Yes Mike, it's sharp from wide open. The manual focus feel is pretty good (certainly better than many AF offerings) & it snaps into focus very well due to the limited dof through the viewfinder. The lens hood & front cap are pretty poor but it's hard to beat in the value for money stakes.

I'm not sure how well metering works on Pentax bodies, maybe Mike-P can answer that as he had one briefly, I believe he bought it off Robin who would also be able to help if he drops in on this thread.

Samyangs new 14mm also looks value for money if you're not too concerned about barrel distortion. link

(edited to add link)

What focal length was this taken at James & how much of a crop is it? This may help you in your search for a faster lens. If you use a F1.4 lens it doesn't mean you have to shoot at f1.4 but will reap the benefit of letting more light into the viewfinder for composition & also more light onto the AF system which may help it work in lower light than an f2.8 equivalent.

There is talk that the Sigma 85mm is going to be more expensive than the Nikon 85mm (as the 50mm is also) which means a 4-figure price I'm afraid. Of course that is just rumour at present. I hope it will be affordable though as their 30mm & 50mm f1.4's have a sublime quality to them when used wide open.

Thanks for the advice gents. I picked up the Interfit 150 kit today. I know it pays to invest in good gear but this kit gas a decent enough reputation as a starter kit. Of course if I get into it & need more power then I can always pick up some better made, used or as George suggested, outgoing model strobes.

I was mainly worried about the power aspect, but this kit seems powerful enough for a domestic situation.

Thanks Ken.

I was thinking of getting a few manual speedlights & stands/modifiers to create a totally portable kit, but the extras are really quite expensive so thought I'd be better off with a starter studio kit instead.

Are the figures you quoted at iso 100 ? As my native iso is iso 200 anyway & is usable at least 4 stops higher do you think 2 150w/s heads would be enough to light a group of 4 in a slightly larger space ?

It seems you've provided a concise answer & scared off the others, surely someone will have experience good or bad with budget studio kit ?

I'm looking to purchase a budget set of studio lighting & would like some advice/experiences if you have any for me please. I know you get what you pay for in general, but I don't envisage getting lots of use out of it, hence looking at the budget options.

I have a baby on the way so that is the primary reasoning for me to pick up some lighting for home portraits. I think a 2 head kit would be fine for starters, I could always use a speedlight or 2 for any key lighting & could pick up a 3rd used head if I needed it to blow out a background.

It'd primarily be used at home & I don't have a large space available so I'm wondering if something like the Interfit ex150 kit would be powerful enough. It would be nice to have enough power to light a group of 4 or 5 people if called upon though, would bumping up the iso enable that or would the light not carry far enough ?

There are some comprehensive looking budget kits on ebay but I'm more wary about the supposed power output claims rather than build quality as I don't need anything too robust.

Any suggestions ? Or have you spotted any great deals for me ?

Thanks, Bob

In the case of the Sigma 17-70mm though, the new one has OS in all mounts.

The newer Sigma 17-70mm has Optical Stabilisation built in so will have a different optical design I would say. Whether IQ is comparable I couldn't comment.

It is heavier though, plus you already have in-body stabilisation so I can't see it being a worthwile upgrade just for the HSM.

Nik Softwares "Dfine 2.0" is very good I find as it retains lots of detail. It isn't cheap, but they do a free trial.

Camera Raw 6 is a whole new step forward though, my first impressions are that it is far more controllable & refined than previous incarnations.

I recently tried a shot at iso 12,800 & processed through Camera Raw 6 & a touch of Dfine 2.0 also. I can't display it here as it isn't a Pentax shot, but you can follow this link.

Be aware though that not all Sigma HSM lenses have HSM in the Pentax variety.

For example, the 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM does not have HSM in Pentax or Sony mounts, likewise the 30mm f1.4, 180mm f/3.5 etc.

Check out the lens you are interested in Here and it will tell you at the bottom right of each lens page whether it is HSM in Pentax mount or not.

P.S. - welcome to the forum.

There's a how-to video on youtube by the way CLICK HERE