On loading my camera with a sigma 150-500 zoom plus a spotting scope, binoculars, tripod and fluid head into a backpack I found my legs buckling and realized carrying all this lot around is totally impractical, so I either leave the camera behind or try digiscoping. At home I tried just holding a 50mm/f1.8 over the eyepiece (it's a perfect fit to the Hawke Endurance ED eyepiece) and found the results at minimum magnification pretty good but very dark at maximum. I know the optimum solution would be a Pentax digiscope with the dedicated adaptor but the latter is £299.00 and as far as I can see replaces the eyepiece. For about £30.00 I can get a Hawke fitting with a T2 thread which just clamps to the eyepiece, and I would attach the camera with a T2 adaptor. Now, the standard option is a T2 to K mount adaptor, so the camera is mounted directly, or alternatively I could get a T2 adaptor with a 52mm thread to fix to a lens. I can see the logic in eliminating any glass between the eyepiece and the sensor but as the camera body would just be pressed against the rubber eyepiece I would be really worried about the lack of a good seal to protect the camera innards. Does anyone have any experience of such a set-up? I would be most grateful for any advice or comments.

I gave an alert to this deal on the 18th, as I say the prices are listed in AP but not on the website. You have till the end of the day to make that call! And if you are feeling really rash the 560mm f5.6 is £2549.15.

Camera Centre UK are advertising in AP a special offer for 20-24 August of 15% off lenses and great prices for some camera bodies; e.g. the K50 with 18-55mm WR is £299.00! I could weep. I just went on the website and I'm not getting a match to the prices in the full page ad, but worth checking.

Interesting to hear Daronl's comments above especially in relation to Canon/Nikon, as I am open minded about switching ranges but am trying to get behind all the hype. A quick search shows that out of about 96 Nikon lenses only one has both weather/dust resistance and anti-shake, and that isn't one of the big ones. For nature photography in whatever conditions these to me are essential and I would expect the same for sports events. I am very much taken with the Youtube clips by Arthur Morris who is a Canon ambassador and demonstrates how he gets astounding images with their top-end kit, including the use of stacked teleconverters on massive f2.8 lenses. However this raises two issues: firstly I am realistically never going to spend the many thousands of pounds on that stuff even secondhand, and secondly the dedication and sheer skill of the photographer shine through and that is what gets the results - it is worth a visit to his website as his images are truly extraordinary.

I am holding back on upgrading to the K3II for the same reasons Daronl first gave, and am waiting to see what the FF will be like. However as the lack of built-in flash seems the norm for high end cameras I don't hold out much hope for that feature, but I am in a wait and see mode. I suspect many Pentax users are in the same position, the long teaser about the FF model inhibiting upgrades this year which brings us back to the original subject of this thread!

Rumours on one website are that the FF will have the Sony 42mp sensor: http://photorumors.com/2015/06/26/pentax-rep-the-new-full-frame-pentax-dslr-came... A strong marketing strategy from Pentax has been the functionality of older lenses on new models, and I believe that they claim to have more lenses out there than anyone else. They will point to the large pool of inexpensive 35mm lenses whilst gradually expanding the range of new lenses which work in both formats.

Is the driver of the first one a bit overweight or is the car supposed to be bent in the middle?!

I did a thread on this recently:
www.pentaxuser.com/forum/topic/converting-35mm-slides-54306
I tried using the computer monitor for back-light but the pixels were too obvious, the light tablet I bought is much better

I hope you are not saying that because Pentax are relatively inexpensive then that justifies poorer service than the alternatives. Most professionals carry more than one camera body on an assignment but I am not a professional so don't need to; however I would rather see a price rise IF that meant great manufacturer's support.

Thanks Derek. I googled wood wasp and came up with a match with Ichneumon Stramentarius, a parasitic wasp, which has some rather unpleasant habits.

Any idea what this long-legged thing is scuttling around my shrub?