Another point of consideration for me would be the use of a modelling light. So I would choose the studio kit.

Roger.

Hi, Nice of you to upload some images!

I like the photograph with the fishing nets, because of its interesting use of colour, lines and contrast. But I must also say that the image appears to be over saturated, which I like less.

The photo of the hotel frontage is a good example of lines and colours in architectural phoography.
In my opinion, the image would have had more impact, if it were less symmetrical. The lines are all straight and level, but the window in the middle, is , well, in the middle. Perhaps a composition where the central element would have been placed according to the rule of thirds, would make a better picture.

The photo of the college chapel is nicely done. I haven't been there, but would it have been possible to use an even wider focal length and make the photo portrait-oriented, instead of landscape-oriented?

I hope you understand what I mean. English isn't my first language.

FWIW: In The Netherlands the price difference is about 100 - 150 euros.

I too can recommend the Tamron 90 mm macro. Apart from the focus limiter, I find the focal length very attractive on a camera with 1,5 crop factor. It doubles as a great portrait lens.
The lens receives very good reviews and is considerably cheaper than the Pentax or Sigma offering.

Roger.

Hi,
Those photos really look good. At what focal length was he shot with he dragon flies made?

Well, apart from the discussion on scene modes and the choice of a K10D over another Pentax camera, I can recommend the latest Tamron 90 mm macro lens.

I recently bought it and my considerations for buying this lens instead of Sigma, Pentax or something else were:

90 mm gives (generally) enough distance from your subject
90 mm equals 135 mm in a camera with 1,5 crop factor. So it doubles as a great portrait lens
The Tamron receives very good critiques
The lens is priced very competitive
The lens has a focus limiter (I believe the Sigma has not, but I'm not sure)
The Tamron can be easily switched to Manual Focus
F2,8 is gives a brighter view and allows you to use a shallow DOF. Granted, you'll mostly want to use around F16 or higher.

An example of a picture taken with the lens, you can find here: http://tinyurl.com/33lbbl But I'm sure it would have worked out OK with any other good lens.

Good luck with your choice.

Thanks George, that looks promising. I also found that there is a Pentax lens hood especially made for the 50mm 1,4, but that one is hard to find.

Hello All,

I just ordered a brand new FA 50mm f 1,4 lens
The lens comes without a lens hood. So I also bought a rubber lens hood, but I don't think that is an optimal solution. Do you know of a lens hood that would be more suitable for this lens?

Am I correct in the asumption that I could use a lens hood for semi-tele lenses? The 50mm will be used on the K10D, so the outer part of the image circle won't be used by the aps-sensor. Vignetting of the outer part of the image circle, shouldn't be a problem, right?

Any suggestions you might have are very welcome.

Thanks in advance,
Roger.

Thank you all for your kind words and welcome. It's nice to hear some comments on my photography.

It's funny what you mention about the Notre Dame. I was just experimenting a bit with the colour to B&W conversion in PS and liked the look of the resulting image.

As you might have seen, I generally don't use flash in my photos, apart from an occasional fill-in flash. I just don't like the look of the harsh light and the harsh shadows af an on camera flash. Lately I've been thinking about buying a simple studio set-up with two flashes, but that's something for the future.

For now I want to concentrate on using some new lenses (30mm 1.4, 90 mm macro and an upcoming 50 mm 1.4). I just love a shallow DOF.

Roger.

Hi All,

I'm a new member to this forum, although i've been lurking around some time. I thought it was time to say hi to all of you. I Love to learn from your opinions, comments, etc.

Just a litlle bit about myself: I live in The Netherlands and I'm into photography since my sixteenth year (almost twenty years ago).
I've owned a couple of Pentax camera's: K2, ME Super, Z1 and now a K10D which is really a great tool.

In the past years I've acquired quit a bit of kit, but I mostly use the kitzooms 18-55 mm and 5 - 200 mm. They offer a decent quality and are very easy to take with me.
Recently I bought the Sigma 30 mm 1,4 and a Tamron 90 mm macro lens. An example of a picture taken with the Sigma lens, you can find here:

http://tinyurl.com/2ah27x

My main interest in photography is landscape and achitecture. Perhaps I'll post a bit of those photo's as well.

I like to hear your comments and I Look forward to the discussions on this forum, allthough most of the time I'm more of a reader instead of a writer...

Roger.