Suggestions ...

My first comment on both of those would be to replace the Pentax 360 with a Metz 48 - it's both cheaper and more powerful [EDIT: Stefan beat me to it!]. However the suggestions above from John and Oggy are sound: better to get a twin kit (for the tele you have the choice of the WR of the 50-200 or the extra reach of the 55-300) and then add new lenses as needed than buy a crate of stuff for specialisms (e.g. wildlife at 500mm) he might not actually have any interest in.

So I'd suggest, at most:

K7 Twin Lens Kit (18-55 WR and 50-200 WR) - £919
Metz 48 AF1 - £150
Sandisk Extreme III 4Gb SDHC card - £14.99
Camera bag (Crumpler New Delhi 510?) - £109.99
Redsnapper RS-284 tripod with 3-way head - £69.95

Silkypix Developer Studio Pro - £159.00 [alternatively Adobe Lightroom, which I use. About the same price but wait for version 3 which is imminent]

This includes everything (except a computer obviously!) that your friend needs to get started in the DSLR world, and comes to £1422.93. That leaves a very substantial sum for adding nice lenses according to how his interests develop.

In their latest incarnations both have OS and HSM even in Pentax fit apparently. The 50-500 seems to have lost it's EX rating so things may have changed.

the new 50-500mm has gone from an 86mm filter upto a 96mm filter and from a f4/6.3 upto a f4.5/6.3 but is suppse to be as good optically as the old version and better than the 150-500mm, but it should be at 3500 more.
heres it up agaist a nikon 500mm f4 if interested.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1030&message=35141517

The reason for the lack of EX rating is that Sigma have decided that from now on they will only give it to a lens with a fixed focal length. From what I could see when using the 50-500mm with the Canon 7D that Dave kindly lent me the actual IQ was as good (but no better) than my copy in Pentax mount.

I still think these new lenses are more to keep that Canon/Nikon crowd happy as they (obviously) want IS/OS/VR/SR .

If he is happy with second hand stuff:
Horseman LE for about 300
Three lenses with lensboards and shutters 1000 (I was lucky and got mine for less)
Bag bellows and bellows 100
tripod/cable release 150
spotmeter 150
darkslides 100
dark cloth 40
BTZS developing tubes 100
other darkroom essentials 100
5x4 capable flatbed scanner 350

Total 2,200 which leaves 2,800 for film.

Actually, there is a serious point to this. How can you buy stuff until you know what you want to achieve, and what you like? I would tell him to buy a K7 two lens kit (with the 55-300mm), a tripod, some polarizers and a remote release and then go away and take photos. After a few months he'll be saying "I wish I could get closer", "the lens isn't wide/long enough", "I wish it was lighter", "I wish the IQ was better..." and then we can start feeding his LBA. To start off with a monster lens like the Bigma will just cause grief.

K.

First a reasonably priced bridge camera, taking at least 20-30.000 shots in all four seasons inside-outside and playing with the pictures in any of the photoshop like programme. After this he will know exactly the next step.

I went straight for a K10D, my first camera ever so it can certainly be done

I think this guy should forget all about a bridge camera and instead buy the bridge I happen to have for sale, going cheap-cheap relative to the purported description.

He sounds exactly like the kind of target customer I had in mind.

One camera, one lens to start with. Any more than that will simply cause confusion, make it far more tricky to learn. If he has that much money burning a hole in his pocket, he would be FAR FAR better off with the above and a good photo course....

I think perhaps your friend should buy an MX, a 50mm lens and shoot some velvia. Take a bit of time and explore the camera and get to understand what is involved. £5000 is an unbelievable amount to spend to start out. If he were to push the boat out he could maybe buy a 24mm lens, an 85mm for portraits and a tripod. Stiil probably under £500.

Richard

Ozette beach Pentax MX, 24mm lens, fuji velvia
Pentax LX, 50mm f1.4, fuji pro 400h

Manchester portrait photographer

Even though I (a) shoot film fairly often and (b) have and love both the LX and the MX I disagree with you on this one. My experience is that people learn the basics of photography far faster using digital than they do with film. For example, if you want to experiment with DOF you are unlikely to shoot off a whole roll of film on one shot just to experiment, and when it comes back you have forgotten which is which. With digital you can photograph any old thing, play around with the f-stops, get a good feeling for what the impact is of the different settings, then delete the lot if need be. I, personally, find it good to use film to slow myself down and remember lessons I learnt the hard way but I would have learnt those lessons far quicker with digital!

I do, however, agree with you that to spend £5000 straight out is madness. The K-7 and a 16-45mm lens, tripod, flash, polarizer and software would make an excellent start.

Best wishes, Kris.

It has just struck me that my suggestion of the 55-300 isn't as good as I intended. I got it as part of a bundle with my K20 and 18-55 II but as far as I can see there is no similar bundle for the K7.

I would agree with Kris about digital being better for a newcomer. Surely the ability to see almost immediately the results of your endeavour and the minimal cost of actually taking a picture have to be helpful.

My point was that rather than laying out loads of cash, it is probably best to take some time and learn the skills required to use any camera. I still think that is best done with an entirely manual camera. That camera could be film or digital. Obviously you do not have to pay out for film and processig with digital, but a film camera is much cheaper initially and if you want to change it you will get nearly all your money back.

One other thing about film that often seems to be forgotten is the creativity afforded by exploring differences in film properties, both in grain and colour. Lately I have been shooting with fuji’s fabulous neopan 1600 and love the grain it gives.

The largest cost of buying a car is the depreciation not the fuel.

Richard