I'd stick to primes that correspond to the classic focal lengths on film slrs. This might mean a 24, a 35 and a 50 to provide the equivalent of 35/50/80. But only one of each lens would be plenty! Check out the lens database on the 'other forum' for a run down of the best ones to get. There isn't any reasonably priced prime to give you the equivalent of 28mm unfortunately! Zooms, i'd go for a Pentax F 70-210 or DA50-200 and either the Pentax DA 16-45 or 17-70.

Oh you must be chuffed to have captured a wild peregrine Bob. Well done. With sense of place given by the estuary and lighthouse in the background.

You need to check the actual size of the filters... I believe hi-tech are 85mm, so might fit slightly snugly. Cokin-P filters are compatible though.

Kood filters themselves don't have a bad rep. It depends whether you are looking for top quality or 'good enough'!

link

The square filter holders will take several filters. My Kood one holds 3 or 4. I have a couple of grad filters (one hard, one soft) which I occasionally use in combination and it works with the 16-45 with the correct ring adapter. The filters themselves are 84mm wide (I think) so any filter from any manufacturer around that width may be used.

The front element of the lens is pretty tough and therefore the UV filter is not essential unless conditions are extreme, several members have posted stories of the filter smashing and the shards of glass causing damage to the front element.

If you are unsure about flash, I would recommend starting out with an old manual flash (make sure the trigger voltage is safe, less than say 9v). You can always use a cord if you want to hold the flash off camera (like this guy link. Also notice his home made diffuser! The results speak for themselves.)

I bought a Samsung version of the flash you are thinking about, and as an occasional flash user found myself not using all its features. So I sold it and got a Cobra 700AF flash for £6.99. The head on this flash swivels two ways so you can bounce off walls or ceilings. I use it in manual (full flash) and just adjust aperture / shutter speed / ISO to get the right balance of flash to ambient light.




There are other cheap second hand manual flashes which allow you to change the flash power settings manually for even more control.

Yep if photography just presented the image exactly as seen, what a boring thing it would be.

You can sense the raw power of the sea in this shot. I badly want to be there! The strafing sunlight is really special.

It was a real shame. Ghana can be really proud of how they played though, on the whole.

Congratulations Holland! I hope you get to the final.

Yes it's about time I got round to sorting it. Thanks for the tip. I'm pretty used to green button metering so haven't even tried to clean the contacts yet...