Hi David

Glad to be of help, just a small point, if you're using flash you could try using a diffuser on the head to soften the light a little, failing that bounce the flash off a nearby reflective surface instead of directly on the subject. It may also help to use the lens in manual focus to get focus on the eyes if you wish.

Best regards,

John

Hi David, that's a great improvement, really nice image.

Best regards,

John

Hi David, would look better with a little more depth of field DoF if you have enough light, try stopping the lens down to f/8 or f/11. You may need a flash or failing that a tripod to counter the slow shutter speed you'll have. The purple fringing may actually be a result of a wide aperture at close range say f/2.8 giving Longitudinal Chromatic Aberrations (LoCA)LoCAs (non-coinciding focal planes of the various colors) are a further aspect. LoCAs show up as magenta colored halos in front the focus point and green beyond at large apertures.

A simple explanation of DoF can be found here:

http://www.photozone.de/depth-of-field-and-focus

Hope this is of some help.

John

Hi Adrian

I've used the K10D and K20D in torrential downpours with DA* lenses, mainly on wildlife photography with DA*200/2.8 and DA*300/4 never had any problems. The 16-50 zoom survived similar conditions without problem, I just wipe the kit over when I get home and it's good to go for the next outing. Hope this helps.

John

£400 sounds pretty good, mine's cased too. I need some funds to buy a 400mm lens. The lettering on the front of mine has been blacked out as it reflects in the filter on the front (if used)

John

Excellent condition, very hard to come by, serious offers invited before it goes on Ebay!

John

Chris

Do you still have the Sigma 400/5.6 APO in please? Is it the APO Tele Macro with 77mm filter thread (Big brother to the 300/4 APO Tele Macro)

Regards,

John

Bigger tripod required

A little field craft and knowledge of your subject really helps

The 10-20 Sigma is rectilinear, flat field of view, where as the Pentax 10-17mm Fisheye is distoted heavily and is supposed to be that way. The 180 degree field of view is actually measured across the frame diagonally, which means you get somewhere in the region of 145-150 degrees horizontal view. Hope this helps.

John