If you misbehave John sends Matt around to your house and kneecaps you.

Seriously though its a very friendly place to visit, or live here as some of us do

Damn, you guys get stung from every direction don't you :

I have one, and to be honest have never used it on digital.

Its like most of the budget lenses in this range, ok when stopped down and a little soft at the long end. It has a push pull zoom which I hate, well I hate this one because its so stiff and that sticky substance he mentions in the listing must be a flaw in the design or something as mine has it also, I think it is some sort of internal lubricant for the zoom which leaks out, god awful stuff which sticks to everything and won't come off

I would stay away from it if I were you. I would be to embarrassed to list it on E-bay so its locked in a cupboard out of sight out of mind. Definately not worth 45quid.

If I lived in your neck of the woods I would give it to you, but would expect you to sneak it back on my doorstep when I wasn't looking

Only one Aussie retailer is taking deposits that I can find. They say it will be available in July for £975 with Kit lens,

Thats considerably less than I expected considering the cheapest DA*60-250 I can find over here is £1400 crazy

I probably won't see it in my neck of the woods for a few months But it gives me the chance to read all the reviews before taking the jump.

I believe the Vivitar and Kiron are the same lens as the Lester??
It is a bit heavier than the D-FA and the focus movement is wonderfully smooth, so far I like what I see.

What made you want to swap anyway:

I love mine and would never part with it

I found this lens in a Hock shop, Paid 100quid for it, I have heard many good things about it, and thought it would go well with my growing list of macro lenses

Used it for the first time today and was very impressed with it.
Minimal processing on these, just some cropping is all
[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/IMGP9939.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/IMGP0070.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/IMGP0071.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/IMGP0065.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/IMGP0073.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/IMGP0059.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/IMGP0057.jpg[/IMG]

I have experimented with all types of Macro. I have the 100 M f4 which I tend to use only on bellows and gives very good results

I also have The D-FA 100mm, DA LTD 35mm, 50mm EX Sigma, 180mm EX Sigma all cracking good Macro lenses but expensive.

For an in-expensive and lightweight option I also use a reversing ring with a reversed Super Takumar 28mm f3.5, you need to get right in close but the magnification is awesome 4:1 I think ? and you can put an extension tube on it if you want to get in even closer.

The pic below was taken with this setup, and as Banjo points out, DOF is razor thin. But a bit of practice and you can get some great shots.

As Mannesty states, lighting can be tricky, an external flash is a must and preferably off camera on a bracket or even hand held. It doesn't have to be P-TTL, I use a an old Pentax AF 200T with easy to access manual controls with a Lumiquest soft box diffuser attached. A must also to avoid hot spots and even out the light. There are cheaper diffusers available on E-bay,

Not the best example but it gives you an idea of the magnification. This is uncropped and straight out of the camera. The ants were about 5mm in size.
[IMG]http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x261/ClarkyinAus/IMGP2222.jpg[/IMG]

Pete, you push the zoom ring forward to engage the power zoom function. If I remember correctly, it works fine on the K20.

I have the FA 28-80 version and only had it on the camera once that I can recall, I'm not even sure what that button does on the side of it ?? PA AS ?? ummmm

You can have this one if you want it Hefty, its in mint condition. Make me a silly offer