I have decided to withdraw the K200D and kit lens from sale. It's way too good to offer for such a modest price. I'll continue to keep it as a spare. Sorry, folks

I've just bought a Tamron SP 17-50mm f/2.8 but haven't yet bought any 67mm filters (CPL, ND filters or ND grads). If anyone is interested in doing some swaps of decent filters for any of the other lenses, I'd be happy to consider offers.

Cheers
Andrew

Bump .....

I forgot to mention that the Pentax K200D has around 13000 shutter actuations. It is fitted with a split image viewfinder from focussingscreen.com which makes manual focussing much easier. If I remember correctly, the original cost of that including import duty was around £100.

Andrew

I've decided that I have way too much gear ...... so I have for sale the following:

Pentax K200D + 18-55mm ALII kit lens. Also included is a Pentax D-BG3 battery grip, a 8GB card and set of 4 x Uniross Hybrio AA rechargeable batteries. All are in great condition. The lens seems to be one of the better samples of its type. If bought for the asking price, I'll throw in a Quantaray Pro camera bag. I am looking for £150 + £4 P&P.

Sigma 24mm f/2.8 Superwide II. This is the manual focus variant of this lens. It is in great condition, has caps for both ends and a Sigma Perfect lens hood. £60 + £4 P&P

Pentax FA 100-300mm f/4.7-5.8. This is the silver lens. Has some minor surface scratches on the barrel but glass is OK. £60 + £4 P&P

Ricoh XR Rikenon 300mm f/4.5 PK mount, manual focus telephoto lens. This has a built-in lens hood and tripod mount. It comes in a nice, quite new looking Ricoh case. It is in great condition - but like many lenses of this age produces some purple/blue fringing on DSLRs at wider apertures. This lens DOES NOT have a Ricoh pin and works perfectly on Pentax DSLRs. £75 + £4 P&P

Ideally, I would like payment to be by bank transfer.

Regards
Andrew

I think that a good photographer will often take better photos than a mediocre one with pretty much any camera available today. A mediocre photographer will improve with practice and by learning from others - not by buying a "greater camera".

Andrew

Yes - but most of us are not great photographers, so improving the organic bit behind the viewfinder often has a much greater effect on output than buying better hardware.

Andrew

I spent part of this afternoon comparing three lenses at 100mm focal length. The M75-150mm, the DA 55-300mm and a Vivitar 100mm f/3.5 macro prime. I took lots of photos of a USAF 1951 test chart pinned onto my shed door.

A few thoughts ......

* I used live view manual focussing & focus peaking with all three lenses - so, focus is probably OK.

* All three lenses were close, even at 200% zoom. I would probably put the Vivitar 100mm prime just into third place. If I didn't quite nail focus and the prime was even slightly off, it could easily have made it into first place.

* The DA 55-300mm and M75-150 were very close indeed. The 55-300mm perhaps very slightly shading it - but I doubt that there would be any noticeable difference in real world pictures. I agree that the M75-150mm generates just a little blue/purple fringing.

The bottom line is that the DA 55-300mm stays in my camera bag. So also does the 100mm prime (coz its the only macro lens I have). I still think the M75-150mm is a wonderful lens, but for now it stays in reserve - maybe I need a bigger camera bag (and a wheelbarrow!)

Andrew

I have a Pentax F 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5. It really is very good - and you'll probably be able to pick up a mint one for well less than £50

Andrew

I think these are brilliant. Lots of detail and great colour.

I have a DA 18-55mm ALII which, apart from the weather proofing, is pretty much the same lens as your WR version. I have tried several primes at 24mm, 28mm, 35mm and 50mm - but the lens that spends most time on the camera is the 18-55mm kit lens. It is definitely better at 24mm than the Sigma 24mm f/2.8 Superwide II (though is not so great at f/2.8 ). It isn't *quite* up to the standard of the DA 35mm f/2.4 at any aperture - but the difference at f/8 and beyond is not large. It is pretty close to the A 50mm f/1.7 at f/5.6 and all but indisinguishable at f/8.

From time to time, I ponder about whether to buy a supposedly better alternative to the kit lens - but it does work so well, doesn't it?

I love the M75-150mm lens and have used it a lot - but not much recently, at least not since I bought a DA 55-300mm. I haven't done any detailed testing between the two - I'm not sure I really want to know the answer. FWIW, I suspect that the M75-150 is better over common focal lengths.

If I do buy another lens any time soon, I think maybe I need something wider - and cannot really see many alterative to the Samyang 14mm you also have.

Andrew

I thought I did, but I'm starting to lose the will to live. Time for breakfast!

Andrew