Thanks all, I am glad I dusted off the monopod to steady the 150-450, and insulated trousers whilst kneeling in the snow! The second shot had to be cropped because just to the right another deer with its bum to the camera decided right then to relieve itself with a shower of pellets which I didn’t notice at the time.

I was too late for the lovely low sun tonight but the twilight reflecting off the snow gave a lovely effect. All processed with ON NoNoise and Lightroom.

A great idea picking out details like this, the great thing about photography is you notice and appreciate things that pass others by.

Has to have butter! I recall now that on Sundays we had a lunchtime roast waiting for us after church morning service so for tea it was a snack like sardines on toast, pikelets (that’s muffins in less civilised parts) or malt loaf.

Flan, I have attached Peak Design connectors to my cameras and straps so they can be put on and taken off easily, as well as the Peak Design wrist strap. I also have a Peak Design strap which is more heavy duty and feels better when attaching large lenses. This system gives me flexibility for different situations. The neck strap is useful if you want both hands free such as changing lenses on the go or needing to steady yourself when negotiating somewhere precarious.

The time I noticed the difference between a mirrorless viewfinder and a prismatic one was looking at autumn colours in a wood, the colours in the EVF were quite desaturated and I had to keep checking to see if the composition was right. On the rear screen they were fine being of higher resolution, but probably with the latest and more expensive bodies it would be less of an issue. Redbus’s comment about the 300mm lens isn’t really a fair comparison as on the Olympus it would effectively be double the focal length at 600mm, although I agree it is still costly. My 40-150mm f4 lens, effectively 80-300mm, cost about £645 recently and gives very good results.

I have tested the water with Olympus, with a good-as-new body and a couple of PRO lenses, and of course it is much lighter and the results are very good. It is nice to be able to walk around with a small shoulder bag all day so I get shots I might otherwise not have. The handling is good and the build quality with weather sealing is excellent. However I am not ready to abandon my K1 and Pentax lenses yet, when it comes to post processing the difference in quality is noticeable: noise is easier to deal with, the files have greater dynamic range and can be cropped more, and the bokeh is cleaner giving that “pop” with the better lenses. Probably these differences would be less noticeable on an APS-C body with a similar pixel count, especially compared to the latest OM1.

My solution to the Pentax weight issue over the last couple of years was to get some small prime lenses but that leads to the perennial problem of which lenses (and filters) to put in the bag and the limitations that brings. Having got the Olympus I put those primes up for sale (offers anyone?) so I now have two options, lightweight kit or slimmed-down heavier but higher resolution kit.

I love malt loaf, takes me back to my childhood, and Soreen still produces it after all these years! Oooh, and pikelets with hot runny butter, just the thing for a winter’s tea.

Pschlute is right about lowering the screen brightness, and the histogram is your best guide. It depends on the subject but normally aim to push the highlights to just before they get blown, but check you can still see details; a little local adjustment can help. Bring out the details in shadows without making them too light - I find that locally raising the exposure if necessary and then bringing down the black slider keeps them looking contrasty.

Images on paper will often look rather flat compared to the screen view especially on matt paper, lustre and gloss are usually better in this respect. I don’t know whether photo book printers allow for this but it may be that saturation, clarity and contrast need boosting a touch.

Wow! I am blown away by your kind comments. I also have some taken with my Olympus but I must say that comparatively the K1 files are a joy to process, especially when it comes to noise and sharpness. Get it right with this kit and nothing can beat it, ok tracking isn’t great and it weighs about 3x as much but when it comes to useable files I get just as many if not more.