I've had a browse around the web and the best deal so far seems to be Equipment Express who are offering "body only" for £1049.99 but with a 3yr warranty - normally I'd buy from SRS but the additional years warranty is definitely appealing.

Anyone seen any better offers?

thanks

Simon

[quote:3496ace15f="johnriley"]Aah that explains it John, living in that sub-tropical climate has made you forget what real rain is

Doesn't sound like you've been to North Wales John, it depends how much rain you're talking about

I do venture out but choose my times carefully, sometimes the lighting is downright bl**dy awful - having non WR lenses has never bothered me, I try to wait until it stops!!

Simon

I did consider the 10-24 before buying the 12-24 but the deciding factor was the comments in several reviews (not all though) that it suffered corner softness, which was one of the main issues I had with my copy of the Sigma 10-20.

As we know pixel-peeping reviews don't always fully reflect realworld situations though, you've probably read them already I guess but here are the main reviews I looked at..

http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/tamron_10-24_3p5-5p6_n15/

http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/466-tamron_1024_3545_niko...

http://www.lenstip.com/index.php?test=obiektywu&test_ob=180

http://www.dyxum.com/reviews/lenses/reviews.asp?IDLens=483

Thanks everyone, I've pretty much gone through the thought process you all describe...

The DA17-70 is an excellent lens without doubt and I'd be very suprised if the 18-55 was as good, the WR is reasonably appealing though - having said that in nearly 4yrs of DSLR ownership I've never had any issues with non-WR lenses.

The reason I raised the question is that having just bought the top-notch 12-24 I now have a fair overlap (12-24, 17-70, 55-300), the new 18-135 would worsen this so isn't a consideration for me. I'm guessing I'll probably keep the 18-55wr as a backup.

My main thoughts are about the 17-70, swapping this for a 35mm prime is something I'm thinking about as a possibility as it fills the gap between 24mm & 55mm nicely. The arrival of the new 35mm AL looks well timed !!

Simon

Having just about made my mind up to buy the K5 the current cashback means that its as cheap to buy it with the 18-55WR lens. I'm now wondering if the 18-55WR would make my DA17-70 obsolete as I believ the quality of the kit lens has improved over the last couple of generations.

Has anyone compared both these lenses?

thanks

Simon

It's expensive new but have you considered a used one (Samsung version on the forum at the moment) - I recently bought the Samsung version and having just spent 3 weeks travelling with it the lens has gone straight to the top of my favourites list - really is a great lens, I can't see anything been better, the previous Sigma 10-20 I owned certainly wasn't.

Simon

Thanks for the info/links...compared to the K20D the Live View appears a massive leap forward, the video looks pretty good too looking at those Youtube clips.....looks my K20D is about to go in the classifieds !!

Simon

I have to admit to not normally taking too much interest in the new models but the more I've read about the K5 the more I'm thinking it's a "must have" upgrade. The improved DR, the improved noise handling & the better focusing particularly look significant.

I've not read much on Live View functionality though which I'd find particularly useful for tripod mounted shots. Has anyone used it much and could give me a bit of feedback on it. This may well be the decider that sees me putting the K20D up for sale !!

Thanks

Simon

I have a pretty specific one...

Capture a few photos of a snow-covered Snowdon refecting in Llynnau Mymbyr (lake). Despite all the snow last year still conditions were rare so little/no reflection, fingers crossed for another year - I've been trying for 4yrs so far !!

Simon