Hi again RG (hotshots4u2c)

Bear in mind that none of these photos have been edited or sharpened in any way. They are 'straight-out-of-the-camera' and have simply been reduced in Paint Shop Pro to comply with forum requirements. A little bit of post-processing works wonders, I can assure you !

Best regards
Richard

Hi RG (hotshots4u2c)

Click on the links below to view some of the general shots that I have taken with my Tamron 18-250mm Di II lens. Incidentally, the first link illustrates Pentax's newly announced 18-250mm super-zoom, which is a virtual clone of the Tamron super-zoom. I'll leave you to decide which model you prefer !!

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/100958-post24.html

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/83871-post6.html

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/83875-post7.html

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/97397-post5.html

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/85055-post8.html

Re your question:

"Do you think this lens would work, given the fact that all the events are not in daylight and even then the lighting is not the best all the time".

That's quite a difficult one to answer, because I've never used this lens under the arduous situation that you describe ! At the wide-end of this lens the maximum aperture is f3.5 and to be honest, the built-in flash is really not all that powerful. You'd also need to remove the supplied lens-hood when using the built-in flash, because in this instance the hood casts quite a noticeable 'shadow' at the bottom of each image when the lens is set to the 18mm-wide setting ! I'd advise you to obtain a separate PTTL-capable (Pentax Through The Lens) flashgun of some description, to illuminate the subject sufficiently when auxilliary lighting is unavailable ! In every other respect I am delighted by the optical quality, sturdy construction and compact dimensions of the 18-250mm and hope that this info helps your decision process in some way ?

Best regards
Richard

P.S. The thought just occurred to me that although the K10D body is 'weather-sealed', I believe I am correct in stating that that neither the Tamron or Pentax 18-250mm super-zooms are 'water-proof', in the same way that the latest DA series lenses are supposed to be ?

Hi Amer Khalil

I purchased one of Tamron's excellent 18-250mm Di II zoom lenses and am delighted with it's optical sharpness and overall convenience as a general 'walkaround' lens. The following threads should hopefully be of some interest to you:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/10438-tamron-18-25...

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/13667-help-lens-select...

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-releases/12646-pentax-18-250-here...

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/12181-lens-wedding...

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/11409-tamron-18-25...

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/10665-newbie-k10-owner...

Best regards
Richard

Hi all

Re your reply: "I believe you have Kim and my response mixed up".

Oops. Sorry about that mistake, so humble apologies to all concerned and I am now suitably chastised !

Best regards
Richard

Hi Kim

I am bearing in mind that this is after all a photographic forum, but when you said it:

"Seems we are getting back to politics".

It is all too easy to conveniently forget about the hard-working human being who is physically producing the photographic products that we all like to purchase at the cheapest possible price. The individuals to whom we really ought to complain are the anonymous middle-men who are making nice FAT healthy profits at our collective expense.

As KimC so correctly observed:

"It's important to remind ourselves there is a huge cost in more ways than one, for so called cheap prices".

Anyhow, let us count our many blessings and draw this subject to a suitable close, whilst retiring to a darkened room in order to ponder the meaning of life in general !

Best regards
Richard

Hi RG

When you said:

"My wife was in the UK last March and could not believe the cost of just about everything. Her comment to me when she got back was, "quote"
My god how do those people live over there" ?

Having lived in England for well over 50 years, I often ask myself the same depressing question !! Under the current Labour administration, taxation by 'stealth' has risen out of all proportion, currently making us one of the most heavily burdened countries in the world. This doubtless explains the steady stream of Brits seeking out alternative livelihoods elsewhere, where the overall cost of living is more affordable. In fact the ridiculous inflation particularly in house price values seems totally unsustainable and IMHO I fear things will deteriorate badly in the near future. The current generation of young people cannot afford to get their first foot on the 'rung of the property ladder' in England without virtually bankrupting themselves in the process. Many financial institutions are still prepared to loan buyers up to 6 or 7-times their combined annual earnings, which IMHO is totally unsustainable in the long-term. It almost seems inevitable that this teetering pyramid may collapse due to borrowers defaulting on sub-prime mortgages, rather like it has done in certain parts of the USA. Remember that Banks have gone bust before (Northern Rock is a pretty shaky institution right now) and recession can easily surface again. Whilst I sincerely hope that it doesn't happen, just a few small increases in interest rates could be enough to tip many vulnerable people over the financial precipice !

