Forty squid is a great price for what is a compact, sharp lens that renders nicely and has good close-focus capabilities. Certainly wouldn't be in a hurry to part with my copy for that money

Jon

+1 and respect to you, Rob, for trying.

Jon

Seem a lot to ask for a couple of Cosina manufactured zooms of merely above (?) average quality, even if they are gold-plated and come in a wooden presentation box Have to admire, albeit grudgingly, however, the seller's chutzpah.

The fact that this extraordinarily fine image is entirely of your own making, Roger, is hardly grounds for being 'auto-chuffed' in my decidedly devilish and dastardly opinion

Spyder 4 Elite and Spyder 3 Pro - both in excellent condition and with original packaging. All proceeds to the charity SpecialEffect link, for whom my daughter is a long-time Ambassador.

Spyder 4 Elite: £45.00

Spyder 3 Pro: £35.00

Based on some quick research, I believe these to be priced very fairly, but I will entertain reasonable, in the context of the intended beneficiaries, near offers.

Delivery at cost by buyers chosen carrier.

Thanks for looking

Given the choice as to which to hang, I'd find it excruciatingly pleasurable to have to decide between the colour 'original' and this 'fettled' B&W. Having seen neither, if some kind soul were to rock-up at my door with a large, framed print of either as a gift I'd be swept away with emotion and gratitude

P. S. Being eternally hopeful, Gareth, I've PM'd you my address

Because, despite its age and vagaries ('doughnut' OOF highlights; vanishingly thin DOF), it remains a lens capable of good results with modern(ish) DSLRs like the K-3. E.g.

My own copy would seem to perform similarly to yours, Mike. See the examples I have just posted in the 'What's your latest acquisition?' thread

A nice selection of images, Antony, that demonstrate the fine potential of the K70 and 55-300mm WRM in the right hands

Tamron SP AF 70-200mm F2.8 Di LD [IF] Macro - a snip at £279.00 courtesy of a tip from Defragged on this forum link. In use has not disappointed, viz:



















'Soft', but useable, at f/2.8. Marked improvement in resolution and contrast from f/3.2 which extends pretty much across the frame from f/3.5 when used with a K-3. By f/5.6 the results are very good in every respect with peak performance reached around f/8. The close focus capability of the lens is very useful and add considerably to its versatility. I have found the AF performance of the lens coupled with the K-3 neither whippet-, or sloth-like and not dissimilar to that of the majority of third-party screw drive lenses in my possession. I have experienced occasional 'hunting' when using AF in spot mode in low light, most often at the lower end of the zoom range. Contrary to the opinion of many users, at least judged by those posted in the Pentax Forums Lens Reviews section, I have not noticed a significant decline in IQ at 200mm. Neither have I found the AF - MF, and vice versa, changeover mechanism to be an issue.

Overall, and whilst not claiming that the performance and build quality of the Tamron is the equal of, or even close to, that of the Pentax-DFA or -DFA* equivalents, for £300 or less a copy in good condition represents good value.

Jon