I have to agree with John, 200 is very low. I just got back from a holiday and took a Partly used battery and 2 fully charged spares.

I took over 400 shots with the partly used battery and never had to change it And I am always reviewing and playing with the rear screen. I can only think you must have a power drain or something. Or do you live in the North Pole :

Thanks Max, Some pics here

Did you get a chance to climb it when you were there :

I had an oportunity to take a trip into the Red Centre of Australia.
What an amazing place.

I took these shots out of the window of the plane
It looks like a Martian landscape
[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/IMGP0567.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/IMGP0565.jpg[/IMG]

The Rock (uluru) goes through some fantastic colour changes during sunrise and sunset, Truely a site to behold.
[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/File0108.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/IMGP0809.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/File0113.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/File0119.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/IMGP0794.jpg[/IMG]

We couldn't go all that way out there and not climb it, could we
Although the indigenous owners of the land try to discourage people from climbing, it is not prohibited, and not for the faint hearted also.


[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/File0016.jpg[/IMG]

Your only hand hold is a chain, which you pull yourself up by, A good pair of rubber souled shoes are essential as the rock is quite smooth and can be very slippery, as my wife found out, she was forced to turn back very early on, due to a lack of grip.

[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/File0052.jpg[/IMG]

Almost at the top, You can see the Olga's (top left corner) which are about 30kms from Uluru
[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/File0049.jpg[/IMG]

At the summit, Whew bl@@dy hard work, Five of us set out and three of us made it to the top.
To date almost 100 people have lost thier lives climbing the rock, and its easy to see why, stray a little left or right of the chain and its a fall all the way to the bottom. ouch
A great view from the top and a chance to catch your breath.
[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/File0038.jpg[/IMG]

We also took the oportunity to have a camel ride, My legs were tired anyway
I'm the handsome one on top, the chap underneath is Eddie the Camel
[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/File0188.jpg[/IMG]

Great place and highly recommended.

I got back last night, fantastic trip, got some great pics which I will post when I get a chance to go through them

BTW I decided to throw in my Sigma 10-20 along with the 3 LTDs at the last moment and I am glad I did.

Max The tripod i'm taking is a Slik Sprint GM, Not the most stable but it will suffice

I have also been to the rock before, back in 1980 so looking forward to going back.
Have a safe trip

What are you planning on photographing, are you in the cities or out in the bush :

I'm off to the red centre tomorrow (Uluru) and as is always the case over here, you do a lot of walking, so going light weight is essential, at least for me it is.

I will be taking only my 3 Ltds and a light weight Slik tripod.

As you don't have any LTDs, I would take golfdiesels suggestion and also a couple of UV filters and a Circ polariser.

Enjoy your trip and pack some of your cold weather gear, its a little chilly over here at the moment

Pentax say it should be good for at least 100,000 activations, but I don't think there is an official number.

Somebody posted a link, which I can't find now, which shows some cameras averaging well over that number.

My K20 shutter count is 10,540 but if I run it through PhotoMe it says 10,920, which is the actual number, as it takes into consideration shutter activations that haven't taken a picture,

I wouldn't be worring to much about it failing anytime soon, it would be a rare occurance I suspect.

Plonk ouch I can get that lens for just under £500 here in Sydney, I feel for you guys

Check out this Sydney price list of Pentax gear, (just halve the Aussie prices to get the Pound Sterling equivalent.) Some of the gear is much cheaper here but some is also much more expensive.

And this retailer is one of the more expensive high street sellers.

This is the exact reason I went for the pentax, you won't regret it.

Wow that is a huge price jump, unbelievable really

Thanks for all the info, I will take my camera with me tomorrow and give it a good workout.
Apparently it comes with a strap on the centre post so you can attach a bag to it for stabilisation

Mike, this one is aluminium not the carbon fibre model.