As I said in the other thread it is my main lens, and I am very happy with it. I've never had the 16-45 so can't comment on IQ differences. I prefer the range of the 17-70 and the fact it is a constant F4 and an SDM lens. Those are the reasons I chose it over the 16-45. The extra range and lower price were the reasons for not getting the 16-50*.

I shot everything RAW while away for four weeks. I had plenty of 4gb cards and an image tank. I did buy one more card whilst I was away, so that I didn't need to delete photos from a any card. Wouldn't have been a problem with them on the image tank as well, but it just gave me a better feeling knowing I had them all double.
The biggest downside is the processing of thousands of images when you return home. I am still not finished with them.

Just because they have fledged doesn't mean they can fly much. They can probably manage to get up higher if they need to.
It is frustrating, I know. I hate cats too, nasty killing machines as far as I am concerned. But really it is best to leave the babies alone. You may disturb things so much the parents don't come back to them, and then they will die a far worse death than being caught by a cat.

This is true of any baby animal you may find. Mum is usually close by.

I know you mean well but if they have fledged (and the ones in your photo clearly have)then they will stay near the nest, but not in it, still being fed by their parents until they can fend for themselves. Leave them alone. It is the best thing you can do, trust me. They will have to take their chances with the cats. Only something like 25% of baby birds survive anyway.

Hey Ben good to hear from you! We miss your cryptic comments here, or at least I do. I shall read your blog with interest.

OT what do you think of the K7? Have you played with one yet??

Photobucket offers you the ability to share your photos with others, either by sending them a link to the photo or album, or my hotlinking it in a forum.Most photo hosting sites do not allow hotlinking so Photobucket is very useful for that. If you have your own website you can probably hotlink from that, but even then a Photobucket account is useful for photos you only want to display for a short time/ don't want clogging up your webspace/ want to maintain your web anonymity on forums.
There are groups you can join, a basic editing facility, slideshow possibilities and you can upload videos too - useful for all those potential K7 owners out there

I have the Pentax 17-70, it is my main lens nowadays. I can't say I have had a any CA or vignetting with it. It is offers fast, silent focussing, a fixed F4 and some degree of weather sealing.

Danny, what is the battery life like? is it better than with the k20D? I'm not complaining about the k20D batteries, just curious how this new type compares.

It was worth the wait !

Photobucket is easy to use, though it is quicker to upload your photos already resized. It is one of the few sites which allows hotlinking.

Lucky you!
My husband is sort of bitten by the bug after using the Ds on holiday, but not enough to invest much money in it - especially now he has his eye on some new toys for his guitar playing
As I said before he broke the Ds but isn't too bothered about getting a replacement. I don't think giving him my K20d and me getting the K7 would work. Besides whilst it is very tempting I can't really justify getting another new camera so soon. Maybe when I win a bit more than €30 on the lottery