I bought a copy this lunch - in short K7 got 86%, 7D got 89%. Deciding factor being noisy AF (obviously with a WR kit lens), better menu layout in 7D and better low light capability of the 7D.

Chris

I've just ordered from SRS the 10-20 Sigma EX DC HSM f3.5 - it's on sale at the mo. A steal for the price. I can also recc the Pentax 14mm DA - very nice glass.

Chris

Dang, just ordered one on Amazon - £173 . I tried with CameraKing for £40 cheaper, but I got an email yesterday:

=====
CameraKing UK has been cancelled
by the seller with the following reason: -

.

If you're still interested in this item, please search for it again on
Amazon.co.uk.
=====

I am still trying to figure out if '.' is the reason or it is some craptic clue I have to solve.

Ho, hum.

Chris

No real photo tips, just from the last one I did:

1. speak to the minister/priest/officiant and say that you will be taking photos during and where you will be standing - so they don't get annoyed and stop everything halfway through due to lack of info. I tend not to ask 'please can I shoot during' as it gives an opening for them saying 'no', stating that you intend to shoot during really only gets denied if it really grinds their gears; and it starts negotiations in your advantage.
2. get a written running order of locations and wants (we want bride & groom shots in the rose garden after the service but before the meal, we will release a load of doves at X point) off the couple so you aren't caught off guard by something happening you didn't anticipate or being in the wrong place at wrong time.
3. be assertive with the crowd - if group shots are needed/wanted then people tend to mill like bovines and need herding. One friend told me to take a tripod but never use it - it just shows who's to be listened to for photos.

HTH

Chris

Bit odd - but that was my first camera. It was my grandfathers, given to my mum and then she gave it to me in 1981 and I took some photos of the garden on my 11th birthday (thus pinning my age).
I still have it, but unfortunately the 127 film available today has very thin backing paper and the red exposure number viewports fog it badly.

Chris

I have the HSM one - bought recently as I wanted to see what Sigma HSM was like. I took it out with the DA*16-50 a few weeks ago to do a direct comparison and was stunned with how sharp it was. It seemed to have a bit less CA than the DA*16-50 and as others have said, it's a fantastic walkabout lens having a bit more reach than the DA*16-50. I'll be using it in 2 weeks for a baby shoot as I'm now confident it produces some really good images - especially in the portrait area. I was also very happy with the build quality. It's a bit chunkier than the DA* but is still manageable.

The long and the short, is that you won't be disappointed.

Chris

I'm finding it difficult to find benchmarks for Panasonic class 10, the best I could see were ones that use CHDK - the custom firmware for Canon powershot P&S cams - to check speeds.

CHDK wikia

From what I can see the class 10 equals or slightly beats the Sandisk Ultra2 - but and here is the dinger - it seems to have very poor performance on single 64K writes - 1/4 speed of other cards.

I wonder if the way the K7 writes video streams is hitting this overhead for small writes heavily?

Chris

Worse (just checked) - RAW PEF on a Class 10 does 14-15 shots before pausing.

Chris

I got my mits on a pair of Class 10 16G Panasonic SDHC cards. With my K20D it can do HQ jpg at full speed until the card is full, looks to only do RAW DNG for 16 or 17 shots before you get the pause/shoot setting in. Those numbers seem to be exactly in line with the manual (assuming it is listing optimal conditions), so it seems that going for faster SD cards may not give any improvement in continuous shooting. Not that it matters terribly as I'm a slow photographer.

Thanks for that - so best not to get my hopes up for a return of the reasonably priced Super-Rotator. I'll have a look at the other brands you mentioned, as 4k is 'just' out my price range.