I'm currently looking for another tripod too, mainly for when hiking..I currently have a Velbon Luxi F for this reason and whilst it's pretty good it's not really as sturdy as I would like...

after a bit of reading "Redsnapper" get very good comments on another forum and I'm going to give one a try, prices are very reasonable

Here's a link..

http://www1.clikpic.com/Redsnapper/photo_1036442.html

simon

Thanks again everyone for the comments, much appreciated

simon

I initially owned the 55-200 and it was a nice lens, compact & decent IQ, it lacked a little reach for me though so I bought the Tamron 70-300, didn't like the purple fringing so bought the Sigma 70-300 APO, found it too soft...now own the Pentax 55-300, best of the bunch wihtout doubt !!

simon

I've been reading this thread with interest as I'm now beginning to consider upgrading my Samsung GX10 (pentax K10D). Prices have fallen on the K20D body and strangely the Pentax is cheaper than the Samsung equivalent, which wasn't the case with the GX10 vs K10D.

For me the extra MP give a little more freedom if cropping is needed and I definitely like the idea of reduced image noise, whilst the GX10 is pretty good it does show some shadow noise from Iso 400 & above.

My primary use is landscapes so the review comments regarding "slow AF" aren't likely to be an issue for me. Certainly sounds as though there are plenty of very happy K20D owners on here !!

simon

Thanks everyone for the kind words, certainly a nice feeling to see some of my shots in print

simon

Just picked up the February issue of What Digital Camera magazine and great to see my first images to be published in a magazine, they've chosen the following 3 shots from around Anglesey...

Simon

[IMG]http://www.landscapephotographyuk.com/images/Llanddwyn-Island-sunset.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.landscapephotographyuk.com/images/penmon-lighthouse-sunrise-anglesey-north-wales-image.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.landscapephotographyuk.com/images/Beaumaris-pier-anglesey-sunrise-north-wales-image.jpg[/IMG]

Personally I'm constantly amazed at how spectacular nature can be and try to catch it at it's best and do it some justice with my photography. Unfortunately it doesn't always work, nature is much more talented than I am !!

No problem... I did a very simple conversion in ACR, just tweaked the colour channels & then added some contrast using dodge & burn tools. Only plug-in I have is Photokit Sharpener which I personally think does a brilliant job.

The reason I looked at B&W here was that the colours aren't really very strong and adding more saturation etc just made it look false, I quite like the B&W, even it isn't Ansel Adams...which being quite honest from my viewpoint isn't always neccesarily a bad thing

Thanks again for the feedback....opinion seems to be more towards the colour version than the B&W (on another forum too)

simon

After some feedback on another forum I've revisited this one and converted to B&W, prefer it now as the slight colour in the original isn't really enough to add much to the shot

[IMG]http://www1.clikpic.com/skitchin/images/Snowdonia_view_from_penmon_point2.jpg[/IMG]