To be honest you are unlikely to own a Pentax unless you had put some intelligent thought into the purchase, given the overwhelming advertising from the other manufacturers, which makes it much more likely that you would want to chat with any other owners you meet and that they would want to reciprocate.

If it was the same for owners of other makes you wouldn't be able to move for the large groups stood around chatting, but spotting another Nikon/Canon user isn't exactly a challenge....

Bear in mind, also, that 30 seconds is quite a long time at a highish magnification. The stars/nebulae will have moved quite a bit over that time so the images are never going to be properly sharp unless you have an astronomical mount which moves with the planet.

The blurring/elongation of the various stars is a result of this, so stacking images, as previously suggested, might be a good bet.

I thought it was obligatory for two people with Pentax cameras to talk. Like a secret handshake with the Masons or something. It's a sign that you have found someone with intelligence and good taste

I'd bite your arm off with the 10-20mm if I hadn't just bought one. It's an excellent price.

Tempted by the 55-300mm, but in Italy until Friday and suspect it will be long gone by then.

Saw that rarest of rare sightings in Pompeii on Sunday - another person using a Pentax. I've had my K-r for almost a year now and have travelled to almost a dozen countries since then and this is the first time I've seen anyone with anything other than Nikon/Canon etc.

This was a Japanese gentleman with a K-r too. He didn't have any English and my Japanese is just about up to saying hello/goodbye and asking the name of their dog so we largely just smiled, pointed at the cameras and said Pentax a few times.

Pentac cameras are obviously like buses because the next day we were coming back from Capri on the ferry and I ended up stood next to a lady who also had a K-r. Luckily she was English so we could have a decent chat. She hadn't seen anyone else with a Pentax before either and rigorously checked everyone's camera straps for anything that wasn't Canon/Nikon. She was initially thrown by mine because I have one of the ones bought through this website with Ephotozine on it.

She had a go with my Sigma 10-20mm and decided she needed to get one!

Received (with 30 mins to go before leaving for airport!), well packed and just as described in great condition. Thanks Rich.

It's great in the right situation, but so are the alternatives.

I have a gorillapod, a 'proper' tripod and a bean bag, all of which are very useful from time to time, but none of them do the job of the other, if that makes sense. No single one of them will replace the others.

The gorillapod can be useful, but needs something to stand on/wrap around. It's simply too low to replace a regular tripod. A proper tripod is usually the best bet in most situations, but's it's heavy/bulky and sometimes not permitted.

A bean bag is very useful, but again needs something to rest on at a reasonable height and is quite bulky to carry around, despite it's light weight. I now have an inflatable one, a bit like a child's armband, which is better.

The bottom line - whichever one you have with you, the one you need will be in the cupboard at home.......

I don't process everything, but do have a quick and easy batch process set up that could do it. It really doesn't take that long at all, unless you are aiming for something very specific. The tower picture that won the weekly comp a while back took a fair bit longer as do some of the HDR's (which aren't good enough for here yet)

Actually I think this hijack is very useful. It shows that a lot of the time a new lens isn't actually necessary, despite our love of upgrading Not a thread to let our partner's see.......

I agree completely. I didn't process mine either for a long time - some stupidity about getting it right in the first place or some such nonsense

Once you get over the whole feeling that you are cheating somehow even a few seconds on it makes a huge difference to the finished photo. I'd be embarassed to show any of mine on here without it now. It opens the door to a whole new level of creativity as well.

I have Paintshop Pro X2, but reckon any of the main ones are absolutely fine. Plenty of free ones available too that will do a decent job.

Mike's treatment of the plane shot says it all really. It's amazing how much detail is waiting to be brought out.

I have some concerns over the 10-20mm as well, but any lens will have it's fans and detractors. On the whole there are plenty more people who love it than hate it.

I've bought mine from a forum member who has good feedback for selling before and says he has had great images with it. That's probably the way to go secondhand or just buy new from SRS so it can be returned if there is a problem.

That said, I'd definitely stump up the extra £70 to get the 8-16 if I was buying new.

Hopefully mine will arrive before I go to Italy tomorrow. We'll see then how another complete beginner with no experience with a 10-20mm gets on. If nothing else I should be able to report back with some tips on what not to do.......