I'd second that - I have sold a camera on commission through Ffordes and reckon even after taking their cut, I probably got more than I would have got through EBay (because people are prepared to pay more to buy from a proper dealer offering a guarantee). I've also recently purchased a secondhand lens from them and the description (I phoned them to check) and service were both spot on.

Depends what you want from the upgrade. If it's mainly about image quality, then I'd probably go for the Kr. If it's about handling/controls/twin e-dials/etc then I'd go for the higher end bodies. I think the Kr has enough useful additions (not least illuminated focus points) to make it a better upgrade than the Kx.

I'd add Amsterdam into the mix too

Let me know if you might be interested in the Sigma 70/2.8 macro (boxed and excellent condition). I know it's not quite the focal length you are looking for, but it's a superb lens - rumoured to be the sharpest they've ever made. It's also supposed to work well with their APO teleconverters, which would give you both 70mm and 100mm options.

Cheers,

Jon

If you have the chance to go back, I'd try and find a higher viewpoint so you can avoid cropping the bottom of the wheel.

And perhaps experiment with much longer shutter times too - some movement might have been quite interesting although I think there'd be a lot of trial and error before getting it right.

Finally, I reckon if you'd been there about 20 minutes earlier, the light may have been kinder to you - night shots seem to work best before it gets properly dark - when you can have a really nice deep dark blue sky.

All that said, I think with Mike's minor adjustments, the second one makes a pretty decent image.

Cheers,

Jon

The 200 is quite the performer and worth more than £15 all by its own. So good in fact that I would consider getting the PKA adapter for it. It would be worth paying the £50ish to get it to talk nicely to your camera. I've owned that lens and the Pentax 200/4 SMCM. I reckon the images from the Tamron were better. Sharper and less fringing.

He looks pretty relaxed Prefer the colours of the first and the composition of the second for all the reasons others have said. I hope your sofa survives his attentions better than ours has survived our youngest cat (Duma = "roar" in Setswana, also known as Darth Duma also known as Dumamort .....).

He is of course completely innocent of all accusations. Here he is with his best buddy. A year on from this shot, they are totally inseparable:





Have fun with the new friend!

Jon

Hmmm - I'm with others here. Although the Pentax compacts are quite capable, they aren't really "best of breed", although I think the W90 is a particularly convincing little camera but not one that suits the needs you have outlined.

Personally I'd be looking at Canon or Lumix - they are the leaders in making excellent compact cameras for people who want to produce good shots with minimal hassle. The Pentax designs are good, but probably a generation behind the very best.

My one biggest hint: don't use ultra wide angle lenses simply to fit more stuff in - you simply end up getting a shot of everything and nothing. They're at their best when you have something of significant foreground interest, and you need to be not far off touching that to get the best effect. I seem to recall that Ken Rockwell did a reasonable piece on how to get the best out of ultrawide lenses, even though most of his stuff is deeply irritating!

Aside from reading the other thread about lens options, I would suggest that you do upgrade from the K10D - excellent high ISO performance will be a real advantage on safari as you may well be shooting outside the main daylight hours. High quality ISO640-800 would be very helpful, and going beyond 1600 may be useful on occasions (espeically with lenses that aren't terribly fast).

Actually, if you can, you might do worse than keep your K10D with the 16-45, and supplement with Kx or Kr with the 55-300. Between those two, you'd cover lots of bases!