Welcome to the board
If you have broadband Internet access then www.photobox.co.uk is a very good place to start! Delivery is very quick and quality is excellent.

If you are really pushed for time, then most major Asda, Boots and Jessops stores have print kiosks that will print straight from your memory card. (Note: I don't have direct experience of these though)

Matt

Tim, yes I saw that It was another website somewhere that said something to the effect of "by the time it is released, Pentax expect it to be approaching 30Mp" - hence my comment
Matt

Tim,
I'm not sure that it will be interchangable... I got the impression that by the time they release the sensor will be up to 30Mp. Presumably they know the sensor is coming, and they've got some kind of module that will still fit and work.

If it's got the 22bit ADC of the K10D as well, it'll be a mighty fine piece of kit

Matt

FWIW, www.photodo.com is also run by the same team as this site and ePhotozine.

There's a review of the Sigma: http://www.photodo.com/topic_65.html
(Complete with MTF graphs)

Unfortunately there's not one for the Pentax (but the SMC-DA 50-200 looks extremely inviting )

Matt

The problem of flare is often worse when the sun is at an angle - when there's lots of light bouncing around between the elements. A straight-at-the-sun approach doesn't always tell you everything

It could be tricky, but I'd check out:
* Resolution. Preferably edge-to-edge sharpness, so you'll need a nice detailed subject, shot straight on.
* Flare control.
* Bokeh. (I haven't seen a Sigma that I like the bokeh of, but it's all personal taste.) Could be tricky to test, but shoot at f4 and see what you get.

The other bits like distortion can be corrected easily enough.

Oh yes, and don't forget your filter situation! The 16-45 is 67mm thread and works just fine on Cokin P. Check that there's no vignetting with the Sigma (which I think is 72mm) when using Cokin P (if that's what you've got)... otherwise shelling out for Lee filters is going to cost you as much as the lens

HTH!
Matt

Agree with John... you can tell almost nothing from a casual shot like that. Areas where differences are likely include:

* Flare control. What about shots into the sun, with strong point sources of light etc?
* Chromatic aberration
* Bokeh
* Distortions (barrel/pincushion)
* MTF across the diameter of the lens (ie exactly how sharp, and is it only in the centre?)

At the very least it's good to see a variety of subjects and lighting conditions compared between lenses. The shots shown were very "tame"

Matt

You mean this one?
Matt

I'm saying nothing....





...no, it's no good, I have to get started! The 16-45 is astounding. Incredibly close focussing at 16mm for seriously mad shots, razor sharp for landscapes, great bokeh at 45mm for portraits. Super versatile... just add a set of good ND grads for landscapes and you're totally sorted
Ahh, and flare control is second to none - you'll just have trouble keeping the ND grads clean enough!!
Sorry, I can't compare against the Sigma - after trying a fair few other makes and lenses, I've stuck 100% with Pentax and haven't been disappointed.

Matt

Zaphod,
Well, I've had the SMC-F 50/f1.7, SMC-A 50/f1.4, and the SMC-F 50/f1.4.
All brilliant. The 1.7 is very, very sharp and has a great flat field - so it's superb for macro and copy work. The f1.4s are my absolute favourite though, especially for portraiture and low light. Just sublime! Expect to pay about £100.

You don't have to completely rule out the SMC-DA 16-45. On digital it is one of the best lenses I've ever used, and I get to appreciate it more and more. If your film body has "P" or "Tv" mode then you can use it. I've used it on the Z1 without any problems - here's some samples: http://www.pbase.com/mattmatic/smc_da_test
(It was extremely surprising to see how well it performed!)

I haven't shot film for years now, and certainly would seriously consider the current DA lenses if I were you They're as good as some of the old primes, if not better!

Matt

SMC-F and SMC-FA lenses do come up on ebay from time to time. I suppose generally people who have them want to keep them Also, with the Pentax DSLRs becoming so popular, second hand lenses are getting more and more difficult to obtain
A couple of users here often ebay stuff: spbatt and spirit_of_will. An SMC-FA 24-90 just went for £256.


That said, www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk have new stock of the SMC-FA 50/f1.4 arriving, listed at £165. They also sell the SMC-A 50/f1.2.

Other places to look:
www.lcegroup.co.uk (though their website can be woefully out of date)
www.mxv.co.uk
www.ffordes.co.uk (prices can be high though)

Also, the new SMC-DFA macro lenses will work on all film bodies as they still have an aperture ring, so that adds a 50/2.8 and a 100/f2.8 macro to the list

Of course, you can always ask here which are worth going for, and how much you should expect to pay!

Matt