Best regards
Richard

Hi everyone

I cannot dispute the fact that the sheer scale of the US economy is many times greater than that of the entire EEC. However, all that the majority of European consumers are simply demanding is a FAIR PRICING STRUCTURE !
As a specific example, if we take into account the present exchange rate of the £ sterling against the US $ (roughly $2.00 = £1.00), which serves to magnify the inequality, by any logical reasoning process retail prices for photographic equipment should cost approximately HALF of what they currently do in the UK, not 60-100% MORE !!
Given the feeble state of the US $, how weak does it have to become against £ sterling before prices start to equalise ?
If there were perhaps such a thing as a left-handed camera (forgive the motoring analogy !) which had to be specifically engineered for the UK market, there might be SOME justification for paying a slight premium. As far as the rest of it, it's sheer profiteering on the behalf of both manufacturer and wholsaler/online/retailer alike. If every customer in the EEC 'voted with their feet' and refused outright to buy ANY imported equipment whatsoever for twelve months, you can 'bet-your-bottom-dollar' (sorry for the pun !) that prices for European consumers would magically drop like the proverbial stone !
But naturally we don't and the status quo remains stubbornly unaltered !! Ultimately, it seems that Europeans only have themselves to blame for this needless situation !

Best regards
Richard

Hi everyone

All that the majority of European consumers are simply demanding is a
FAIR PRICING STRUCTURE ! As a specific example, if we take into account the present exchange rate of the £ sterling against the US $ (roughly $2.00 = £1.00), which serves to magnify the inequality, by any logical reasoning process retail prices for photographic equipment should cost approximately HALF of what they currently do in the UK, not 60-100% MORE !!
Given the feeble state of the US $, how weak does it have to become against £ sterling before prices start to equalise ?
If every customer in the EEC 'voted with their feet' and refused outright to buy ANY imported equipment whatsoever for twelve months, you can 'bet-your-bottom-dollar'
(sorry for the pun !) that prices for European consumers would magically drop like the proverbial stone !
But naturally we don't and the status quo remains stubbornly unaltered !! Ultimately, it seems that Europeans only have themselves to blame for this needless situation !

Best regards
Richard

PS. Apologies for this partial extract from another post I made !

Hi Clarky

When you said:

"It makes no sense to me"

and Don added:

"The old excuse of Goods have to cost more to offset the exchange rate, is no longer valid. Yet our prices are still higher than the US".

Precisely !!!! It makes no sense to any fair-minded human being on this planet EXCEPT the middlemen who happily continue to make big FAT healthy profits whatever the prevailing exchange rates happen to be ! Have you ever asked yourself why it is that when prices rise for a particular item, whether it be goods, fuel, interest rates or mortgages, they remain at the higher level WAY LONGER than the time it takes for those prices to fall back again. It's called "screwing the poor old customer for as long as we can get away with it" !!!!

Finally Don observed that:

"Some stores in the US are refusing to sell (some electronics and) cars to Canadians, who are buying in the US" !!!

This practice is unfortunately becoming increasingly commonplace, because sometimes when I attempt to purchase goods online in the UK from certain sites in the US, I am often informed that they do not ship outside the States ! The usual explanation is that they have suffered from fraudulent transactions in the past. That may well be true, but I have a sneaking suspicion that US retailers are receiving subtle pressure from global manufacturers not to sell to buyers outside the States, as this is having a 'knock-on' effect on their healthy European profit stream. Maybe it's the cynic coming out in me, but what has happened to the much vaunted theory concerning a 'free trade' policy ! Consider this simplification for a moment: the sole reason that international corporations chose to move their manufacturing facilities to 'third-world' countries was to benefit from an endless supply of incredibly cheap labour. If a camera can be manufactured for say 10-15% of the cost than it would have done in an American or European factory, the price to western consumers should logically be 85-90% LESS ! This is area where huge profits are made, after distribution and advertising costs have been absorbed. Bear these facts in mind the next time you pay 'over the odds' with your hard-earned cash for a shiny new acquisition manufactured in the far east !

Best regards
Richard

Hi everyone

I think George hit the nail 'right on the head' when he said:

"Pentax (like every other foreign manufacturer) charges the retailer much more in Europe than it does in America".

The widely adopted manufacturing practice that offers incremental discounts to wholesalers who 'bulk-buy' goods in ever-larger quantities is not exactly a new concept. I am not privy to Pentax's annual sales figures, but reckon it's fairly safe to assume that the company sells a higher percentage of their photographic equipment to the United States than they do elsewhere. Therefore it would appear that end-users in Europe are inevitably doomed to pay more for identical goods in the foreseeable future than Americans do ? This price differential becomes magnified when the currency in which those goods are paid for (i.e. the US $) loses value to such an extent against a stronger currency (presently the £ sterling) that the gap becomes unacceptable to UK residents. This situation is doubly exacerbated by incentivised rebate schemes that are solely available to US customers and NOT to European ones !! I find this inequitable example to be totally OUTRAGEOUS and am frankly sick and tired of being overcharged (comparatively) for photographic equipment ! The internet has only served to highlight this unfairness, because millions of us are now only too aware of what retailers are actually charging for a particular item around the globe ! I have come to the sad but inevitable conclusion that EEC customers who continue to pay excessive retail prices must (not to put it too finely) be total 'mugs' !

Best regards
Richard