I prefer the Tamron to the 16-45... and I liked the 16-45mm a lot. I like how it's sharper at large apertures (and of course it's a stop faster - which is also nice!) That also gives it a more decisive advantage over the kit lens. It's at least as good, optically, as the DA* 16-50, which costs an arm and a leg!!! I'm sure you can find one s/h for less than 300.00.

It sounds trippy. I'd consider those side effects a bonus!

Sometimes just recording the event (no matter how badly) is enough... Another thing to bear in mind is the limited length of a single take... Your buffer can fill too fast (use the highest class SD card you have) or the sensor will overheat. These DSLRs aren't really great for this sort of shooting, they're better for more creative stuff where takes are short and manual focus is par for the course.

You will probably do a better job of keeping the subject in focus than most consumer videocams... and the DOF will look cool if you shoot wide open-ish... if it drift out of focus momentarily, it will just look contemporary and 'edgy' like something on BBC4

If you want a more 'in focus' result, stop your lens down a bit. Forget about zooming in and having any chance of being able to follow the action throughout the show without wobbling all over the place and losing the subject - shoot slightly wider and if possible get in close.

Pretty sure you can't AF while recording. Use manual focus! A MF lens will have the best manual focus 'feel'.

These rumours seem unusually well substantiated. Mirrorless FF would be an interesting direction for Pentax, but if they introduced a shorter reg distance to make the cameras more compact, thus requiring the use of an adapter to use K lenses.... that would be a slightly tragic twist! However if they can make this unit small and competitively priced, it might be a hit - the market is wide open....

How small do we need to go though? The ist*D apparently had a FF mirror and was smaller than the K5... A FF that was ist*D sized would be pretty revolutionary, let alone mirrorless!

They're still selling the K-x in my local Currys

That's good news Gwyn. Two sprogs? Ideal subjects for testing this lens imho! Have fun.

Yep my internet seems to be back up now (I'm on mobile broadband so it does dip sometimes)

I like these although the last two have camera shake. I think David's right though... dreamy shallow DOF is the way to go, and can help you create a focal point within the shot (e.g. a bauble) and have the surrounding decorations, lights etc fading away into a pleasing blur. See David's recent gallery picture for an excellent example! David mentions the takumars.... The new DA35 f2.4 would probably work well if you get right up to min. focussing distance. Don (the Canadian one) has a nice example. I have used a Sigma-superwide 24mm f2.8 'macro' with nice results.

I agree with Graham on leaving your reflection in there - for a card for family and friends, this is a nice personal touch. Next time remember to wear a santa outfit!

Lazy, lazy, lazy.

But you don't have to do TESTS to draw the sort of conclusions I've drawn about this lens... Just take pictures and admire the lovely rendering!

As to why it isn't sharp in the VF but is when you take a picture - surely that can only be down to the dioptre adjustment? Unless age is taking it's toll on your eyes....

(or mind... :twisted