It depends on where I'm walking around...

When I visited China last year I found that the DA12-24 was on the K5 85% of the time, the rest of the time it was the DA55-300.

When I'm out on walkabout in the countryside it's always the DA17-70

Simon

I had one in the past too, worried me every time I used it though as it just didn't seem sturdy enough to me, I now use a Slik Mini Pro V which doesn't have the flexibility of the Gorillapod but is far sturdier

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slik-Mini-2-Way-Head-Tripod/dp/B000K3992M

Simon

I was going to suggest a couple but as John wants us to remain firmly on topic unfortunately I can't - TBH as much as I like my K5 I wouldn't buy a Pentax compact

Simon

The Colormunki is made by X-rite which is another reason I chose it as my current Monoca Optix XR is also made by them and has been very good, just time to take advantage of the technology advances as it's 6yrs old now which is an age in the IT world

That's exactly why I posted the thread Dan, my current calibration device does exactly this but a couple of the current ones I'd looked at didn't - as you say colour calibration isn't that much use unless brightness and contrast are correct

Thanks everyone,

Just done a bit more reading and have ordered a Colormunki display as recommended by Jules - looks like it provides all the functionality I need

Simon

I currently use the X-rite Monaco Optix XR to calibrate my monitor but it's a bit old now so I'm looking to upgrade to one of the current monitor calibration devices.

I was going to but the Spyder 4 but it doesn't seem to have brightness/contrast adjustment, which my current device does - can anyone suggest a good alternative that gives full calibration?

thanks

Simon

How about the 18-55 WR Paul, you can pick them up for very little and from what I've read (not based on experience) similiar IQ to 18-135 if not perhaps slighty better in the corners. I have one I take with me together with my 17-70 when the weather is bad just in case, only used it a couple of times though but the IQ is pretty decent.

Simon

I've tried the in-camera HDR a few times but the results don't compare to what you can achieve by decent software such as Photomatix which offers much more customisation

Simon

Tricky one this..

When hiking in normal daytime conditions most of the time I don't carry a tripod, I find a monopod combined with the K5 IS works very well, producing very sharp shots - having said that as you mention, you are limited on the length of the exposure you can achieve with this combo.

This means a tripod is pretty much essential - I've recently bought the new version of the Benro CF "Travel Angel" series for this very reason,bought it from a dealer in China via Ebay and made a substantial saving. It's a great tripod, in fact I'm sure I'll now rarely be using my heavy Aly one.

It's also worth thinking about how you carry the tripod, you need a backpack with an effective strap system that distributes weight correctly - if you don't have this the tripod will feel much heavier than it actually

Simon