Very enjoyable shots, thanks for putting them up!

First 2 are good clean records - the rest seem to have all captured the action and movement really well

I'd second that. I spent nearly 2yrs with just these 2 as my kit, will squeeze into a small top loader, light, covering a big range, and stopped down, well they're just as good as anything else IMHO

55-300 DAL is the bargain of the century, got mine for £128 on ebay - almost feel sorry for canikon users....

Contract still had 2 years to run which is very annoying.
Guess it fuels the conspiracy theorist, (well as the phone hacking scandal has revealed there's not much of a conspiracy), it was the Whitehall that put the 'brakes' on the BBC.
I believe in the BBC and think it is right to have an advert free, diversified broadcaster serving all communities, with a remit to have quality broadcasting. (Coming from the USA there is just no comparison in the dumbing down stakes)
But I do think the digital age has left it far over stretched and there are other ways they could have cut cash, e.g. cut BBC3 and all the radio channels I have never heard or will ever hear....
AND HOW MUCH BLOODY CASH ARE THEY MAKING OUT OF TOP GEAR!! USE THAT!!

1, 2, & 7 are stand outs. Seems very, very crisp with excellent colour. I missed out on a 1.7 a couple of months back on ebay, by £1 in the last seconds - still stings

Thanks for the link Mark, will be defo be checking out RawTherapee

LOL - great tip! Can't believe I never thought of it before

Google's free Picasa image file viewer lets you view RAW files alongside the jpegs. Seems to present them really well and helps make the 'process or not process' judgement call quicker seeing what the in-camera processing has done compared to usually more vibrant RAW.

+1

It's so reassuring to have the option for sure, you know when you've got 'holiday snaps', which you can just keep as jpegs, and when you've got something special.

Many thanks JamieT, that's the tip I was looking for!! Great price & reviews!

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/hama-traveller-mini-pro--review-14487

I will double check on a height comparison when I get home, as I might just plump for the next model up 'Compact Pro' which is on Tesco Direct & Play.com for only £19, and extends a bit further (I'm 6"2), however the extra weight is probably going to put me off.

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.210-4437.aspx

While obviously not going to be as sturdy as more expensive models it looks excellent value for money, and considering I had been getting away with using my dads old compact thing from the 70's (which is ball head attached to 3 car aerials) I'm sure these will fit the bill.

I also think your kit can make them more sturdy, for instance for long exposures I mainly use GX10 & SMC A 35-105, a pretty heavy combination which usually left me pulling the compact out of the dirt.

Phew, while LBA or this TBA can be fun I hope this Hama is the end of this chapter


LOL - This in one hand and an SMC A 35-105 in the other and I think they'll need to call Samuel Jackson

Cheers Gang!

LOL bloody right - looks like it could fo some serious damage, hope we're not giving someone ideas! Seriously though looks very light and obviously does the trick, nice work Frogherder

I've got a couple off weeks before my next trip, if nothing 2nd hand appears, looks like it will either be the Silk Mini Pro, Silk Sprint Pro or a Gorillapod type thing

Cheers for the swift replies - I don't know why I'm having so much troulble with this tripod situtation as Im usually good at finding bargains - all road seem to lead to more money

When the Velbon does come out it is when I'm with the car and not going far from it - it is great and sturdy you could use it for oil drilling in the North Sea, but I just don't enjoy walking around with it

2nd hand is good idea, I have been keeping an eye out in the local charity shops too but nothing sturdy enough so far...

Maybe a Gorillapod is the way to go, probably more likely to get it through hand luggage?