Davex,

PM sent re Tokina 500mm.

Jon

I have the Seagull right-angle finder which has one major weakness - the quality of the supplied (plastic) Pentax viewfinder adapter, which is a poor fit on the K20D. I can, however, vouch for the quality of the optics.

There is a good review here: link

From the photographs, the adapters supplied with the Roxsen appear similar to those provided with the Seagull.

Jon

First of all, don't be so hard on yourself: the shot of the dunnock is superb!

Bird photography in the wild is not easy and requires oodles of patience and good field craft. An high quality long lens of 300mm or more is a real advantage and if bird photography is more than just a passing interest obtaining one with a maximum aperture of f4 or less should be top of your list. This will represent a major investment, however if you choose wisely, and treat with respect, it will retain a high proportion of its value. The lens need not be new and well cared for examples do appear on this forum from time-to-time. The choice between prime or zoom depends on what else you might use the lens for, but, with some noteworthy (and expensive) exceptions, the former will have the better IQ. A quality tripod or monopod is, IMHO, a necessity, although I know many will disagree in this regard.

In the meantime, you should try getting closer to your subjects, try a small portable hide and/or use a tripod with remote (wireless)release, and take full advantage of the KX's high ISO performance to obtain the optimum combination of aperture/shutter speed and remove any filter to squeeze the last ounce of IQ from your 55-200mm. If your not already doing so, my advice would be to shoot in RAW format.

As far as PP is concerned, your images would benefit, IMHO, from increased contrast, a tad of vibrance, a little noise (mainly luminance) reduction and some careful sharpening/masking.

Disclaimer: I am no expert but merely an interested party who shares your desire to photograph birds in their natural habitat and is slowly ascending the steep learning curve

Jon

Numero deux definitely has that 'Je ne sais quoi!'

The nuthatch is such a difficult bird to photograph, and the quality of the image is so high, that I feel compelled to ask what lens was used and if you number an experienced taxidermist amongst your friends

Jon

I'd be feeling 'smug' if I'd taken any one of the set, but #1 is, IMHO, the standout shot. The bird is beautifully sharp and the exposure is spot on. I like the way the bird is 'framed' by the three twigs of contrasting colours which lead the eye to the main subject and the absence of background detail in the rest of the 'frame'. Whilst some might 'down-grade' the shot because of the presence of so much greenery, punctuated with bursts of defocussed yellow, my view is that it adds to the overall visual impact of the shot, showing as it does an exquisite small bird feeding in its natural (or should that be adopted) habitat. I presume the shot was taken with the DA* 300mm, but would be interested to know if it was with or without TC and hand-held or tripod.

I echo the sentiments of Gareth and Mike P regarding the kingfisher. Whilst on holiday in Bretagne last summer I spent a whole day (I kid you not!) stalking and watching kingfishers, convinced that with the benefit of the Sigma 100-300mm EX APO DG and matched 1.4x TC, I couldn't fail but get some good shots. The fact that I've not posted one on the forum, or indeed kept one in my files, is a testament to how shy and elusive these blessed birds can be

Jon

Captured today in the garden using a K20D and Sigma 24mm Super-Wide II at f/4.5.

[img]http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5057/5497715735_b370755ab8_b.jpg" class="comment_image" />

Bee Happy by prsjnb, on Flickr[/img]

C&C welcome.

Jon

Mike P wrote:

I think you meant £25.00, Mike: I often make the same mistake when I type.

Assuming I'm correct, and given your legendary reputation for kindness and generosity I surely am, I'll free-up the space in your camera bag

Jon

AKA the eternal optimist

It doesn't have to be 'dedicated' it just has to fit: I got one for my GX10 here:
link

What about PEC-12 : You can read all about it (and purchase some) from here link

Jon

I'm in exactly the same position There are a huge range of cheap third-party adapters available but many don't allow infinity focus and there are many sad examples of these getting stuck on the camera mount The genuine Pentax adapters are still available new from SRS for around £65.00, which seems disproportionate unless one is going to invest heavily in M42 lenses. They do 'pop-up' on ebay but you'll need to search world-wide and, unless you're very fortunate, expect to pay £30.00 plus.

Of the third-party offerings I have seen on ebay there are some that guarantee infinity focus; e.g. link and link. I also found one on Amazon link which I went a head and purchased after checking the manufacturers own website link: the only down-side being that they take a couple of weeks to arrive. My plan is to test it when it arrives on the lens I bought it for (Paragon 400mm f6.3; probably of the same production line as your Soligor) and if the initial tests suggest the lens is a keeper I'll go for a genuine adapter and keep a beady eye out for other potentially worthy M42 mounts to satisfy my LBL (lens buying lust; LBA is so passé :lol

Good luck and if you stumble a cross a genuine adapter for a bargain price keep it to yourself - please (unless there are more than one in which case you can buy me one by way of a 'thank you' for all this useful (?) information I've typed for you when I should have been getting on with my work)

Jon