I rather like being in the minority, or as I would prefer to think of it, 'one of a select few', after all I recently owned a Saab 9-3 (great car BTW)

I really do feel that the owners of other DSLR Brands are missing out on a treat, especially with the K-5 variants. They are such beautiful cameras to use, ergonomic and sturdily built. I wouldn't swap mine for anything.

Regards
David

Also, try your 55-300 without a UV filter. I think you might be surprised how much difference this makes.

Regards
David

I have the Sigma 105mm DG EX Macro non OS version and it is a belter of a lens. I picked it up in near mint condition for next to nothing as it came as a package with a K-x I bought some time ago.

I've used it for all manner of shots, including a Wedding and it has performed brilliantly. For the wedding it produced some lovely images, very sharp and with lovely colours and smooth bokeh.

I've never felt it needed any OS, after all it's only 105mm and the shake reduction in the Pentax bodies can easily cope with shake at this focal length.

Regards
David

On my first camera (K-x) I had the same problem. No issues with the same lens on all subsequent cameras, it is sharp as a knife. This proves the camera was the issue, not the lens.

Since then I've had two K-x's, a K-m, a K-5 and a K-5IIs. The K-5 required quite a bit of AF adjustment with all my lenses, including the 55-300.

One question - did you use a filter on this lens? I have found that for some reason I can't quite fathom, the 55-300 really does not work well with filters of any kind and especially so with circular polarisers.

Regards
David

What are you talking about? No problems with my RAW files in Adobe Bridge or any other software I own that can handle RAW. No problems with CS5 either as I know a very good Photographer with the IIs and CS5.

Which RAW format are you shooting in? If it's DNG you will not have a problem. If you want to sell the camera, let me know! It is a superb bit of kit and I would happily make you an offer on it.

Regards
David

A magnificent image.

Regards
David

DA 17-70.

Great for landscapes, good for close-up work (not macro), decent focal range, typical Pentax colours and contrast, good build quality, not too expensive, especially if you can find a good second hand example.

Regards
David

I would tend to agree with most of the comments on this thread in that the 17-70 would be a better bet for you. Team this up with a 55-300 and I don't think you'll initially need anything more. If you want a prime lens for the odd landscape shot or two you can buy an old M 28mm F3.5 for around £40 or £50 and this would be excellent, however I don't think that you would use it very much if you had a DA 17-70.

As Simonkit says, most of his wonderful landscapes are shot with this lens, as are those from Puma. I don't think anyone can dispute the quality that these two photographers produce with this lens.

I've also just bought one and can confirm it is excellent; better than the 16-45 and that was a lens that I loved. The 55-300 is also a corker.

Regards
David

Fabulous images, all of them.

Regards
David

Back to the subject of 10 stop filters, I have the Hitech 10 stopper that costs around £60. It does produce a blue cast, but as mentioned in this thread I can confirm this is easy to remove, either in post processing or by setting a custom white balance in camera (I tend to go down the post processing route).

I've also tried welding glass - quite striking results with this but it's only good for black and white images.

As regards sensor cleaning, it is very easy to do with a spatula that has a flat end, an appropriate cleaning swab and some cleaning fluid. I've cleaned my K-x several times this way with no ill effects.

Regards
David