Dan

Spot on , you almost guessed it, well the shop is the same but its near the other branch that I live in. But same shop so I got to give that one to you, well spotted mate haha.

I haven't had the need to go all the way to Watford because this one is five minutes from here and although its a smaller branch I get things ordered from the other branch and collect it here if they dont have it in stock. Up to now they have had everything I had wanted except the gorilla pod that they are getting delivered from the other branch.

Well, you were right mate, being so close means once I decide to get something I dont get any cooling off period where sometimes I might have a change of mind and then decide not to go for it. Proof of that is I already got the 55-300 one and although I had already decided almost for certain to go for that one instead of the Tamron one after all your help and advice, I got into the shop and asked to see both the lenses and tried them both. One thing that instantly jumped to my sight was the physical size difference, the Tamron is wider in diameter, not that this aspect would have influenced my decision but it was there, visually and getting to chat with the helpful assistant the issue of warranty came up and he mentioned that pentax carried 2 years warranty, and also the nice pouch that it came included, well, all those minor not so significant aspects with the exception of the warranty of course, and me already having gone with the mind settled to spend the £189 it was the 55-300 that came home with me )).

And I am thrilled. It gives a totally new meaning to the term capturing long distance shots to a rookie like me.

Got home and instantly mounted the tripod in my garden backing lounge and opened the patio doors hoping to catch glimpses of any birds or squirels around. Managed some shots of the odd bird on the trees enough to just test the lense (and before you ask to see the shots let me tell you they are still not of the quality for uploading ) I was more like testing the range. And I was thrilled. Am absolutely ecstatic with this one. Cant wait for an early sunday morning run if weather permits to go out and try the kit.

Thanks again for all your help, it was absolutely indispensable in my decision to acquire this lense.

Amin

At what bargain prices is one able to get from those places Mike? In your experience is it possible to get at a good discounted prices compared to new ones? Would it be 50% cheaper? more or less? Just to have an idea thats all. Not used to look for these items on the forums and ebay, although I do shop for other gadgets.
Would be interesting to know that. And what is the reliability of the stuff you have bought?

Thanks

Amin

Mike

so you have been there, exactly where I am at this precise moment.

One other question please, perhaps slightly off the mark but still to do with lenses, my local shop sells a lot of refurbished lenses, and I am assuming they might be pretty cheap, haven't looked at those yet, but what would be your take in that? By the way the shop is a Pentax dealer and manned with exceptionally helpful assistants.
Would you advise going for a refurbished lenses if they were let's say half the price of the new one?

Thanks

Amin

hefty

this is what I get reading here, great help. I hadn't in fact considered that aspect of improving my indoor shots and certainly as the bulk of my shots are with the little ones where I never stop taking shots specially with indoor light and flash, am starting to look more intensely into that option now. Kind of working out my maths here, although I am pretty flexible with what I am ready to forkout would definitely put quality as the most important aspect. I just want to make sure I am not buying gear that I still am too unprepared to make full use of it. And also these are prices that I am quite happy to pay.

So here are my options: Tamron 70-300 for £79 and add the FA50/1.4 for £159 (no cashback offer on this one) totals £239

or

Pentax 55-300 for £164 (after the cashback) and add the FA50/1.4 for £159 Totals £323

gosh it does add up doesn't it? Just wondering if the £85 approx. is worthwhile forking out here. Or should I leave the FA50/1.4 for a few months later. Or even probably better get the FA50/1.4 now as I am more into indoor shots of my little ones and then when summer comes more oportunities to take outdoor wildlife shots. Ah, my head aches )))

Thank you so much for your help and suggestions

Pete

Now you got me thinking . This is the great feedback I get here from you all, absolutely helpful. With the discount the Pentax 55-300 will set me back £164, and the Tamron 70-300 costs £79 in my local shop. I dont mind paying the little bit extra by going personally into a shop and being well served by the assistant, instead of getting from the internet, unless there is a huge price difference, so it boils to these two. Its £90 difference between these two lenses.

Any suggestions or comments that would tip the scale either way please?
If I am going to get higher quality and the little bit extra from the 55-300 then I certainly dont mind paying that extra £90.

Also my question as a rookie in the field is this: 55-300 and 70-300 how much difference does that 15 make in objective terms please? I knew this was going to be a steep learning curve soI really appreciate your patience.

Thanks

Amin

Richard

Thank you very much for the sound advice. Sounds definitely the deal, and the £25 cashback helps too. My slight hesitation was only because looking at the 50-200 for under £50 made me think perhaps am I not just going a little too far with the 55-300 at this stage? But on the other hand if I am getting far more with the 55-300 in relation to the 50-200 and as the cost is something that I have already decided to fork out I would hate to look back a few months later and think that I should have got the 55-300 instead. I definitely can't see myself carrying a lot of lenses, and you just mentioned that you use these both a lot so definitely seems the right choice. Thank you so much for your help. On the phone now to the dealer to check availability )))

Amin

First of all thank you all so much for such great help around here. This certainly is a great place to improve my steps in photography and this forum is quickly becoming my habitual reading page throughout the day.

