Any Pentax dSLR will work your Vivitar lens, and from what I understand it's not a bad lens either - not terribly sharp wide open though, and closest focussing distance is quite long (7 or 8 feet)?

One thing to bear in mind is that if it is an older lens that does not communicate its focal length to the camera body, then the shake reduction function will not be particularly helpful: it's fine with old primes when you manually input the focal length, but not so good with old zooms, especially if they cover such a wide range. That's a shame, as build in image stabilisation is a real bonus of the Pentax system.

At the very least, I'd suggest you buy the camera with the 18-55 kit lens, which will give you a small and lightweight yet still decent-performing lens for when you don't want to lug around the Vivitar - and it will also mean you still have a lens that will do wide angle (28mm is more like the field of view of a standard lens when used on an APS-C dSLR).

If the Voigtlander is anything like as good as the 40mm and 58mm SLii lenses, then it'll be a keeper for sure: that's where I'd be headed if I was looking for a new lens in this range now, and FF compatability was an issue.

I also have the SMCM 20mm f4 and would recommend it if you can find one. Performance is probably on a par with the DA21 Ltd (of close enough as to make no difference), and obviously its cheaper.

It's also surprisingly compact (not much bigger than the pancake actually).

MF not an issue, especially with such a wide angle lens. Only downside is having to do stop down metering, but if you're using it for landscapes etc, then being slow and methodical is probably part of the plan in any case!

Another one that's difficult to find much info on but which appears to get very good reviews is Vangaurd Alta. I don't have personal experience but they, like Redsnapper, appear to offer quality and features that belie the price.

Chris - certainly: hope you can join us.

Steven - kind of far from Wyoming! Been to Buffalo NY but didn't know there was another one... if we were to meet there, what would we be taking photographs of?

Cheers,

Jon

Taken a Forum member up on what sounds like an almost as new Redsnapper. Interesting that I think they are actually made by Marumi, but sold under the Redsnapper label in this country. I already use Marumi filters quite frequently and have found them to be very convincing alternatives to Hoya, often at a much lower price. If the tripod is of similar quality, I think it will do fine.

Thanks all for the suggestions. And to add one name into the mix, Vanguard Alta tripods are also considered to be very good and good value - it's another one to consider.

I also like Manfrotto and have one of their monopods, but have had issues with the clamps on its leg. I notice that the same clamps are used on some of their other tripods (ie the ones I can afford!) and other people have posted similar feedback in their reviews eg on Amazon.

Experiencing similar issues with something ordered from KEH. Arrived in the UK within 3 days. Took a week to get through the customs charging process (although I did get a couple of helpful emails from Parcelforce staff when I asked what was happening). Has been at the local delivery office (Mitcham) for the past four days and I am still awaiting the letter from them asking for payment to be made so they can release it. Glad they don't run a brewery.

I currently have an ancient and very heavy Slik tripod, which is great at home but not a realistic option for taking out. And a small Jessops tripod which is ok for a compact but not dSLR.

Any thoughts on reasonably priced (say under £100) portable and lightish weight tripods that are built reasonably well, and would support the weight of the K-7 plus average lens (I'm never likely to use something as heavy as the Bigma, for example)? I'm not so bothered about being able to do clever things like holding the camera at weird angles, or millimeters from the ground, but would be keen on a tripod where I can hang a bag from it to weigh it down if necessary.

I know you can spend a fortune on really good tripods, but I will be more of an occasional user (eg for long exposures at dusk) where portability will be important to me than rock solidness.

I've read of Vanguard Alta+ tripods, which look like they might do the job well, but wondered if people have experience of them or of other brands they would recommend?

Cheers,

Jon

First thing I'd say is don't bother with the TC with either of these lenses. It's highly unlikely that the results would be any better than cropping, and all you're going to do is increase your chance of camera shake by needing to use a longer shutter speed (as you lose light with a TC). TC's come into their own when you get beyond kit-lens quality, and given the 55-300 already hunts for focus in poor light at longer lengths, I can't imagine that a TC would help much given you are talking about dusk and dawn.

In fact, at telephoto, neither of the two lenses would be great for dusk or dawn at longer lengths, given you'll be operating at small apertures and long shutter speeds to get the best out of them.

That said, the contest is a no-brainer if image quality at long lengths is the most important issue - the 55-300 is the better performer.

However, the 18-250 is a decent lens and obviously more flexible. You mentioned that this is a business trip in Aberdeen: if you think you want a lens to take all kind of shots - landscapes, town, street, etc, then I would take the 18-250. If you keep the focal length below about 135mm you can get very good results out of this lens. And it's OK for the occasional longer shot too - even at 250mm in decent light.

If it was me and I was going for a one lens solution, I'd take the 18-250 but also seriously consider taking a lightweight tripod and remote release: these will help enormously with your photographs at dawn and dusk, and will probably make a much more marked difference than that between the two lenses.

Getting closer - let me know if you are planning to join us at the Riverfront Bar on the South Bank - Friday 19 March at 6:30 - and then a bit of a stroll for some pics and beer.