HD only needs 10MB/sec. an Ultra II is fast enough.

Bret

the 18-250 and K20 isn't exactly heavy, though. I've seen the effects of my old 400mm on the 055/222 combo and I can see blur on the camera screen; the 100-300 exaggerates it even more. It's fair enough, I'll be using the monopod and silly shutter speeds anyway.

I think a lot of this depends on a) the gear and b) the use cases. Lightness is paid for by cost or instability and you can't really get around that. Berlebacher, Acratech or Wimberly make some very nice gear, but to be honest I can see me going for a 161 sooner that I originally wanted, if only to lose the head.

Bret

A selection gets posted but they're all backed up on 23hq (link in sig). Why duplicate?

Bret

I heard a couple of curses like this yesterday - ah well, it reminds me why I lug the K5 and its friends around

Bret

seconded on that - I have a Hama Star somethingorother and it's truly awful. No way I would trust it with my K5 - the 055 and 222 head are wobbly enough (yes, you can see it, especially over 300mm).

190 legs are the minimum I'd look at; there are Benros and Gitzos available for similar prices but the 'frotto MYs are cheap and cheerful and not strong enough.

Bret

If you use a strong flash with a fast sync (use them on optical with a HSS onboard) and you can get seriously rapid speeds (1/500+); so that, along with some judicious aperture work, should mean you get a decent bash, especially if you lure them somewhere.

I would also not worry too much about interfering with nature. Humans do do it all the time and there's nothing you can do about that; lure them somewhere, take the shots, but don't do it every day and they'll be fine.

Quick story: while I was at the summer house over Juhannus, there was a new "kranssi" - so a round thingy made of twigs - that had been moved by my mother in law away from the door. A bird had nested in it.
Said bird was very, very suspicious of humans for the first few days. Then we saw she had eggs and suddenly she got a lot more patient and ignored people far more. Only shame was it appears she and her chicks got eaten...
Moral? Nature adapts and short-term minimal intrusion destroys little.

Bret

UV light kills the fungus IIRC and a service is likely to cost £40 or so per lens...

Bret

.... and I'd also suggest a stronger flash; if you're at home, borrow a set of D-Lites from theflashcentre or so and away you go

Bret

I've also tested it quickly on a building down the road. It doesn't matter what aperture I use, it's reasonably sharp. The chainlink on the other side of the road is also stunning. Requires silly-fast shutter speeds (but then, that's why I have a monopod) or high ISO (but that's why I have a K5).

Bret

but neither of those are really realistic for the situations in which the lens will be used, i.e at a decent distance.

I'm much happier now I've calibrated with -4, I can't get the focus any better than AF and at these sizes, it looks reasonable to me.

Bret