Which isn't really surprising - after all they are running a business and whatever they buy in must be fairly easily saleable.

I think some people have unreasonable expectations about the desirability/saleability of some older and more obscure things, and such items are usually better for offer on forums such as this or places like ebay.

I agree that SRS have always been very good. I've never had anything other than first class service from them, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

no.9 for me too

Not a problem I've ever encountered either

I bought one for my son's camera a year ago from LCE for £30

I've had both a third party grip (Meike) and the genuine Pentax grips.

I find that particularly with larger lenses the handling of the camera does feel much better. I use it most of the time, just leaving it off when I want to 'travel light'.

The first grip I tried on a K-5 was the Meike. It is great value for money, and worth having if you aren't certain whether or not you really want a grip and just want to try it out. Quality wise in my opinion it's perfectly adequate.

After that I bought a genuine (used) Pentax grip, which is undoubtedly a better quality and a better and more solid fit. I think it's worth the extra cost.

My recommendation would be to spend a relatively small amount and try the Meike grip. If you find you like a grip on your camera then seriously consider selling the Meike and getting the Pentax grip. You will notice the difference.

If you are panning whilst following BIF then switch it off. I think SR is designed to compensate for small movements whilst taking static shots rather than constantly moving whilst tracking BIF. I believe it can take up to a second for the SR to stabilise, and if you are panning then it just doesn't get a chance to stabilise. This introduces 'shake' rather than reducing it.

I had this problem with motor sport pictures. When I turned off SR and started relying more on faster shutter speeds (I still need to practice my panning technique to use slower speeds!) I had many more 'keepers'.

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the K-50, but I'm pretty sure it has an autofocus button on the back. I would guess that if you go through your camera's menu you'll find a button customisation option, which will allow you to turn off the half press for auto focus on the shutter release button.

Many people seem to prefer that setup (and it's one which I'm starting to prefer) because it makes it easier to focus and re-compose your picture without having to keep the shutter half press held down. In also find it works better with continuous focus when tracking a mocving subject.

There are a number of discussions about this if you hunt around, such as http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/172-pentax-k-3/249868-disabling-shutter-relea... which may help, and probably help explain it better than I can.

That's a technique I've been using recently, and I'm finding I seem to be getting more consistent results - but unfortunately not in the same league as Chris's shots though. I need much more practice
Don't forget to turn off the shutter half press if you try this.

The 55-300 is a good lens and is great value for money, but it is targeted at the 'consumer' end of the range. Undoubtedly some people will disagree, but when I had one I found it wasn't great for sports or anything that requires fast focussing such as birds in flight.

A better bet for that sort of use may be something like a Sigma 70-200 F2.8 HSM (maybe a bit 'short' at times) or a DA* 60-250 or DA* 300. All faster focussing than the 55-300, with the Sigma being the fastest (but also the biggest and heaviest) of the three. But of course, all more expensive!

Another couple to consider could be the Sigma 150-500 or 50-500 lenses.

As for the camera, you may want to ensure that you are using the 'continuous focus' setting for birds in flight, and maybe use manual rather than automatic exposure settings.