Hello and welcome, Mark

You've made a good decision on both counts.

Be warned, however, that we are in the midst of an LBA epidemic. This forum hosts a particularly virulent form (Pentax lens insufficiency virus; often abbreviated to PLIV) and new members are known to be particularly susceptible.

The exact mode of transmission is not known, but the current hypothesis is that it uses the posts and signatures of certain 'carrier members', who are often unaware of the risk to others their presence on the forum represents, as an intermediate host.

During the early stages the infected exhibit a wide range of compulsive behaviours, most notably multiple ebaybiditis. The prognosis for those unfortunate enough to become infected is not good, and significantly worse than that reported for those infected with the related canikomytosis, for whom a wider range of more affordable treatments exist.

The oft repeated maxim 'prevention is better than cure' most definitely applies this case and you should ensure you take every opportunity to use, explore and enjoy your new equipment to the full and not hesitate to record your progress in the gallery


Best wishes,

Jon

Good question, David. My own view is that it is an unfortunate 'typo'. I suspect that what was meant was 'venal'

Seriously, though, I think your 'status' has to do with the number of posts made and not time since joining the forum. So, if you're willing to stay up all night typing you too could become venerable

Take the plunge and upload a photo to the gallery.

Regards,

Jon

Glad you made that clear: I was beginning to think you'd succumbed to wiles of the 'green fairy' (absinthe as it's more commonly known)

Felicitations,

Jean

No worries, David.

Took me a while, too. It's a great forum and since joining I've found my enthusiasm for taking pictures has grown considerably. I guess joining PUF is the photographic equivalent of a regular prescription for viagra Not that I speak from experience, I can assure you, as my favourite zoom has performed flawlessly since I first used it

Welcome to the forum

Jon

P.S. There are one or two eccentrics on the forum with a warped sense of humour (whom I'd advise you to steer clear of. You'll soon spot who they are by scanning the posts

First and foremost my thanks to you all for taking the time to respond.

Tom and John: your photographs make a compelling argument in favour of the DA* 300mm and I'm seriously tempted, but am starting to come down on the side of the Sigma 100-300mm DG EX (see response to Mile P, below). Not because I believe it to be a better optic, although, pixel-peepers excepted, there doesn't seem to be a huge difference in every day use, but because of the increased flexibility it offers, widespread availability of a matched 1.4x TC and, at present, price.

John: I've been looking out for one of these for quite a while but without success. Either they are so good that no one will part with them or the production run with the Pentax bayonet must have been tiny.

Mat W: You are right to point out that a good lens/camera is no substitute for good field craft, preparation and subject knowledge (knowing when and where and how to capture your prey). I agree, too, that the Sigma 70-300mm, especially in its APO DG Macro incarnation, is a much maligned lens and one with which I have had some success at the 300mm end, but this has only whetted my appetite for more.

Stuey: I have explored that route but without the success/godd fortune that you have experienced. In the process, I've forked out quite a bit to return lenses that turned out, for a whole variety of reasons, not to 'cut the mustard'. Musn't grumble, though, because in every case the seller has given a refund once the lens had ben returned

Mike P: Great suggestion and the more I research the more I feel that the 100 - 300mm f4 EX DG may be the one to go for: especially as it seems that, if I move swiftly, I could get the lens and matched 1.4X converter new for around a grand. Would like to know if you shoot mainly hand-held, using a monopod or a tripod with a gimbal head?

In another week the school holidays will be upon us, giving me the time to get to a shop that stocks both or two shops that are in reach of each other. Unfortunately, my preferred supplier, SRS, only stock the Da* 300.

Cheers and thanks once again for your help and advice.

Jon

Dear Bulgaria,

Having read Don's post I decided to consult my field guide to North American Rodents again, but this time with my spectacles on. With the 'marching ants' now clearly resolved into letters and words, I realised that my original post had been overly hasty and that the man from Manitoba speaks the truth: ground squirrels can be distinguished from chipmunks by the absence of facial stripes.

Oh the shame of it

Tobermory

Bulgaria,

Pleased to able to inform you that you have captured a shot of the rare species of North American Rodent Marmotini alvinii; more commonly, and correctly known, as the chipmunk

Apparently, they were originally natives of Wimbledon Common but, following several decades of relenteless persecution by our Womble ancestors, they stowed-away on the Mayflow with the Pilgrims and, until your recent sighting, their ultimate fate had remained a mystery.

Kind regards,

Tobermory

Snappy,

It is with profound reluctance that I have to admit that all three are a delight to behold. If I had to chose one to take with me to my 'desert island' it would have to be number 2.

The 'bug' on number 1 looks very much like a common pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus: hope I spelt that last bit right:lol.

As the Welsh Wiz' has already pointed out, your 'wasp' is actually an hover-fly. Just wished to support his assertion in case, like the majority of we sensible English, you never trust the word of a Welshman

Jon

Me again, Tim

I think we are both in danger of reading more into the others ruminations on the topic than is warranted and are gradually migrating to opposite poles when I believe that, in actuality, we both occupy zones within the same 'middle ground'

Your are 100% correct in believing that I do object strongly to DRM, which in my list of loathing shares equal ranking with the software EULA.

As to the use of lossy formats for the distribution of recorded music, which, as I think I stated before, certainly have their advantages in certain contexts, my concern is that they are in danger of becoming, indeed may already have done so, the de-facto standard for what constitutes 'high fidelity' (there I go again - showing my age). One of the more unfortunate consequences of this, IMHO, is that it seems to have significantly delayed, at the very least, the development and marketing of affordable alternatives that seek to exploit digital technology to capture and reproduce the original source in all its glory (or should that be 'warts and all'?).

The photographic equivalent of the situations that currently exists for music reproduction would be for the all major camera manufacturers to agree unilaterally to stop producing mainstream cameras with sensors greater than 4 MP because the vast majority of users either view exclusively 'on screen' or never print at greater than 8 x 10 or its metric equivalent. The glass/lens manufacturers would then fall into line and decide for similar reasons to reduce the quality and complexity of their lenses and coatings. In both cases, any cost savings would not be passed on to the consumer. The photographic equivalent of the RIAA would then be formed with the remit of controlling the use and distribution of images captured by the consumer using the equipment they had purchased; all the while proclaiming that it was acting in the best interests of the vast majority users

As to your last point, there is nothing stopping me enjoying 'digital music' and I have, in fact, been doing so since the CD format was introduced.

I have enjoyed this brief exchange of views, but feel that to pursue them to their logical conclusion would necessitate that we leave the virtual world of the forum and arrange to rendezvous in a real world location where there existed ready access to copious quantities of alcohol and a place to eat after 'chucking out time'


All the very best,

Jon

PM sent re grip.

Jon