Well, so far anyway, but I've had in in the airing cupboard just to be sure. It rained pretty much all day yesterday, sometimes pretty hard, and keeping the camera dry was impossible... so I just about gave up! As long as there wasn't too much water on the end of the lense I was 'happy'.

This was my first .PEF outing as well. Under the lousy light conditions that was probably a sensible choice, even though the slow save times sometimes got in the way... though not as much as having to review each shot because my old Tamron 70-300's iris sticks, forcing me to shoot wide open. I'd replace the lens, but with a Bigma on order and an 18-200/250 planned at some point, that wouldn't make much sense.

Anyway a diary of my 'best' shots is here... http://www.andrew.mcp.dsl.pipex.com/Wadd300607/index.html


A few more compact versions for forum use...











Andrew McP

PS For some much better examples from yesterday, hunt around here...
http://forums.airshows.co.uk/cgi-bin/ukarboard/ikonboard.cgi?s=05610638e92653ab2...

Particularly good are this guy's shots...
http://forums.airshows.co.uk/cgi-bin/ukarboard/ikonboard.cgi?s=bce480059e3b21990...
[/img]
]http://forums.airshows.co.uk/cgi-bin/ukarboard/ikonboard.cgi?s=bce480059e3b21990...

We "rent" everything we buy anyway. It all has a useful lifetime and -- like cars -- is usually worth much less purely because you've driven iot off the forecourt. So you have to be relaxed about these things.

The trick is to buy fairly soon in a new product's life. Then although you pay a premium, by the time the next version's out the pain of paying for yours had faded. That's one reason why I never buy anything -- even interest free -- on credit.

Having said all that, I nearly bought a K10D body last Tuesday. If I'd done that and watched the price drop significantly within 48 hours I'd have been spitting feathers. Or maybe on the phone crying to the retailer.

Andrew McP

It's a very tempting offer as well. I've promised myself it'd be Bigma this year, and the K10 sequel next year. But Sigma seem to have a constipated supply chain, and bargains are always tempting... and... and...

I really must stop reading forums. They're bad for my financial health and sanity.

Andrew McP

Thanks Adrian, but Bristol were one of the places I phoned earlier today. No joy.

At this rate I may be forced to upgrade my zooming ability at a pixel level rather than via glass. I was planning on waiting for the next version of the K10D before upgrading my K100D, but this would give me a 1.6x cropping zoom similar to the change from a 300->500 top end, and without the additional camera shake.

I'll have to see how I feel on Monday.

Andrew McP

PS Interesting stuff about the Sigma theft. You'd think after the first theft they'd have tightened up their operation. To lose one handbag... etc, etc. But I guess any operation's only as strong as its weakest link, and where there are people involved there's always a weak link somewhere.

Thanks guys.

Mongoose:
> SRS microsystems have the 170-500, but I hear the 50-500
> is a better lens

I've already been tempted by that, but the lack of a wider bottom end would be a real pain for those spur of the moment framing decisions at airshows. And, as you say, people seem more impressed the the 50-500 than the 170-500. Mind you, the exhaustion from carrying it around all day might have impaired their judgement.

MattMatic:
> Ffordes.com are listing a Pentax fit Sigma 50-500 for £750

Thanks Matt, you threw up some new sites for me to explore. But a couple of quick phone calls scored zero on the get-a-lens-ometer.

I can have a <sign of crucifix>Canon</sign of crucifix> fit any time I like, but not a Pentax.

Thanks anyway,
Andrew McP

I've been lurking on & off for a while (I usually "live" on dpreview for photography-related stuff) but I finally found an excuse to join up here.

I know the Bigma's not exactly the perfect lens, and I've read around enough not to expect miracles from it. But having had my airshow enthusiasm revived by this year's Biggin Hill, I've been trying to find one without any luck. So I'm on pre-order with Warehouse Express at the moment. (I thought their size as a retailer might get me one sooner).

However after getting a bit impatient, Sigma UK tell me they've none at the moment and aren't expecting any in the next shipment. So my only hope (if I'm not going to miss the peak period for shows I can get to) is that there's one festering in a shop window somewhere. As long as it's not Jessops (who want £900 for a Canon-fit!) I don't mind.

I've been using an old Tamron 70-300LD so far, which is ok, but a little enthusiastic on the purple-fringing front. Add my Pentax x1.7 converter to that to try and bring the high speed turns a little closer, and my 100D's autofocus goes haywire, and my manual focusing skills are a little rusty. Not that they were ever good enough for airshow use really!

Anyway, enough rabbit. Thanks for looking (and for contributing to a useful resource for Pentax users).

Andrew McP

If I was worth more to my employer I'd do a lot less agonising.

Andrew McP

PS Oh, and I wouldn't have bought the 7dayshop batteries if I hadn't seen good reports from K10D users on dpreview. I'm sure the fact that the batteries are supposed to be for an old camera contribute far more to the clearance-level pricing than the quality. Famous last words of course.

It's a fair cop. The 7dayshop ones are still cheaper per mAh, but given a choice I'd still go for the 1750s.

Well, if the £450 body price had pushed me over the edge before RIAT this weekend I might have been stuck at a display with over 18 hours of flying over two days with only one battery. I didn't want to take that risk, and I'm sure a K10D will cross my path at some point in the next year.

Perhaps it's not ideal, but at these kind of prices I'm certainly not going to lose any sleep worrying.

Andrew McP

7dayshop seem to have them beaten for price.
http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_3&products_id=992...

In fact I bought a couple last week because I thought I might crack and buy a K10D. I haven't cracked so far, but it's rather sad having batteries for a camera I don't own... yet.

Andrew McP

I shouldn't post straight after a night at work! Your reply made me realise I've only had the camera set for PEF for a few days, and my memory is still working in jpg mode. There's no significant difference between the write times with the 2Gb or 4Gb cards... both take about 6-7 seconds between shots once the buffer's full. So I've edited my original comments (in case anyone's wondering what we're talking about).

I'm still new to RAW/PEF, and until recently my only software was Paint Shop Pro 5 (which is, er... a little long in the tooth!) and Picassa2 which (if I'm honest!) I rather like, even if it's a bit weak in the editing options department. Picassa even recognises PEF files and I haven't had a problem so far. Though with only about 100 test shots to my name, that's not much of a test.

I've trialed PS Elements and PSP XI this week, and Elements is losing the upgrade battle so far. But I suppose this thread isn't the place for this discussion.

Andrew McP