But the plug-in PTLens can ! I forget what it costs, maybe $20 or something like that. A3+some plugins will still come to hundreds of $$$ less than PS.

Surprised this surfaced again.

Sorry Aly - no idea, paint is not up my street

Thank you Pentaxophile & Dr.O - glad you liked them !

There are plenty of tests out there that suggest there is a 1/2 to 1 stop advantage for in-lens vibration control, over in-camera, in Canon / Nikon lenses - however that comes at a major cost increase in the lens weight/cost. So we Pentax users get the best of both worlds, lower lens costs .... with every lens we put on being vibration controlled

Gorgeous photo Simon - very well done indeed. Nice guys do win !

Is that humourous or humourless

Sounds like you had a very memorable day (and maybe earned a few passes - or lenses - from the wife as well) !

This is tough.

Most Used (work) : Sigma 10-20
Most Used (hobby) : Sigma 50-150/2.8
Favourites : 43 Ltd, Voigtlander Ultron 50/1.8, DA*300

Least Used : Maybe Tak 300/4

You could also consider the new Sigma 17-50/2.8 which hasn't been mentioned yet and is, from independent tests, probably the sharpest of the lot. You'll need to Google some reviews though to find out about the corners.

IMO you need to check results at both ends of the zoom rather than the centre as many lenses perform well in the centre of their range but not so well at the extremes - and most people use their lenses at the extremes not the middle of the range !

Just loved that series !

Doubly lucky - I just watched a program on Animal World - woman paraglider attacked at 10,000 ft by two Wedge Tailed Eagles ! Apparently she may have inadvertently flown over the nest (......as you would at 10K) !

When you talk of the Sigma 10-20 you're talking of a lense that's 50% wider than the DA15 at the wide end !

That's a HUGE difference to the DA15. The DA15 is a tiny lense too. I'd go and get them both (15+21) on your camera before you decide.

Which sports is THE question ?

A 70-200/2.8 is generally considered THE sports lense but a 50-135/2.8 or Sigma 50-150/2.8 are both good for sports that don't entail shooting 100 yds away.

Although the 55-300 is the best of the budget bunch it can not be described as cheap. The best lense for your buck is IMHO the Tamron 70-300 di Macro, you can get one of these for a great price of 70 to 100 pounds in very good condition. Not only is it a sharp lense (suffers from some PF but don't shoot at backlit subjects) and not far behind the 55-300 and for the price it's a steal. The clincher is it offers wonderful macro at 1:2 - and that's amazing for the money.