Me too - South is good: live near Dulwich, work in Wimbledon.

Did it once with a K100DS and some improvisation....

Took an exposure in northern Vermont for 30 minutes and results came out pretty well. The long exposure NR was irritating though 'cos I had to wait a while for the results!

Improvisation came in because I had no cable release at the time (and the IR remote I subsequently bought was no good for bulb exposures until the K-7 came along).

So I took the camera inside, put it on a tripod and set it to bulb with the lens cap (and viewfinder cap) on. Pressed a large mint to the shutter (a "Mento", from memory) and used a rubber band to keep it there. Carried the whole lot outside and removed the lens cap.

Sat down and became mosquito snack for the next half hour..... Despite that, it was fun and the result was quite good. I should try it again sometime so thanks for starting this thread to remind me.

I'd take the camera and 18-250.

If I was determined to buy another lens then I would choose between either a fast small short tele (I'd be tempted to get the 70mm DA Ltd over the 50mm DA but it may stretch the budget too much) or a superwide (to keep the cost down that probably means the Sigma 10-20, which works brilliantly on the K100D).

In fact, a 10-20 plus 18-250 combination is a great two lens set-up, and the belt-looped case that comes with the Sigma 10-20 is also perfect fit for the 18-250, so handy when you want to swap lenses without carrying your camera bag.

One more thing - may be worth looking on Ebay or Amazon to try and buy some CRV3 lithium batteries before you go - they last forever and saves taking a charger for the AAs. Also worth looking for them in the States. Quite often pharmacy stores like Walgreens or CVS seem to have them on special offer - usually significantly cheaper than UK.

Very nice shot - it is indeed a London Plane, and a common tree in London. As I understand it, they were planted all over the city over the past couple of hundred years or so because they are particularly well suited to dealing with the smog caused by lots of coal! I think the peeling bark may have something to do with this ability. And my dog is addicted to eating it! But then he's a labrador so he's addicted to eating full stop.....

Hi - couple of things:

First: it's definitely an f8 lens and incapable of working at f4 (if it was an f4 500mm lens and that small, it would cost an arm and a leg or two!). As posted before I am confused about why your camera is recording any aperture value, unless you are using the Tamron PK-A adapter (has lots of contacts on it just like newer lenses)? If you are using the PK-A adapter and have no other adaptall lenses, sell it (it's worth almost as much as the 500mm lens!) and replace with much cheaper PK-M adapter which is all this lens needs.

But f8 at 500m means that depth of field is absolutely tiny, and this will be particularly apparent with closer subjects.

Second - set the SR to 500mm (ie the focal length of the lens you are using) as it is a 500mm lens, but using it on a cropped sensor gives you a similar field of view to 750mm lens. The camera needs to know the real focal length (500mm), not its translation to 35mm equivalents.

Hope this helps.

Jon

Nice and sharp! Interesting subject for a mirror lens too - I never tried flash with mine, but also found that it works well for close up subjects (well, close-ish given that you're still a few feet away!).

Looking forward to seeing more tomorrow! I've posted one shot in the gallery from a trip to Botswana - it's not the sharpest shot I took, but I quite like it, and it shows that you can get decent bokeh from a mirror lens in the right circumstances. I used the Tamron 500mm more than any other lens on that trip - and was very glad not to be lugging around something like the Bigma.

Quick note to say that I'm planning a leisurely walk with the dog and camera next Sunday - starting at Kingston railway station at around 10:30 and aiming to walk along the Thames path to Kew.

I reckon this is probably going to take until the mid afternoon with stops for snaps and snacks. If people don't want to do the whole thing, Richmond is a convenient half(ish) way point.

I've not done this stretch of the Thames Path before (I've started at the Thames Barrier and so far worked my way West as far as Kew), but a look at the Walk London website suggests that it should be interesting and scenic.

Send me a message if you're interested in coming along....

Jon

Sounds like for some reason the shake reduction is not set to the right focal length. When you switch the camera on with this lens attached, it should ask you to input a focal length, and you need to set it to 500mm otherwise the SR will not work correctly. If you have an older body without SR, ignore what I've just written!

Absolutely worth persevering with - one of the best mirror lenses ever made.

I'm surprised the camera is recording any f number at all, as when I used mine the camera had no clue what aperture it was using (Exif = f--) - but I was using an old Tamron adaptall mount, not the PK-A version (if you are using the latter, you really don't need to and it can be put to better use on a Tamron lens with aperture ring and auto setting, or sold at the going rate of c£60-£70 for a good one). The movable lugs on Tamron adapters should lock into obvious grooves to keep it locked on to the lens.

Depending which camera you use, it may well overexpose (worse with K10/20) and you will need to dial in some exposure compensation. To get the best out of it, I would recommend:

(1) do not attempt to handhold. It may be small and light but it's a very long lens. I used a lightweight monopod and kept SR switched on to good effect. I could get good shots this way down to about 1/125 - and best if you steady the lens with your left hand to keep things steady when you shoot.

(2) use RAW only. You will need to boost contrast a little in PP (true of any mirror lens) and you want to start with the best file you possibly can.

(3) consider using the catch in focus mode of the camera, which is great as long as your subject is in the centre of the frame.

(4) use the hood at all times to maxmise contrast.

(5) try and avoid subjects with busy and close backgrounds, especially if they have lots of highlight detail - this is a one way street to get the charateristic doughnut bokeh. Mirrors work best with isolated subjects against featureless backdrop!

(6) practice - these lenses are hard to master but capable of great results:


http://jonschick.smugmug.com/photos/468721622_cDHVx-M.jpg

I've got rid of a ton, but have a Canon G10 for when I don't want to lug SLR, and a Canonet Giii GL17 rangefinder to remind me how nice it is to shoot film! I don't love B&W using digital cameras, so that's my main intended use for the Canonet.