Thanks K10D - yep to the golf I'm going to take the 43, 17-50, 50-150 & possibly the *300. That's settled !

Cheers Don. The fencing is Nationals on Day 1 and International on Day 2 - no flash allowed so it's definitely fast lenses. The warm-ups is something I hadn't considered ... I'll take the Metz 50 and ask !

Thanks for commenting SJ. I'm not sure the 10-20 is the right lense for a golf event (maybe group shots at the dinner) - unless I want a club stuck in my head ! I think I'm going to go with the 50-150 for full body shots and the 300 for low DoF close-ups.

For the Ball - well I've done one of these before so from the kit I've got it will be the 43 Ltd & the 17-50.

Hmmm no comment on your sense of humour

Lovely KF shots John !

...... or just a hundred.

Am I being whooshed here ? Why on earth would any manufacturer stop making crops when this is what the majority of buyers want ? Most buyers of DSLRs don't want the expense / weight of large DSLRs.

This is an old old argument but I really don't see Pentax bringing out a FF - they are not developing the lenses and the APS-C cameras are getting closer to closing the IQ gap if not in functions.

I can't see manufacturers dropping crop cameras until / unless EVIL can improve to the point where it makes sense.

I'm with Smeggy here. The K5 is a more than incremental increase over the K7 (I have both). The sensors are different and the K5's sensor rates amongst the best there is of any FF or APS-C camera.

I'm sure the new sensor with extra MP and the extended DR would help when you blow up your shots - what size are you talking about ? Of course to achieve the full range of the extended DR then you need to be shooting at low ISOs - you now have ISO 80 for example on the K5 - so the high ISO ability of the K5 is of no use to you.

DxO results – All Sensors.
Best Sensor Overall : 5th Pentax K5 (ahead of D3, D700, 1Ds Mk III, Canon 5DII).
Best Landscape Dynamic Range : 1st Pentax K5 (14.1 EVs).
Best Sports (low light) Dynamic Range : 14th Pentax K5 (ISO 1162)
Best Portrait (colour depth) : 11th Pentax K5 (23.7 bits).

Pretty much any of those top FF cameras are going to better the K5 for Sports and Portraiture, and of course other factors come into play when assessing a camera as a whole. If you don't want to spend a lot of money then selling the K7 and buying a K5 would certainly improve your work - though whether by enough to satisfy your requirements only you can say.

I agree with this ..... you often hear people whisper TWO cameras ! However when birding I also like to shoot the environment so usually have the 10-20 on the K7 and the DA*300 on the K5. This way I'm saving multiple lense changes and I'm always ready if a bird appears. Next weekend for a couple of events I'll likely have the 17-50 on one and the 50-150 on the other.

It really makes life so much easier. Depending on what you're shooting it doesn't have to be 2 x K5s either (though I think I'll end up there sooner rather than later) as the K7, or virtually any other K body, makes a great landscape / portrait lense where high ISOs or AF tracking are not needed to keep up the shutter speed so much.

....but but but doesn't your wife accompany you ?

A lot depends on the lense you are using the TC with as far as IQ and degradation is concerned, however there are some excellent models out there. Personally I have the Tamron x1.4 and Pentax AFA x1.7. Take a look at this thread I put up recently : link

Lovely shots of some of my favourite creatures Don .. #2 for me !