Been exploring my K20D for the past few weeks now and mastering the controls and I bought it with an upgraded kit, instead of the standard 18-55 I opted for the 16-45 after reading reviews on the quality of the lense. Suffice to say I am quite thrilled with it but now I have been thinking of getting a second lense that would help me capture images of wildlife in the fields. Not professionally of course but as one of my ideas is taking the kit with me on my early morning runs (and yes I got my new shiny Kata 3N1-20 bag and am over the moon with it ) and also reading some comments on this lense around here I am just wondering if this would be a wise step ahead.

My local shop which is just around the corner from where I live (quickly becoming a magnet for my purse ha , and the shop assistant being exceptionally helpful and friendly) they are selling for £189.00.

I am hoping this is a purchase that will end up my shopping spree at least for a few good months, after my initial kit, my kata bag, a tripod, and thinking of getting the gorilla pod also which seems small and nice enough to take it with me while running (any ideas, suggestions or comments on this one would be appreciated also) oh and an HG20 that I splashed on within days of the K20D. So that is my Christmas bonus gone.

So my question is, if I had to have two lenses for the purpose as I described above, the other one being taking non stop shots of my two little ones at the age they are now where a dad never stops taking pictures, mostly indoors with the kind of weather we live in, but also outdoors when the weather permits, are these the two lenses one would have until developing enough knowledge in the field to want to go for more expensive lense?

Amin

Hey G,

that sounds like a friendly challenge, and I am up for it. You friendly people help me refine my photographic skills and I will snap up some nice shots .

No, its true, the part of Northwest of London I live is considered greater London and truly there are nice spots around. May be also due to the time of the day I go around it looks more appealing, but remains to be seen. Wait for the pictures ha . Oh and also there is a lot of protected wild life in these woods sorrounding the area so I am sure going down the route of looking for some suitable lenses to capture it. Again once I decde to go for it you will be sure to get me bugging you again for help and advice

Amin

Mac
Thank you very much Mac, I see the collection of gear you have and that definitely puts you in a high league in my book of photography. And I also see what you mean by a sore back hehehe.

Regarding me being fit aha, that is quite a relative term right? , I look for all type of motivation to keep running, specially gadgets. I am a gadget man after all, especially when its to do with sports gear. A chunky garmin forerunner 405 on the wrist, an ipod on the arm with earphones, a blackberry on another pouch, and now definitely the pentax K20D but I think thats just about it, or else I won't be able to put one leg forward. Ideally I would love to carry a tripod as well, for those shots that would require a good stable position, but I think I might still be far needing one. I will see how it goes, but I have seen those tiny ones that wouldn't increase a lot of weight by hanging over the bag. Remains to be seen if its ideal for my jogs.

Sundays are my slow jog days across the fields and paths, negotiating countrysides, streams and canals, often I pass by boats by the canals with people preparing their morning coffees with nice flavours of coffee being brewed, absolutely fascinating. The pace is slower by almost two minutes a mile compared to my usual midweek runs, longer but definitely slower and the ground is great compared to road running. We have three woods nearby and the perimeter add to around 9 miles which is great and when I am in the mood I stretch a bit further crossing the areas just to get the feel of the crisp lovely morning in the natural sorroundings. Remains to be seen if the K20 will end up being my companion on sundays, I do start my runs before sunrise and often I get different views of the morning breaks depending what area I am in the fields, so quite tempting to make an effort. Will keep you all posted with my dodgy initial shots and await feedback and advice from all you more experienced friendly people. Its going to be a steep learning curve but I am up for it.

Thanks
Ami

Hi
I am Amin and I just took a plunge into the DLSR world. After a few weeks of research decided to go for the K20D and got the 16-45 with it rather than the standard 18-55 that was being offered with it. Obviously had to shell the extra but as I have decided to dive in deep and explore all the beauty of photography as a complete rookie in the SLR field thought it was a good investment.
Already got familiarised with all the controls of the camera itself and loved the UI. I am into IT so mastering menus and working out the controls was fairly easy but now the real task begins. I really would love to get to grips better with the field and take the hobby a little more seriously so I also joined a short course on digital photography in order to get more acquainted with the photography world.

Reading through the forums here seems like I have come to the right place as I notice a good bunch of friendly people here, very helpful and able to not make me feel embarrassed to ask a question that otherwise would be totally silly for an experienced SLR user.

Oh, by the way I live in northwest london, quite close to some of the most beautiful sorroundings in the area and as I am a keen runner I keep on having this vision of taking the kit with me on my early sunday morning runs where I come across beautiful nature scenes some of them near lakes and take a few pics. These scenes are quite breathtaking especially at that time of the mornings, such that often I have stopped running for minutes just to admire the beauty of it. Hope to capture some of them. Obviously now a great camera bag would be quite handy. Have been quite inclined into getting the Kata 3N1-20, specially because of the facility of having it quite well protected while running. Am not sure if I am getting into a deep end here and perhaps I should be a walker rather than a runner while taking my kit with me, so any tips and help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Amin