Thanks for the correction Matt. I brought my son a Manfrotto monopod last Christmas. I might have to 'borrow' it.

Thanks Matt, I just took a look at some samples taken with that lens on Photosig and they look rather good. May have to add that one to the wish list. Am I correct in thinking that a 35mm film format of 80-320 converts in digital to 128 - 512? Can you use this lens hand held?

[quote="Don"]hope you didn't try using shake reduction and a tripod at the same time....[/quote]No Don, I made sure that was off when I tried it with the tripod. Using a tripod I got better images but even they were disappointing. It could just be that particular lens was faulty but I think it is just a cheaply made lens, which is not what I expected from Pentax and I hope they don't have any other lenses like that one.

Not like the 16-45 which I have started using with great enjoyment. The crispness of the images is quite noticable and the close up (macro?) function is rather impressive. Obviously as more expensive lens and wide angle rather than telephoto but the build quality is evident. I can't wait to get the 50-200 if it is of the same standard. What John Riley said earlier is spot on.

Thanks again everyone for your comments and suggestions. Apart from the educational little hiccup along the way with the 75-300 I am pleased to have the 16-45 and look forward to the 50-200 in due course. That just leaves the range beyond 200 to consider. The Pentax lense roadmap has a 200 to 300 area but it is a bit empty at the moment.

Cheers

I tried every setting I could think of with the Pentax 75-300 but was so disappointed with the images that I took it back this morning. I've used telephotos before and don't believe it was my technique. Instead I went for a new Pentax DA 16-45 and will get a 50-200 in due course I think.

Hi there, I had an hour or so to wait for a colleague in Melbourne today so went looking at the camera stores. While checking out the local prices of the ultra wide angle lenses I noticed a near new Pentax FA-J 75-300 AL telephoto in the second hand section so got that. I've only taken a few shots with it so far. Seems it must be a bit too long for handheld use, even with the K100D anti-shake on. With a tripod it is fine.

Still thinking about the wide angle options but thanks for all the suggestions.

Thanks Tim,

That Sigma is an award winner and the Pentax looks good too. I should take my camera to a atore and see if I can try them out.

Cheers

Thanks for the welcome and fast feedback on my questions Liam and John. I'm out in Australia at present and got the K100D with a Sigma lens here. There was no choice regarding the lens whatsoever but the price was too good to pass up at A$899 (that's about £360).

I'll take plenty of photos and get to know the camera. I guess I should get the Pentax 50-200 first up and take it from there.

Many thanks

Cheers

Hi everyone, This is my first post on the forum. I've been reading with interest some of the postings and would appreciate your opinions please.

I have just purchased a Pentax K100D (just lovely to use) and currently have the following kit which probably needs some rationalisation:

Pentax SMC 1:1.7 50mm (just got it on eBay),
Sigma 18-125mm 1:3.5-5.6 DC Zoom (came bundled with an earlier camera),
Sigma 28-105mm 1:4-5.6 UC Zoom (had it for some years),
Pentax Super A 35mm film camera (also have had it for some years),.

I am rather impressed with the Pentax 1.7 50mm images and it has me wondering if I would be better off selling the Sigma's and replacing them with say a Pentax DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6AL (or if I work harder even a Pentax DA 16-45 F4ED AL which appears to get a big thumbs up on this forum) and a DA 50-200 F4-5.6ED.

Maybe I should sell the Super A along with the Sigma 28-105 on eBay.

While the Sigma 18-125 is a nice wide range, am I reading correctly that such a wide range means compromise in image quality?

Many thanks

I'm in Melbourne a large part of the year. The rest of the year in the UK.