A gratuitous picture of a flower snapped this lunchtime as I was testing my new camera. I've just upgraded to a digital SLR, because they are now unbeleivably cheap - in 12 months the price has halved. Shows it's not always best to be an early adopter.

How did I decide what to get? It came down to a choice between the Nikon D-50 (which gets the best reviews) and the Pentax *ist DL2, which were both about the same price. I ended up opting for the Pentax, simply because I already have a number of Pentax lenses which I can use with this camera. Quality so far has been stunning, and it's an easy camera to live with. Still like my old Pentax cameras, though, even if I won't use them again.