mockney piers

Exactly. Plus we're probably talking 50 years for significant changes and by recovery people really mean will my house price go up again in a year ;) And I'm with Sean, things will change for those with ie boats across the atlantic, balloon airfreight, no strawberries in winter etc, but why all doom and gloom? Whereas those without won't notice much, except that all those cheap bullets and guns fuelling endless war might be a bit harder and pricier to come by, which can only be a good thing surely.

The 'kit lens' the OP refers to is these days the general purpose lens that a DSLR ships with. In the case of budget Canon DSLRs its the 18-55 f3.5-5.6 A good starter lens for learning composition and techniques, but the optics aren't good and image quality suffers significantly. The 50 f1.8 is an excellent lens at a very cheap price. To get similar quality from a zoom would be minimum double, nay triple, the price, obviously as you say the trade-off is quality vs flexibility. Also agree with avoiding the longer zooms, they cost ALOT for decent quality.

All good advice. Oh, and if you're looking at pricier lenses you can hire them from places like Calumet which I highly recommend before a huge outlay. You're more than welcome to test drive my 50 though. Fear'n'Boozing has it a the moment *another hint hint if he's lurking*

You do, Finnish. And, Aberdeen Angus Steak House?

indeed, with the 3/4 sensors in most DSLRs that makes your 35 effectively a 50 and my 50 an 80, so your 35 is a great portrait lens.

? First they came for the quangos, And I did not speak out because they're a bunch of squandering bureaucrats who perform no useful function. ? Then they came for the students, And I did not speak out because I got through university when it was free so stuff them. ? Then they came for half a million civil servants, And I did not speak out because there are 172 civil servants who earn more than the Prime Minister and that made me very angry. ? Then they came for the police, And I did not speak out because I'm looking forward to committing more crimes and not getting caught. ? Then they came for the BBC, And I did not speak out because Rupert has repeatedly assured me that the BBC are evil leftie wastrels. ? Then they came for the armed services, And I did not speak out because I never thought they were all heroes anyway. ? Then they came for mummies on child benefit, And I did not speak out because anyone earning 44K a year can always cut back on au pairs and tapas. ? Then they came for the arts, And I did not speak out because a couple of DVDs on a Friday night is all the culture I need. ? Then they came for council tenants, And I did not speak out because only losers live in council houses and I am not a loser. ? Then they came for rail subsidies, And I did not speak out because I can drive there cheaper. ? Then they came for my pension, And I did not speak out because I'm not going to be old and poor for ages. ? Then they came for the community centre round the corner, And I did not speak out, although I'll miss the Spanish evening classes, and the jumble sales they used to run were good, and my nan went there a lot, and I guess they kept those annoying kids off the streets. ? Then they came for the benefit cheats, And I did not speak out because anyone on benefit is a cheat in my book. ? Then they came for my local hospital, And I did not speak out because I'm not planning on being ill any time soon. ? Then they came for the bankers, And I said Oi! No! Bankers perform a crucial role in our economy and their obscene bonuses must be protected at all costs. ? Then they came for my children's future, And I did not speak out because they can jolly well make their own way in life. ? Then they came for all the projects the last government started, And I did not speak out because the entire global crisis was Gordon's fault. ? Then they came for the public sector, And I did not speak out because the private sector can easily absorb half a million unemployed losers on part-time minimum wages. ? Then they came for something fundamental, And I did not speak out because "we simply can't afford it". ? Then they came for the welfare state, And I did not speak out because I'd forgotten what life was like before we had one. ? Then they came for my next-door neighbour, And I did not speak out because cuts aren't a problem when they happen to someone else. ? Then they came for me, And by then mine was just another livelihood on the bonfire and nobody gave a damn. ? And then they smiled, state rolled back, job done. courtesy of Diamond Geezer

I went out with a bella pasta waitress for a wee while. Her tales could turn you grey haired over night. The food was so bad she wouldn't even spit on it leave alone eat it, which is something of a coincidence because potentially libellous anecdotes and the vicar said 'Not on your nelly' aha, ha ha... uhhhh hhhhuuuurrrhhhhhhh.

Ooh ED needs French food, like Cafe Rouge.

In all fairness I do actually use my 24-70 f2.8 more than I use my prime, it's such a beautiful lens, the image quality is astounding, but it also weighs half a ton. My 50 f1.4 died on honeymoon, the autofocus stopped working and if you're not composing a still life or something, autofocus is absolutely vital on those wide apertures. Then all of a sudden it came back to life a couple of months ago for no particular reason. Colour me very happy indeed!!

Here's DP Review's lens buying guide. http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Guides/lens_buying_guide_01.htm I can't help but notice they have a photo of the 50mm F1.8 hint hint ;)

Bonkers!!!! Someone's stock has just gone up a bit i reckon.

Superb effort. Top lad.

Only possible tactic must be to try and trigger an earthquake or volcano and get the game called off surely? Can the whistle come soon enough?

Oh dear oh dear

While they're ickle a rockentot and seat base combo (we had a graco, very reasonable) makes things pretty easy even in a two-door but a proper seat will be a bit of a pain frankly. To be honest we upgraded to four door and it's still a bit of a pain, just one of those things.

I'll have to assume a sense of humour bypass then DulwichMoan? I suppose it depends how you define "better off". I took it to mean financially as it's a pretty well-to-do area. Perhaps you had a more philosophical definition in mind, perhaps you think posh bars, knick-knack shops and cookwank leave us all spiritually poorer? And seriously, what's with the title-case writing, it's unsettling?

Prime lenses are the best bang for your buck and versatility comes with your feet rather than a zoom. 50mm 1.8 is probably the best value canon lens there is at under a ton. If you're feeling fruity the 1.4 has better build quality and slightly sharper, but comes in at about ?250

I've been slipping down the table for years. I'm all faded glory, a QPR of a poster to Keef's Man U and Sean's, well, Arsenal I guess. Brendan must be Chelsea surely.

Technological synaesthesia, something I suffer far too much from.

I saw this done on Blue Peter many many years ago (well, 1983 at any rate) and the young chap received five pound coins in exchange for his promissory note from whoever the hell was the guv'nor back then.

Every Japanese RPG Ever For all mana of zelda fans (see what I did there?) click for a close up

That struck me as a bit odd too Hibbs. And thinking about it, people in East Dulwich probably are, on average, better off than other people, at least the ones in Barrow-in-Furness at any rate.

Do the big words Spoof and Satire provide some sort of hint perhaps?

I went to a pretty rough school. Of course now that I wear my stovepipe hat, it's 'ironic' ;-P

Nope. We didnt have school ties, and thought the schools that did were anachronistic petit borgeouis institutions. But the parents obviously didn't see it that way. I may think similar thoughts about the veil, but these kids parents don't see it that way or they wouldn't be paying to send them there. Unless you meant literally, in which case I suppose it depends on the width and length of the tie.