Thanks for the comments folks, much appreciated - I shall definitely have to keep playing with the lens at f1.4... I have spotted the spooky face now (I think) in the top right of the leaves - scary teeth

Regards

Mat W

I think broadly that the ist series of cameras were replaced by the K100/K110/K10... (themselves then superseded by the K200/K20). Not sure what the specific differences are but in general cameras seem to have evolved over time to have better higher ISO performance... faster capture rates... more autofocus points... etc. More megapixels too but I think the ist D was 6 MP as well... here's a link to some info on the Wikipedia:

link

...odds on someone here will know more than me or there'll be a gem of a webpage somewhere out there... might be worth looking on ebay as well as the adverts there often include the specs of the cameras...

Regards

Mat W

It depends on budget I guess... I was in London Camera Exchange in London in the week and ended up trying out a lens on a K100d. I didn't note what the price for the body was but I thought it was pretty small and light for a DSLR. I think the K100d is a few years old now and is 6 Megapixel I think but I believe pretty highly regarded - might be worth a thought...:

Regards

Mat W

I love the colours and the gradations in the blue/green panels. The composition is different and makes me think about what it is (pretending I didn't read the title) - the only criticism is that there are what look like a few smears or blobs near the top edge.

Great shot though - arresting

Regards

Mat W

Hello all, being a weekend () I have been out and about again - this time trying out the sigma 30mm f1.4 which I picked up from a second hand shop in the week. Being a bank holiday the weather has broken a bit so not the same bright sunshine of the last couple of weeks but such is life. Here are a handful anyway - hope you like them...

First up, backlit leaves:



A Fly takes a break in its otherwise hectic day:



The sky starts to glower a bit (I might have gone a bit overboard on the PP...:



One of the Egyptian Geese takes his turn on sentry duty at the pond:



Finally, some leaves which I took at f1.4 to see what the lens was like at its biggest aperture...



As ever, any comments welcome. Overall impressions of the sigma 30mm is pretty favourable. It seems pretty well put together, It seems pretty sharp and is a good size on the camera. Chunkier than one of the Pentax ltd primes and it doesn't have quick shift - although autofocus is very quick. I shall have to try it out in low light (the f1.4 was what interested me in the lens in the first place) - focussing seems trickier at the biggest aperture setting...

Regards

Mat W

On the basis of what I tend to use the most, and get the (IMO) best results with, I would venture that the perfect set (for me at least) would be:

Pentax DA* 300mm
Pentax DFA 100mm Macro
Pentax DA 70mm ltd
Sigma 10-20mm

Maybe bung in a teleconverter as well

Mind you, if that is the case, why have I got all these other lenses.... : Fact is I'll keep changing my mind. The only lens I currently covet is the DA 21mm ltd. Don't know why, I already have a zoom which covers 21mm, and it's not far from the 20mm end of the sigma ultra-wide... but I still rather like the look of the ltd lens... think its a prime thing

Regards

Mat

Great set! I think I like the steps best too (like a few others here). I feel like you, Andrew, when it comes to sensor cleaning and have tended in the past to use the spot healer in post process... That said, with the K-7 the dust removal seems a lot more effective than the mechanism in the K10D and I haven't managed to build up the same layer of crud. Yet.

Regards

Mat W

Great shot - made me smile. I have a Pentax DFA 100mm but similarly am finding it good for general shots as well...

Mat W

I'm with Andrew - that's a cracker. Very nice indeed and I don't think it's over-sharpened personally

Good one

Mat W

I'll jump on that bandwagon too! The first is a stunner - nice one

Regards

Mat W