No contest here, the 55-300 is in another league altogether when compared to the Sigma 70-300 for image quality. I have both and the Sigma never gets used. The only advantage the Sigma has IMHO is the pseudo macro capability, but it's not true macro and the 55-300 can focus fairly close anyway.

I can't comment on the Tamron, but the Pentax 55-300 is one lens that is always in my camera bag and is almost always fixed to my K-x or K-5!

Regards
David

All great advice here. I personally would not be confident to do a wedding on my own, so I am going to act as '2nd shooter' on a few weddings that are coming up. However, I think the thread has gone a little off-topic (despite John's best efforts to steer it back on line). The question that was posed was about 'which lenses' rather than whether or not the OP should take the plunge!

Regards
David

I'm not sure if that is the most important question. It's probably more important to first establish what it's primarily going to be used for and what features are most critical. Once these factors are known it's then valid to look at what is the limit on budget and to choose the best available for the price that fits the requirements.

Regards
David

It is probably worth having a really good look with a torch and a magnifying glass in the SD card compartment. It's possible there may be a fragment of plastic stuck in there somewhere that has broken off a card and this may be stopping the cards from seating / connecting properly. I had this issue once with my K-x and it was a bugger to remove, but eventually I got it out with some small tweezers and all has been fine since.

That's the best I can suggest, hope it helps.

Regards
David

Are you looking for an autofocus lens or would a manual focus one suit you?

If manual focus is an option, there are masses of fantastic lenses out there for relatively little money. The Pentax SMC 'K' series are among the best.

Regards
David

I bought a £3.50 'cheapie' from Hong Kong to fit my DA 16-45 (67mm thread) as a 'try out' before buying a more expensive one. The reason for this is that I've had problems with circular polarisers (even decent branded ones) on some lenses.

I have to say I've been amazed by what £3.50 buys on ebay! The polariser has never been off my 16-45 since I bought it. It's made of optical glass, is very slim, gives me just the right amount of polarising effect (not too dark), shows no visible loss of sharpness or IQ and works exceptionally well in combination with my Hitech ND Grads. All in all, I cannot find a fault with it and I do own several other branded CPL's, none of which are any better and some of which are nowhere near as good.

I think the vendor was 'fotocola' or something similar. For £3.50, there's not much of a risk and a lot to gain if it suits you.

Regards
David

Hello Louise, I have to say that I have been very moved by your (brave) forum post. It is sometimes quite difficult to know how to react to some of the posts that are made on here as it is next to impossible to always know the 'intent behind the words' if you know what I mean. I always try to offer as much help as possible and I hope I have come across this way to you in the various replies I have put on your posts (thanks for the nice e-mail you sent me some time ago BTW).

There are a few occasions where replies on posts can be rather sharp, but in the main I agree that on this site almost everyone is really helpful and it's a great place to learn (and to meet people too).

Although I don't suffer from learning disabilities or depression, I understand 100% where you are coming from regarding photography and how you feel about it. One of my sons has mild Dyspraxia and has some difficulty integrating with people (he tends to lock himself away) and I have tried to encourage him to take up photography as a way to get more involved and to interact more. He hasn't yet fully taken up the challenge, but he does love video making and wants to go down that route for a career.

Please keep takng the pictures and posting them on here; I will do my best to offer constructive comments when I can.

Best wishes
David

Which button are you pressing to focus it? Out of the box it will probably be set for focussing via a halfway press of the shutter button.

Regards
David

17-50 is not a bad start. A really good lens would be something like a Pentax DA*50-135, but that is expensive! However, it would give you a useful focal range and fantastic image quality. Coupled with a wider lens on a second body, you would have a decent setup, so I think you are on the right lines.

Regards
David

If your lens came with the Kr it is a MkII version and it is optically identical to the WR version. I tend to agree with most of the posts on here; the 18-55 is a decent lens and can produce fine results but can easily be bettered, especially for edge sharpness.

I have the 16-45 and it is a much better all rounder than the 18-55. Sharp from wide open and sharper when stopped down. I can only think the poster above was unlucky and had two poor copies? Unlikely as almost everyone who has owned a 16-45 seems to rate it.

Regards
David