I can't see how it'd be likely for you to be palmed off with a counterfeit camera body.

I used to live in Hong Kong however and one thing you should look out for is some of the rip-off prices in the tourist trap type shops. The best places for buying Pentax kit were a couple of small camera shops on side streets on Kowloon side. I was paying between 1/3rd and 1/2 off the uk prices for top Pentax kit (FA* lenses, Z1p bodies etc.) there. It's all grey import stuff from Japan but it was all genuine.

I did some reading up on the HP 7960 and it does look an interesting option, especially for B&W use. It does seem to be quite slow though, and it's not much cheaper than the likes of the R800.

I've narrowed the options down to the HP 8450, Epson R800 or Canon ip8500 but I'm still leaning towards the Epson at the moment.

As my 8-year old Epson Stylus Photo is rather past its best now, what options would you recommend as a replacement?

Price up to £250 or so - possibly considering the Epson R800.

I've still not had a chance to have a proper outing using the Sigma 10-20mm, however I've taken some pictures near the office and at home to see what it's like. The wide end is certainly very wide - wide enough that I've managed to get the edge of my hand in shot, and it's also easy to get your feet in if you're pointing a little bit down.

Mostly I've been using the lens stopped down to F11 or smaller and the results have been very sharp indeed across the frame, quite impressive. I've also take some interior shots hand-held and wide open and those have also been useably sharp.

Here are a few shots to give some idea of how wide 10mm is:













The close focus performance is very useful, making it easy to get front to back sharpness.

I wouldn't personally hold anything against a lens just because it was made by a 3rd party, however as far as I can tell the only difference is the SMC coating on the Pentax lens although it's also possible they're chipped differently. Even the lens cap is definitely Tamron made (although it says Pentax on it) although that's a good thing as it's one that can be taken on and off with the hood in place.

I've never tried the Tamron model so can't comment on how it compares in use, however as 28-200's go it was well regarded and (like the Pentax) has good close focusing capabilities.

Unfortunately I don't know much about the 50-200 - I've never seen or used one. If it's anything like the quality of the 18-55 then it wouldn't be a lens that I'd want however!

I have compared the 28-200 to the 18-55 though and through the range the overlap I found the 28-200 the better performer. When I originally got the 28-200 I also had an FA 100-300 and in the range they overlapped I also found the 28-200 a better performer.

Having said all that if you're intending to keep both the 18-55 and the 80-200 then one candidate to consider is the FA 28-70 F4 (there are usually a few on Ebay). That's a constant aperture lens and a cut above the performance of the other consumer zooms in that range - such as the FA 28-80 etc. If you're considering getting rid of the 80-200 and/or only want to carry around two lenses then the 28-200 could certainly be an option.

My own expectations for the 28-200 weren't that high when I bought it - partly because of a lot of critiscm of that type of lens at the time and partly because I had F2.8 zooms and prime lenses in the same focal length range. I was pleasantly surprised by the 28-200 though and overall found it a useful lens. One of my lightweight kit options was an MZ5 with Pheonix 19-35 and the SMC-FA 28-200 as lenses, and I got many memorable shots with that setup.

It's 3.8-5.6. I wrote a review of the lens for photo.net a while back and you can see it at http://www.photo.net/equipment/pentax/smc28-200

It's just as well I get most of the parcels delivered to the office!

I am planning to sell some kit to make up for the recent purchases - the FA 50mm F1.7 came with an MZ50 and a 28-80 that I've no use for so it's back onto Ebay for those, and I think the FA 28-200 and DA 18-55 might well be joining them.

I've also realised I've now got 7 primes in the 50-55mm range so perhaps a little rationalisation there wouldn't go amiss as well...

The 24-90 would be an option, however it's not a lens I've seen much of 2nd hand, while the others are all readily available.

What I'm looking for in that particular range isn't necessarily the absolute best quality available (I have primes at the key focal lengths anyway) but a balance of quality and convenience. The 16-45 appeals for days when I won't want to change lenses at all, however it's a shade short at the long end. Any of the others (Pentax 24-90 or the Sigma 24-70 or 24-135) would mean that the 10-20 would have to come along as well. You're absolutely correct in that the gap between 20-24mm isn't any kind of a problem and like you I also tend not to buy new unless I really have to.

I've got an Ebay bid out on a 24-135 which finishes later tonight so that might answer the question for me.

I went through a similar process but made a different decision. I do lots of outdoor scenic stuff and used sub-20mm focal lengths a lot with film. Since going digital the main issue I've had has been a lack of coverage and quality at the wide end. I did seriously consider getting the 16-45 first as I'd agree that 24mm is a very useful focal length (for a while one of my commonly used setups was just an MZ5 with the FA* 24mm and 85mm lenses) and very noticeably more useful than 28mm.

Both lenses were about the same cost though, however several days in York recently was enough to convince me that I needed to sort out the wide end first. With full coverage in place now from 10mm up my next move will be to sort out the zoom quality issues I have in the 20-80mm range.

I've got several options at the moment which I'm considering - the 16-45 F4 Pentax, a 24-70mm F2.8 Sigma (which will cost about half what the Pentax does) or a 24-135 F2.8-4.5 Sigma (at about a 3rd of a cost of the Pentax).