I have bought two K5s in Shanghai. Both have English/Chinese text on the bottom in the little depressions made for the stickers. There is also another small sticker that says Pentax in both English & Chinese. Either they were made here or in Japan and the stickers are added afterwards depending on the export destination. Those who have bought K5s in the UK/USA/Aus etc. can maybe check theirs to see what language they are in and what they say.

Even if produced in China I wouldn't worry about it - do you have a MacBook Pro / iMac etc. ? Yes ? Made In China ! Quality depends on the production methods and QC of the factory / manufacturer rather more than the country of production.

Hi Geoff, welcome tot he site .. looking forward to seeing your shots.

Winsford .... first house we ever bought was there, Knight's Grange, close to the golf course.

Sale didn't go through.

Now £125 INCLUDING Shipping & PayPal Fees.

A decent offer will be accepted for the Pentax F28-80/3.5 -4.5 macro (see link mentioned above) too !

There may be something else that you have not considered and that's the reduced costs of materials by increased efficiency and production, particularly of wafers. This will mean smaller production/sales of a FF camera could still be an attractive option whilst reducing the number of enthusiasts that jump ship to CaNikon simply because they are looking for a FF camera. And of course those very same consumers buy more, and the more expensive, lenses too.

It seems from sales reports that the DSLR market picked up considerably in 2010 whereas the CSC market started to lose momentum. It will be interesting to see what has happened in 2011 though no doubt the tsunami in Japan and floods in Thailand will have impacted DSLR sales.

Bullseye. I'd very much appreciate a PM in those circumstances.

Congrats on buying the 55-300 at that price Peter.

I have had both the Tamron 70-300 (great value, very nice 1:2 macro is not a gimmick, decent sharpness, PF is an issue) and I there are some great bargains on this lens at the moment.

I also have the 55-300 (but I've not used it for a long time) and there is no doubt it is at least one class up from the Tamron. At the price you've paid for it ... no brainer.

Thanks for the information Steven. I now know how 'luxury' items can reach stratospheric prices here (D&G, Hermes etc. etc. cost 20% more than in Paris, London or Rome) !

Ha ha - I had one delivery of a lens from Canada (to China), worth less than GBP100 but having then cost another $40 (or thereabouts) in postage, that I was then charged another GBP120 customs duty on when it arrived ! Seems there is a standard GBP120 customs fee for EVERY camera lens regardless of whether it is worth GBP10 or GB P1,000.

I still can't figure out how almost all cameras/lenses (white market) can cost less than they do in the UK and sometimes even less than in the USA. :

Really sounds like the 150-500 would suit you down to the ground. Excellent lens for the price.

For your BB 500 try using CIF (Catch in Focus) and you should find your hit-rate go up considerably.

CIF = Catch in Focus. When you switch to manual focus you can use this function (check the K10D manual) by switching it on from the camera menu. Point at your subject, hold down the shutter button and start focusing, when it hits focus the shutter will fire (and not before) !

Focus Confirmation = you can see this in your VF - it is the little green hexagon. When lit it shows you that the subject is in focus. Note however that there is a 'range' (also with AF) so it depends on whether you are focusing from Infinity DOWN to your subject or from minimum focus distance UP to your subject. For each lens one direction will always give sharper shots (and it does vary from lens to lens though for most of mine it is Infinity DOWN to the subject). This is easy to check on the K7/K5 by taking one shot from each direction and then using the side-by-side review mode and zooming in to see which is sharper, do this a few times and you will now be certain which it is (not sure if the K10D has this function).

That's true Chris - not the same but I imagine it would work well for the first example Bob gave (Weddings). Though PK Tether would be best for model shoots / clients who want to see the shots immediately.