I really like image 3 and this is one of those shots that benefits from sunshine and blue sky. It is a beautiful, calm scene and well composed / photographed. Number 4 doesn't grab me, mostly because I'm not a fan of train images, they have to be really special to get my attention I'm afraid!

Best regards
David

Payment received, thanks again Don and enjoy this wonderful lens!

Regards
David

Lens is now sold pending payment, thanks Don.

Regards
David

Thanks all for the additional comments, particularly from Adrian (DrOrloff) who always provides insightful and honest feedback which is invariably correct. I know and he knows that these shots are nowhere near the standard to which I aspire; they are a starting point for me and I know that I can get much better than these. To get images of the highest standard requires a lot of time, thought, dedication and skill. I think I have all of these attributes at present, apart from time, but I'll have to work one that a bit more once my house is renovated!

Regards
David

Bump - any takers for a brand new DA*300, the finest of current Pentax lenses for only £639.99 + postage? If not it will be on ebay where it will draw a higher price than I'm asking here!

Regards
David

Thanks for posting the images - it is commendable for you to do this if they are your first ones and is probably the first step to you learning rapidly as it shows you have an open mind, unlike one of the contributors on this thread!

Regarding the images, the 'moon' ones look a bit soft and would definitely benefit from some sharpening.

The one of your nephew is lovely, you have caught his pose very well. It could do with a little more contrast and is also a little bit over-exposed, but this could be due to the difficult lighting which has caused some burn-out on the hair. I always aim for a touch of under-exposure; with the K30 you have there should be no difficulty in retrieving shadow details once you have learned the processing basics and this would avoid areas of the image being devoid of details due to over-exposure.

I hope this is helpful and don't be afraid of post processing!

Regards
David

Hi Gary, no worries, I just didn't quite grasp what you were saying, probably just me being a bit thick. Sorry for hijacking your thread Nigel!

Also looking forward to seeing the third image

Cheers
David

I must be going a bit senile tonight as that's two thread replies that have confused me! Firstly, the FA50 is not a macro lens; it is a standard 50mm prime. It can be used for macro on tubes or bellows, but so can any other prime lens.

Secondly, why are the Sigma macros faster than the Pentax ones? Sigma macros are F2.8, the same as the Pentax DFA 100 WR.

On a related point, the Sigma 105mm macro is one of the finest portrait lenses I have ever used, it has beautiful natural rendering for skin tones and lovely soft bokeh when used wide open.

Regards
David

I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at here Gary, my comment didn't make any reference to levels and I thought that you had previously praised Nigel's image? Isn't the haze integral to the scene and a reflection of lighting conditions at the time? I'm a bit confused.

Regardless, the second shot is probably more accomplished technically, but it doesn't attract my eye in the same way that the first one does.

Regards
David

The lens is still available at £639.99.

Regards
David