A noisy image is better than a blurred image and with current software isn’t the problem it once was. Some years ago I photographed a resting kingfisher with a K1 + 150-450 at around 1/1250 sec but very high ISO. At the time the images were unusable but luckily I kept them and now with modern software they look amazing. If you are photographing moving birds, even a gliding one like a kite, then go no slower than 1/1500 and preferably faster. Also check your image stabilisation, make sure you are on the right setting or otherwise turn it off as the wrong setting can have an adverse effect.

If anyone visited the Ricoh stand at The Photography Show earlier this year they will know where the priorities lie; the majority of the display was for Ricoh products including gimmicks like the Theta whereas the Pentax gear was confined to a small display at the rear. Pentax has suffered from disastrous planning under Ricoh with the stubborn refusal to embrace mirrorless and the shortlived foray into film cameras, both appealing to minority markets. The only hope now is for an enterprising company to buy out the brand but it would require a massive investment to develop unique products and claw back market share. The problem is that outside of Japan not many people are familiar with the brand, a recent potted history of photography on YouTube didn’t even mention Pentax for instance.

If it’s any consolation LennyBloke I know of a (wealthy) photographer who swopped all his kit for Leica only for a year or so later to change back again!

Technically brilliant and very robust, I dropped the R6II and lens onto a stone floor (expensive way to discover that not all Arca-Swiss plates and heads are compatible!) but the lens just suffered a minor dent and the camera had no marks at all. I quickly got to appreciate mirrorless technology, i shoot in Manual mode so seeing in the viewfinder what you normally see on the rear screen is great. There is something though I miss about Pentax that I can’t put my finger on, calling it ‘soul’ or ‘character’ seems a bit far-fetched for a piece of technology but I bet you know what I mean, especially the Limited lenses. Do I regret the change? Not at all but had Ricoh shown more commitment to Pentax it might not have been necessary to change.

I just found my comparison list, the Pentax kit was K1, 15-30 f2.8, 24-70 f2.8, 70-200 f2.8, 150-450mm lenses. Total weight 6672g. The Nikon and Canon equivalents (using pro grade f4 lenses where available instead of f2. were 4485k and 4053k respectively. The Canon kit therefore came in at 60% of the weight of the Pentax. I appreciate that the f4 lenses are something of a compromise but the weight saving was worth it and most f2.8 lenses are not at their best wide open anyway.

My realisation came when I found I was leaving the Pentax bag in the car and taking an Olympus with a couple of lenses out instead, purely because it was so much more pleasant to walk with the lighter weight gear. Like Lennybloke though I wanted to stick with FF so I listed comparative bodies and the lenses I most used to compare weight-wise with the Pentax stuff I owned. I noticed that Canon and Nikon produce some pro grade f4 versions of the f2.8 lenses which saved considerably in weight and cost. I didn't include Sony although that's an option, just from personal prejudice. For me Canon came out the winner with the lowest collective weight and the real game changer was the Canon 100-500mm pro quality lens, significantly lighter and more compact than the Pentax 150-450mm. I also liked that some mirrorless bodies use the shutter to protect the sensor and in three years or more I have never had to clean the sensor, just the occasional blow. The fact that Pentax hadn't updated the K1.II in years led the suspicion that the format has been abandoned by Ricoh and a view of the Ricoh display at the Photography Show demonstrated that the Pentax range is just a sideshow to where Ricoh are focusing their efforts, which is a great shame.

I have two of these Pentax branded release cables, both very clean: £18.00 each including postage. The button release can also slide to be locked for long timed exposures in bulb mode. They work with other camera brands with the same 2.5mm connector as well.

Both sold, thanks Michael.

You would have a job tripping over the short curly one! I used these to handhold an off-camera flash in the field - close-ups of flowers fungi etc. and much lighter than using a trigger/receiver or a master flash, and no batteries so you can keep them in the bag all the time.

For about a year now I have been using Capture One software to the extent now that I won't be renewing my Lightroom/Photoshop subscription. It costs a bit more and is cheaper to pay annually but after four years you can elect to cancel and retain the software without updates. It is geared to studio portraiture but works great on everything else, from the outset images look cleaner and sharper and adjusting noise and sharpness is so much better than faffing around with generating a new file in Lightroom for instance. It won't do what Photoshop does but I so rarely use it I won't miss it.