Nice to see the furr face enjoy the snow, however, I wouldn't call that a snowy backyard. I already have about 80 cm. in my backyard.

If everything else is working fine and the pictures give you the resolution, contrast and sharpness you expect from the lens, then it's worth the money. Just to put it in perspective, I paid C$487.00 + taxes (4% federal and 9% provincial) to have the AF repaired on my 50-135. Considering I would pay over C$1000.00 + tx. for a new one, for me, it was worth the investment.

[quote:3496ace15f="Spad"] How big is the platform?? The base of the Star Adventurer's Eq mount base is about 3in in diameter. [quote]

The base on mine is an Arca-Swiss compatible plate measuring about two inches and three quarters, buit they have different top plate like the RC4 which has a Manfrotto proprietary plate which is about 2 3/4" X 3 1/2"with a different quick release with a safety catch. I have this plate on my vedeo equipment and it works flawlessly.

I kind of like your set-up, but I'm not in astro photography. Hopefully, we'll see some of your pictures on this site,

I wouldn't be suprised if it was sturdy enough to hold that weight. It uses a hydrostatic mechanism to lock a rather large ball in place. When it's locked, it becomes rock solid. My set-up with the Gigapan/K3/150-450 is about eleven pounds. Unfortunately, the only way to know would be to try it.

I use a Manfrotto 468MGQ6 ball head. It has a pan base under the ball head. This head has an incredible (and effortless) locking mechanism. I regularly mount a Gigapan Epic Pro on it with a K3 and 150-450 lens, and the thing never sags or move. Take my word when I say it's a very heavy combination. The pan feature has some drag to make pan shot "smoother". It also sports an Arca-Swiss mount, but it is also available with different mounting plates. Best ball head I've ever used.

It sure is going to attract attention. The brain of the person who came out with this "marketing strategy" is certainly working on a level above average.

A new firmware is coming up for the K-3 III with ssome interesting features. Apparently, it will allow the use of different focus sensors depending wether the camera is held verticallly or horizontally. It willl also have a 1.7 X crop that will also show up in the viewfinder. The IBIS will also be upgraded to make it easier to stabilise the sewnsor in pan mode when subjects are moving diagonally (not the "Diagon Alley" from some movies:shock. And the few regular tid bits like improved stability...

Generally, at least in North America, photographers are going for Canon printers, while commercial printers (like in printing presses, not commercial photo printers) are going mainly for Epson printers. Not that there is anything wrong with your choice, it's just that Epson is good at marketing it's wares to the printers.

Actually, you won't save money doing your own prints, BUT you will have the convenience of having your prints whenever and however you want them.

When it comes to calibrating, you can ask a commercial printing company of your area if they have an out of date PANTONE color book they can sell to you at a good discount price. You just fan the catalog (uncoated sectio to avoid reflection) and take a picture of it in daylight with no processing, and you can see how far the colors are. Note that what you see on your monitor is not likely what you'll get on your printer. When you start the "calibrating game", you have to calibrate ALL the material you use. Even changing paper make or finish will cause color shift.

If you really want to be "dead on", you could try to borrow a Sekonic light meter with the accompanying software. It will allow you to get a profile of your camera(s) sensor(s) to actually know the exact dynamic range of your camera(s), so you can expose your picture with as little clipping as possible on the shadows and highlights side of the spectrum. From there, using a color chart to calibrate your monitor and printer will give you really accurate results.

If money is not an object, you can also get an X-Rite Eye 1 color profiler, or you could also look for a used commercial printer spectro-densitometer with the "LaB" reading capability. With such an instrument, you can calibrate any printers on the market. Sometime, they do pop-up on ebay at stupidly low prices. Just make sure if you go for one of these to get all the documentation and the densitometer calibration chart, as well as the charger. Gretag, X-Rite and Ihara are well known and very reliable machines.

Since the viewfinder eyepiece/diopter adjustment mechanism is above the focusing screen, the chance of dust creeping down all the way to the sensor and AF sensor is rather slim. On the other hand, I'd be worried about moisture and condensation building up in the viewfinder if you use the camera in rainy weather, so I'd go with a dab of silicone to seal the opening.

The Kenko MC-& has the contacts for SDM. It would not focus the 150-450 without those.