Are teleconverters worth it? Do they really "work"? Thinking on the medium-zoom option Sigma 18-125mm with a 2xTC?
Or is that just a silly idea/bad quality?

Many thanks for the replies - all great advice. Especially the bit about the budget! Shiney! Toys! Money!!

The K7 is ideal, as I suspect it'll be 3 years before reaching it's shelf life, and I maybe should say this in small text... but the movie mode is great for me, just for those "wish I had a camcorder" moments when finding a good trick skiing or mountain biking...

All great points to think about, and even though I've my heart set on shiney new K7, the current prices on K20's are very good...

I'm pretty undecided about the WR stuff - both the kit lenses and the sealed D* lenses. It sounds like a great idea, but only once with a mega-expensive Canon lens have I had trouble so just not sure.

What length do you think I'd generally need for the safari trip?

I think so - I was reading your posts with great interest! It'll be used 99% for stills, but the thought of having video for sneaky short clips of mountain biking or skiing is great!!

Thanks for the welcomes!

Hi there, I think a pretty common pattern - I just joined, and then pop straight into the lens section to try to get some help!
If I had to rate my knowledge it would be as "rusty" and “barely intermediate” level so please go easy on me!

When they come out I will be buying a K7 – deposit paid with SRS. Weight is important to me, and I will be taking the camera on mountaineering trips and mountain biking, so weather-proofing an attractive thing. Saying that, I have many times taken non-weather resistant kit and never really suffered any bad luck with it. As an idea of my use, in the next few months I will be doing the Matterhorn, then a trip to Miami, then South Africa safari (lucky me!).

Years ago I used to have a Tamron 28-200 superzoom, which while chunky seemed pretty capable. My last DSLR (K10) I just made to with the one kit lens 18-55, which I thought was actually very good.

I’ve done a lot of searching on the merits of various Sigma/Tamron 18-250s etc., as well as the dual kit lenses of 18-55 and 50-200 WR, but almost more uncertain than ever! I really don’t know how long lens will be good for SA wildlife, and as its a once-a-lifetime trip then it is a big factor in my decision.

If I get two lenses as a kit deal – would the Pentax DA 55-300 be a better bet than the 50-200WR? Is the 55-300 “better” in terms of quality? Plus side is for wildlife the extra length would be nice, but downside of not “WR”?

If I go for a “silver bullet” superzoom I’m unsure over Tamron 18-250 Di II (IF) versus Sigma 18-250 OS. The sigma is £170 more – worth it? The Sigma has “OS” but seems like you cannot use both OS and the in-built camera anti-shake function, so paying for something on the Sigma that is not really required. Or are there other lenses to go for? My total budget is around £1400, give or take, but if something is substantially better quality I’ll pay a bit more. I do like the thought of having one lens, and not having to carry two or change them when hanging off the side of a mountain etc.. But then again the two kit lenses together most likely weigh about the same as these superzooms?

Or would I be better maybe in using a less of a zoom (say Sigma 18-125mm F3.8-5.6 DC HSM Lens, or even save up for the DA*16-50), with less resulting compromises, and then for SA either buy an older (but compatible) fixed 300 or use a tele-converter (which I have never used before so don’t really understand).

Sorry for the random questions – hard to neatly pose them when I am uncertain in a way of what I am really asking!!
Suggestions welcome, and hopefully I’m not dragging up lots of well covered stuff – I know a lot of it is in there with “search” but it is information over-load!

Hi there everyone. What started as a pass thourgh visit to this site has resulted in me spending the last 4 hours browsing posts! A great resource.

I have had a couple of years "off" from photography, mucking about with a G9. It was getting a bit worn and tired and when stolen a few months ago has prompted me to re-enter the DSLR market by getting a K7 when they finally hit the shops.

I bought a K10 when they first came out - switching from an EOS at that time as I have always got on well with Pentax SLRs. The K10D was a brilliant camera, and I still have some A3 and larger prints in the house.

I'm a casual photographer of Alpine scenes, wildlife, travel, and ocassionally motorsport (bikes).