I've Just recieved the 14mm, I can now vouch for Danny's integrity first hand. Cheers !

Free bump (assuming the 43mm is still for sale)

As titled, DA 12-24mm f/4 for sale. Includes 77mm UV filter. Only bought in January & I will include the original sales reciept. It's in mint condition apart from missing barcode from box (for cashback claim)

Is anyone here interested before I put it on the evil fleabay. The last couple on ebay have gone for a smidge over £400 plus delivery.
If paying by bank transfer I'll pass on the ebay & paypal fee savings & you can have it for £375 including fully insured delivery. £400 delivered by paypal (i'd rather you line their pockets than I !) my ebay name is ptownbulldog if you'd like to check feedback.

Before anyone tries to talk me out of selling it & experiment more with wide angle... I am doing, I've just recieved a DA 14mm, I'm losing alot of flexibility but gaining some close focus & speed which suits me.


Regards, Bob

All now gone. Thanks

21mm - Great minds think alike eh Stefan

Makes me wonder why I'm looking for a used Sigma 20mm !

Edit: Stefan gained an f there for a few seconds.

Croeso Adrian.

Prime Lenses (fixed focal length) will always be that one step ahead in IQ, not so noticably sharper when stopped down for landscape work though. I'm suspecting that the increased contrast is what's pleasing you as much as the increase in sharpness.

Now I don't have personal experience of any of the Lenses you've listed so am not perfectly qualified to give you specific advice but I'll give you my opinion on the listed options.

1. The 16-45 is regarded as a decent standard zoom but I fear it wont give you the leap in IQ you are looking for.
2. Again there are many fans of both the 17-70 & 55-300 here & both will give a moderate IQ increase but I think you'll struggle to find a used 17-70 & 55-300 & they will certainly have depreciated less than your Tamron, so I think you'll be paying more than you've anticipated.
3. Both the Tamron & Sigma will give better IQ & are faster, but again most of this will be lost when stopped down for landscape work.

Personally, I would opt for the Pentax 21mm or new 15mm primes (depending on your preffered focal length/budget) or I'd go for something like the Sigma 10-20mm or Pentax 12-24mm to give you focal lengths which you dont currently have covered.

These options may stretch your budget a little but are worth paying for in the long run. You could always trade in the kit lens for a head start !

Of course that's just my view & others will be along to greet & advise you differently I shouldn't wonder.

Stick around, there's alot of sound advice handed out round these parts !

Bob

Maybe a man painted silver or a fire eater is just what this shot needs.

I'd have to disagree with this point. Especially with the 2nd image as highlighted by pschlute. Here we see people spilling into the road in great numbers, many of whom are looking directly over their shoulders. This combined with the blurred movement & off tilt capture (indicative of a huried photo) suggest to me that these people (including the photographer) are fleeing. People flee threat & danger, not fluffy bunnies & candy floss. The fact that I cannot see past the crowd means I have to take their perception as my own, which conveys threat & danger directly to me.
I personally have not seen any of the news reports on this event & neither do I have any desire to, so telling me that my perception of these images have been skewed or affected by the wider media is way off the mark.

edit for typo..

Thanks Martin, I've taken some of (Malo1961) Martins critique though & eased up on the processing, so I've uploaded a less ott version to my flickr portfolio.

I like the last one the most of all the protest shots you've posted. Mainly because I'm not a very PC kind of person (excuse the pun).

What about giving the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 a go ?

Or perhaps a 30mm or 35mm prime to fit the gap there ? I have the Sigma 30mm f1.4 & like it very much. Plus you could always get a used 18-55 II to accompany it if you really need the zoom flexibility. Well you have a Sigma 50mm & 50-150mm so you'll already know if your a prime or zoom guy !