I didn't think I was dissing it, or bemoaning...just commenting on what was there....

I have been known to give away stuff, even the coat off my back on more than one occasion..... And my resourses are hardly colossal....
I'm sure that lens is good and have posted so repeatedly, referring to it as "best in it's class", and with pentax coatings, the pentax version may even be better than the tamron.
Best in it's class certianly doesn't make it better than the 50mm's or the 28-70, 10-17mm so I guess between the different glass, and aperture's raw converter, I'm used to seeing less purple in my images. alot less.

yep..lot's of purple fringing visible there....

I think the macro setting on a 28-80 isn't going to get you down to a 1-1 reproduction ratio, or better...so while not true macro shots....they are as close as you can get without spending money on close up filters, extension tubes or teleconverters.

there's not much to add to what's already been said....
so are they good?

not too bad...especially for someone who is learning.
you show alot of promise so keep shooting!

I'm not from the uk, but if I was there, chris from srs, would get my business, based on what I read in these forums!

I hope not.

I agree that a subject like "Christmas Ornaments" would be easier to judge and more restrictive to interpet....

but wow, allowing people to go nuts and press the boundries and use interpetation, and free thought....

It's like having a group of people of various religions/cultures/ethnics and asking "what's the meaning of life?"
...only more restrictive and limiting as we confine them to the subject of photography....

thanx. wait tillI get the project done and I'll post some images....
it's a little awkward getting self portraits, and painting with light, like that.
but it is neat seeing light that looks almost fluid and three dimensional.

I'm sorry I haven't entered for a while....been pretty busy.
(not that I would've won or anything...... seriously good stuff!!!)
So I was practicing with painting with light for a project I'm working on.
my entry was done in camera, with only a levels adjustment (which I had to redo after checking my laptops monitor profile), minor sharpen, and color balance.

the equipment used was a ds2, 50mm1.4 360fgz flash, umbrella and stand.
15 sec exposure, f16,

also an l.e.d. blinky lightstick and a twirly fiber optic flashlight, (both $1.00 each at a dollarama store).

you guys want to hear something bizzarre?
with two k10's in the studio, my ds2 still gets used an awful lot.
the ds2 does work with my ttl flashes (my pentax ringflash, and 500 ftz), has better noise control at high iso (800), and now that my software (aperture) reads those pef files, I don't hesitate to grab my old fast primes, and head out for available light shooting with the ds2.

for those that don't know, the ds2 has a glass pentaprism, and works with both p-ttl flashes and ttl (although the 500 ftz, must have -1.7 exposure comp, set at the body to work right.). the metering with manual lenses works better than on the k10, and the ds2 + 50mm 1.4 makes for a nice compact set-up.

Congrats! and Merry Christmas to everybody!