There's nothing wrong with how the picture was taken - in fact it's quite nice in a way, rich colours, nice dof... it's just such a commonplace looking subject - I'm a big fan of 'making art from the mundane' but somehow this shot doesn't quite hit the spot. If the wood had been old and weathered rather than just a veneer, and the handle was more roughly hewn, however....

I own none of these lenses but voted for the 50-135mm, I imagine that would be lovely for weddings and events and possibly some sports. For longer range you could get the DA55-300mm and bump the ISO to 3200 at a pinch? I am a bit phobic about big lenses though!

I have every confidence the Kr replacement will be out soon and the next couple of years will be very interesting for Pentax Ricoh Imaging.

Whether it's 'failing' or not depends on what Pentax's expectations were... for all we know they may have sold more than anticipated! Anyway, Ricoh is no stranger to providing a niche product - see GXR!

I do agree with Gwyn - partially at least - in that these UWA lenses are more niche than you might think. Here's a landscape shot at 10mm. It doesn't make for a particularly strong image. However, that's more down to the photographer than the lens I think!



OTOH in a tighter space (a narrow valley with a waterfall) compare the field of view from the Sigma 10-20 with the second shot at 17mm. The Sigma is more useful in this sort of situation, I feel.

The version Chris has is probably the one to get... the new version has slightly less 'wavy' distortion, but slightly less sharp borders I believe. The faster f3.5 aperture is neither here nor there IMO. You just don't tend to shoot these lenses wide open.

A dedicated room for all those lenses, Mark?

That sounds like a very nice line up!

It is definitely possible to zoom in to focus precisely, I do not think there is any facility to 'blow up' the central portion of the image so that focus and framing can be done simultaneously, however. Pentax must implement this feature on their next DSLRs, or some sort of peaking mode.

I cannot agree with that John.

You can focus much more accurately with LV. Zooming right in allows very precise focussing even with very fast lenses. It is slow but the only real way of absolutely sure you're correctly focussed.

LV AF is also more accurate than regular AF, if you have the time to wait for it!

It is possible to use DA lenses on the NEX, but the adapter turns them into fully manual lenses, and the adapter makes them project too far. 'Less of a pancake, more a cupcake.'

http://sonyalphanex.blogspot.com/2011/04/nex-5-with-pentax-da-21mm-limited-lens.html

I wonder if Leica M mount lenses have a shorter reg distance? I watched Kai's video review of the Leica M mount GXR unit, and the set up looked very discreet... really nice in fact.

I wonder if something can be done inside the camera with lenses or mirrors, to increase the reg distance without making the camera too fat or needing an adapter? I know that would seem like bending over backwards to accomodate lenses with a reg distance originally designed for full frame, but then, a totally integrated camera system wouldn't be a bad thing - from the baby APSC body all the way up to the FF flagship, you could take the same lenses with you on your journey!