Having lived in China for 18 years I can say that I've never seen a copied lens .... they may exist but I've never seen or heard of them, even in Shanghai's most dubious shopping malls (virtual and bricks & mortar) !

Nope - the Pentax 55-300 is a class above both and is an excellent lens. The Tamron is also a very good lens, can be a little prone to PF but still good and has an excellent 1:2 macro function if you need it (think flowers more than insects).

How many times in a year !?!

I have it to perform every time I switch the camera on - then every time I reformat the SD after a full day's shooting I do it another two times .... and I still haven't gone blind

Really like these, #1 especially.

In this series I've just put up (link) all the B&Ws were processed via Silver Efex Pro 2, the first two using an effect called Full DR (harsh) which initially gives something quite similar to those above ..... but I've then de-noised (or de-grained if you prefer) them which smooths them out a little of course.

I do think it is quite easy to replicate the film 'look'. Silver Efex has a number of film types listed and I also have quite a few Aperture Pre-Sets for specific film types (LR3 obviously has them too).

I've had GGS protective covers on my K7 and now on both of my K5s. The one on the K7 smashed one time when obviously the camera took a blow in the bag somehow - completely splintered but didn't break and it was easy to just peel off the broken one and install a new one on the still pristine screen.

I think that is a little exaggerated. The Tamron 70-300 is an excellent lens and although it has more PF than say the 55-300 it is not out of the ballpark and I've shot many very nice pics at 300mm with no PF - just watch your high contrast areas (as you would with any lens). The macro setting is far more than a gimmick too - very handy to have. GBP70 is a nice price for a very nice lens.

Milamber - Thanks ! #1 was shot with 43 Ltd and #2 thru @ #10 were with the 77 Ltd (mostly @f2 and ISO 80, 1/200 if I remember correctly) on a K5.

Thank you SnappyChappy - nothing like a lovely bride.

Thanks Sanj - see above.

Wow - not sure that's true but I'm glad you like the set Geo !

That's a gorgeous Goldfinch shot Neil.

Karaoke for the wife and street shooting for me

#1 - Beggars Banquet (Yes, I gave him a Xmas bonus) !




#3 - True Blood




#2 - Lover's Leap




#4 The Minder




#5 - Street Cred.




#6 - Love at first Sight - a young girl take a first glimpse of an artist's sketched portrait of her.




#7 - On Golden Pond




There were also a few brave souls braving the cold for their pre-wedding shots :

#8




#9




Whilst the driver waits .....

#10




Sorry about the Copyright notices .. but as usual, you know where I live.

Thanks for looking .. hope you enjoyed them ! C&C, fans, dislikes etc. always welcome !!