+1 to the above. With a little bracing you can use UWA such as a 10-20 or the 15 Ltd down to stupidly slow shutter speeds.

I have the 30/1.4 and think it's a wonderful lens ... but not for your intended purposes, imagine what your interiors will look like at f1.4 !

Best solution is of course a tripod or other form of mechanical stabilisation.

Wow .. makes even Chinese shows look tame (and there's not much that's tame here) !

Lovely set .... as always.

Love these Alan .. where did you get the stuffed squirrels from ?

I have these on my hard disk, unfortunately UK laws aren't very effective in China ! On a more positive note because the whole population loves to take photos nobody actually bothers you unless you are taking shots of (or at) military installations !

Lucky sod !

I was supposed to go there yesterday and today with a friend but work intervened and I had an unscheduled meeting with an important client that took me through 14.30 yesterday

Then I got up this morning with a pinched nerve in my back ... no lugging around 10kgs of cameras, lenses and monopods for me today. TV and a beer as the race starts in a few minutes !

#6 is a cracking shot - well done ! Hope you are back there for the race today.

The Chinese call anything that is mashed up (bun fillings, yam, potato etc.) ... mud !

So you have Tu Dou Ni = Mashed Potato.

My first Q would be why the 50/1.4 ? No problem, it's a fine lens, but it's not a landscape lens unless you are into stitching (a good thing).

There are many good landscape lenses and these absolutely do not have to be AF since trees don't run very fast. My go to landscape lens is an adapted Zeiss 28/2.8 which cost me £250 but there are some excellent older Pentax lenses around 28mm that would do the job perfectly (28mm is preferred because most FL below that introduce varying amounts of distortion whereas at 28mm it is imperceptible).

That said the Tamron 17-50/2.8 (ca. £299) is a great lens for many subjects, extremely sharp, and would get you off to a flyer. The 35/2.4 (ca. £139) is another excellent lens, and at a great price, and it's AF too. Just about wide enough for some landscapes but if you stitch then you're home and dry with this one. Older Pentax 28mm lenses will cost you well under £100 and you should remember that focusing to infinity starts at around 4metres at f8 on a 28mm so AF isn't necessary for landscapes.

The 55-300 (ca. £259) is a no-brainer to cover the long end. It's just got great IQ for the price.

For macro I'd skip a dedicated lens for now and buy a Raynox 250 (ca. £50) for insects or Raynox 150 (ca. £40) for flowers and the like, or buy both ! They will clip onto most lenses and are amazing value for money (and have great IQ).

If you add the FA50/1.4 (ca. £220-250), you are already set on, then you are still well under your £1,000 limit whichever combination of the above you choose.

And freaking the hell out of the poor baby !

Oh I see it now on the box - SLII.

This is tempting me. I have two 50/1.2 and the VL 50/1.8 .. but the Nokton 58/1.4 is a legendary lens.

*wrings hands*

Maybe I should let the K50/1.2 go .....

Doug. Is this the SLII version ?

EDIT - OK just noticed the SL so it's SL 1.