I'm honestly suprised just how much I used it. One of the advantages of having the high MP count of the K20D is even when the 12-24 isn't quite close enough the images it produces are so sharp that cropping has minimal effect on IQ. It's certainly renewed my enthusiasm for UWA lenses which wasn't particularly much following my disappointing Sigma 10-20 ownership

I've recently returned from a fantastic trip to China & Hong Kong & just before going bought a used Samsung 12-24 here off the forum. My original intention was to use it mainly for my landscape shots but I took it along on my travels.
It turns out I had it on the K20D 90% of the time, brilliant lens for architecture shots many of which would just have been impossible without it - so much better than the Sigma 10-20 I previously owned. Here are a few of the first ones I've processed, nothing special but hopefully gives an idea of just how good the 12-24 can be

FORBIDDEN CITY, BEIJING
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP2967_edited.jpg[/IMG]

THE BIRDS NEST, BEIJING
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP3082_edited.jpg[/IMG]

THE OLYMPIC PARK, BEIJING
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP3097_edited.jpg[/IMG]

SUMMER PALACE, BEIJING
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP2944_edited.jpg[/IMG]

Microsoft Synctoy works for me: it's free and very easy to use - it also allows you to preview everything that's going to be copied/overwritten/deleted. Not necessarily a great idea to backup without checking first - if you accidentally delete a photo/folder the backup copy may well go the same way !!

Simon

I initially owned Sigma/Tamron lenses when I first started with a Pentax DSLR (mainly due to cost) and must admit at the time was pretty pleased with them.

Having said that once I bought my first Pentax lens (DA 17-70) I realised that the rendering/contrast does seem to produce nicer looking images - I now only have Pentax lenses and it will probably remain so.

Simon

That's exactly what I've read recently too Jon - on the Adobe website too if I remember correctly, I've now setup an action to upsize incrementally rather than the "one hit" process

Simon

Currently have a pretty standard P&S - Canon Ixus 85IS

After my recent trip to China it's become very clear that the Ixus is too limited for my requirements - soon to be replaced by the Panasonic TZ10

Simon

Just to quote the original post "which one reproduces the colors my eye knows best", the OP sounds be be wanting the widest gamut possible so my thinking was that he needs to be printing from an Argb or even better Prophoto colourspace - the only chance of achieving this is by buying top-end/expensive equipment.

I agree that decent results can be achieved on a small-ish budget (I'm happy enough with mine) but you're limited then to using Srgb which doesn't make use of the more wider gamut range of the other colourspaces.

Unless you spend a lot of cash on buying high-end monitors/printers and have them all profiled then ultimately its all a bit of a compromise. Many photoshop experts suggest using Argb as the editing colourspace to make use of the wider gamut - the problem being that currently most monitors can't display it and most printers can't reproduce it.

Having initially tried different settings/options etc, with very mixed results I've decided that for me simplicity is the way to go....calibrated monitor is essential...I then use Srgb in Photoshop (and in-camera if shooting jpgs, which isn't often). I've found this produces pretty decent prints on both my home printer (Canon MP540) and from the labs I use (DSCL, Loxley & Photobox occasionally)

Simon

Nothing major to mention - the thing that gets talked about most is that it only uses .DNG Raw format whilst Pentax use .DNG & their own format which is slightly more compressed so uses a bit less memory space on your SD Card - non issue really considering how cheap memory is now

Very good camera - used to have one myself

The Jessops bag looks worth a try for that money - might even give it a go myself...

I have the Tamrac Adventure 6 and whilst it's not perfect (not the most comfortable if out & about all day) its the one that best fits in my camera gear (K20D with lens + DA55-300 + DA 12-24 + filters/rocket blower etc.

Looking for something better I recently bought both a Kata backpack (forgot the model) and a Lowepro Fastpack 250 but didn't like either - the Kata just felt cheap and the padding seemed a bit inadequate, the K20D with lens just didn't fit right in the Fastpack, too much movement although access was better than the Tamrac.

At the moment I'm sticking with the Tamrac as my camera gear fits near perfectly - access isn't the best though

Simon