Nice Stoupaduck

Having read about dud lenses and fault issues I am now wondering if I am mad going for one or not.

Thanks guys, I will keep that in mind.

Many thanks for all the comments folks.

I think I will give it a go for a few days so I can say I have tried it.

As Alan has pointed out and experienced; sacrificing fps is just not an option if shooting behaviour and the actions of flitty birds like small birds etc.

Heading off now to play with Photoshop.

So is it better with the camera SR off or the OS off on the lens?

Hi

After a lot of mulling over which camera manufacturer to go for I finally settled on Pentax; principally because of its better than average ISO performance in low light and the quality of its lenses.
I went for weeks walking around with my fingers in my ears oblivious to the rants of Canon and Nikon users urging me to go with them. Was it the right choice to go with the Pentax K-x?
Well, so far I think it is - with a view in the future to getting a K-5 for even superior image quality and improved ISO handling.

At the moment I am 'shooting' all my birds in JPEG format and using very basic auto setting features on Windows 7 to adjust the colours, noise etc of my images. For the most part though they are straight out of the camera and generally exposed near perfect.

However, having spent a lot of time browsing the wonderful web, I am getting the impression that it would be better to shoot in RAW format instead so I can get the best out of the K-x. The trouble is, DPReview insists that the jump from JPEG to RAW is negligible and not really worth the effort.

Silly then of me to go out and get Photoshop when I could have used Picassa instead!

Or is DPReview incorrect?

Would I see a big jump in IQ and design of my images?

I dont want to spend the next decade regretting that I never made any inroads into trying out RAW.

Your thoughts guys please...

QC

Point taken folks.

Its definately the OS version that I am craving.

QC

Thanks for that Alan.

You are probably correct. Cant wait to have it in my hand. Now I am starting to wonder about the shutter noice on the K-x. Its enough to wake the neighbours!

QC

I have decided to pursue the Sigma lens for the end of the year.

Thank you all for your kind comments and suggestions.

Could someone suggest the best set up for this lens?

I have read a lot about "ball heads" and different types of tripods. Whats the best setup with this huges lens for long periods of sitting around?

I intend to sit for prolonged periods of need be, stalking otters etc and need to have a good setup.

Perhaps this is best suited in a different thread/topic and if so moderators please feel free to move it.

Thanks

QC

Sharp image. I continue to be impressed.

Anyone with 150-500 images that have Flickr accounts please feel free to put them on this thread so I can have a butchers.

I tip my hat to you all.

Thanks for all the input.

QC

Luftwalk!

I thought you were going to say "I can chip in.......

Half the amount!

Is this the 150 - 500 or the 50 500?