Thanks for that link Dave. Plenty of options there for sure.

I use the 50-135, 55-300 and have the 60-250. They all get used.

If you know the "colours" of the 50-135 my experience is that you will feel at home with the 60-250. It is an excellent lens as you'll see from the pics above.

That said the 55-300 is also a good performer and is lighter so that's the one I have in my 2 lens walkabout kit bag.

I can't comment on cropping 60-250 vs Siggy long lens as most of my use for the 60-250 would have been more sport related and the reach at 250mm is normally long enough.

Certainly I agree this is a great lens but maybe a little heavy for a walkabout tele-zoom. Forum members often ask if the "star" lenses are worth the premium prices. Comes down to how much you value that 50-135 effect and of course the weather resistance.

I don't have airshow experience but I can imagine the always available focus ring on the 60-250 could be very worthwhile for catching moving aircraft against the sky. Just a thought.

Always amusing to read the creativity of the language of Pentax forum members! The creative circle concept sounds very interesting. Does anyone know of anything similar in the Midlands?

Are there any other Midlands based forum members who might fancy banding together to share an evening?

I feel this is the route for me as I don't think I have the time to properly commit to a photo club.

Must ensure we have access to a flameproof model.

Not sure if this is the right part of the forum for this question (Mods please move if so).

Does anyone have any experience of local (East Mids) studios that allow in and maybe even help interested Pentaxians to get a chance to try this style of photography.

Appreciate that this might be something that photoclubs can enable and I see the advantage in sharing what could be quite expensive.

I've seen internet voucher companies offering small group studio experiences so this is why I wonder if any members can help.

Thanks for any ideas

Hi All

It is challange indeed. I checked again and agree with comments that the issue is most pronounced at 60-70mm zoom. The same shot (always centre focus) works fine at wider zoom settings.

Not sure that I fancy focussing wide and zooming in as I feel the danger of going off focus it too great. As the problem only happens in low light (ie indoors) the chances are that I'd be using a wide aperture with shallow DOF.

The use of the green button (thanks Matt) is a thought which I'll use next time I use the lens for real.

Thanks for all your thoughts

Thanks for the further comments. I'm now wondering why the same lens can be more problematic to some of us and perfectly fine for others.

For me its always in situations where there is lowish contrast. I usually have the camera in its P setting and set either shutter or aperture according to need. The iso is set to allow hand held exposures. The frustration is that you see the shot yet the camera won't fire. I use centre point focus and AF-S with centre weighted exposure.

The lens will have been used for maybe 5000 shots (tops) on K10, KX and now K5. I don't remember it being better on the older bodies when used on low contrast indoor shots.

I'd use manual focusing but the adjustment ring is too sensitive for me (as in small adjustments make big differences)

Could I ask CMW and Obione if they use any different settings on their camera bodies to those of mine above?

Thanks all

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I will give George's method a go. Just seems so frustrating that the kit lens is much snappier.

Happy New Year one and all.

Hello All

I have used the DA 17-70 as a better reaching lens and one which has a F4 aperture at all focal lengths. Outdoors it seems to lock onto the subject and focus well. Indoors it is often a challenge to get it to focus and allow the shot to be taken.

I'm sure I've read that other members have had slow focus issues with this lens in poor lighting conditions. Has anyone found any camera settings that improve the experience with the combo of this lens and the K5? I usually have the centre point focus setting in use.

My impression is that the normal kit lens locks on better and this means the 17-70 isn't the first choice for indoor shots despite it having a constant F4. I'm ending up with the 17-70 in the bag and the kit lens on the camera.

One thing for sure is that its very annoying to miss shots because the lens isn't happy! (manual focusing is nostandard t good for me due to glasses and also poor light also doesn't help)

As a secondary question would I have been better to have bought a different standard zoom (Pentax or TP)?

Thanks all

Hello Spiritwalker.
Welcome to the Forum and hope you find it, as I did, to be the place where you can get good tips and thoughts to help you make the most of your new camera.

On UV filters I always got one for every different lens size and kept them on the lens at all times. After later learning that the sensors in our cameras have a UV filter over them I now see that its unlikely that the extra filter will help with UV problems.

Maybe the main reason for a filter is as a means of protecting the surface of the front element of the lens. Here the sums say that you'd be glad you had a filter in place if it gets scratched rather than have the lens ruined.

This isn't a topic that I have researched but I do hear that you need to get a good quality filter or be aware of the risk of losing quality. Perhaps other members will know if there are any published comparisons between the different makers of filters.

Enjoy -you live in a part of the Country that has so much to offer a photographer!... Geoff

Thanks Chris. I'm amazed at that range figure tho - 30 ft wouild make it very vesatile.