/3.5 is relatively common but a nice lens.

Word of warning... they tend to fall off easily. I got a +2 one and lost it within about a week when I undid the ever-ready case

Anyone got a FA-1W viewfinder?

Welcome to the fora and enjoy your K10D and fisheye.

Cheers, Kris.