Ebay seems to have gone like that for many items these days, I think that some people assume because its on an ebay auction it must be cheaper than a retailer - more fool them for next checking!!

Simon

IQ isn't just limited to sharpness though - I moved from the standard DA kit lens to the Sigma 17-70 and then to the Pentax 17-70, at each stage I saw an improvement but rather than sharpness it was more regarding colour and contrast rendition, some may say that this can be done in PP but I don't fully agree.

The step from compact to DSLR can be a little disappointing because some compacts have excellent lenses which may well outperform the cheap/standard kit lenses supplied with DSLRs, the Pentax kit lenses seem better than most so I'm not sure if this fully applies in this case though

I do firmly believe though that a lend upgrade can make a significant difference in the quality of your images - technique obviously needs to be good regardless of lens though

Simon

Good to know that investment in new products will continue - my guess is that DSLRs in general will cease to exist as they are now within a few years, I think everything is heading for mirrorless - I see Ricoh investing more in development of these models than DSLRs

Simon

Welcome to the forum - looking forward to seeing those Wales Rally GB photos

Simon

Thanks Colin,

I have another version of shot 2 with the cliff tops in - having compared them though I do prefer the one posted here which gives the cliffs a more menacing sense of scale, if that makes sense

Me and the wife have just had a few days doing a bit of hiking along the Jurassic Coast in Dorset which is absolutely stunning in places, I managed a few shots along the way, nothing special as they were taken during peak hours, hopefully they give an idea of how wonderful the coastline is, unusually for me I actually quite like the shots with people in too - must be getting less anti-social in my old age!!




Seatown



West Bay



West Bay



Bats Head, near Durdle Door

That's a terrific set of photos, I'd like to tell you my favourite but it's impossible to choose as I like very single one of them!!

Simon

Nice shot of a lovely location - I missed this set of falls when I did the waterfalls walk a few years ago, not sure why??

I agree with the comments that it's a little dark, only slightly though - out of interest did you take a portrait shot too, some great foreground in those rocks

Simon

I owned the Sigma before buying the Pentax version and as Bob says it's a great lens, no noticeable PF and it's certainly as sharp as the Pentax - the main difference between the 2 is that the Pentax colour & contrast produces nicer looking shots staright from the camera, I think so anyway. There's a fair difference in price though and you can't go wrong with either

I use one as my main tripod and just can't fault it - I did initially intend paying quite a bit more for a "named" brand but since getting the Redsnapper haven't seen the need

Simon