Before I read the other comments, I thought that 1 and 2 are a little over saturated. I had a play and prefer No1 with a little less blue and yellow.
Nice shots though and just my opinion of course

After much research, I bought the Sigma 100-300 F4 after considering the 150-500. The reviews came out better on IQ. Although obviously losing out on the length for wildlife shots I decided the 100-300 was a more useful lens and I often carry it whilst walking for long landscape shots, though i admit I haven't used it a lot yet.
I also bought a x1.4 converter which gives 420mm.
The use I have given it shows that I nearly always use it at 300mm, so perhaps a DA*300 would have been a better purchase, though I do not regret having the zoom.
I think if I go any bigger though it will be a 500 prime for the pure quality and speed.

I went through this quandary myself very recently. There does not seem to be a bag in existance that covers your or my requirements.
For myself I needed to be able to carry camera, 2 or three lenses, ND grad filters, tripod plus food drink and waterproofs for a days walk.

After much searching and veering away from LowePro, I nearly went for Tamrac but the tripod carrying straps were extras so I knew i would end up without those and so looked at LowePro again.
Eventually I decided on the LowePro Rover Plus AW linkThis has padded section for camera etc, four or 5 sections for lenses and some other accessory pockets, and a good section for waterproofs etc.

Okay so its not perfect but its the nearest i could find, but if Im doing a serious walk anywhere I still use a proper rucksack and carry my camera in a padded bag.

I emailed Pentax asking what the safe trigger voltage was on the K20d
This is their answer

Well, not altogether a satisfactory answer imo I accept what they say but they could have answered the question

Mike

I dont want it on the camera, I should have said camera triggered I suppose. I wish to use them on the end of a cable

Matt
Thanks, I have since found some useful info on this link which has test voltages for a large number of flashguns and whether they aresafe for EOS cameras, which apparently are more susceptible to damage.

There is also a link to a post by somebody who claims to have contacted pentax about this which says
Unfortunately the Vivitar 285 does not have a test voltage on this list but the 2500 does, so maybe I will take a chance on it.

I am led to believe that using certain old flash guns can 'fry' DSLR's.

I have 2 old flashguns that I use for underground photography that are triggered manually and so pose no danger. I have used them once on camera to test them without any problems.
However this was before I new of any dangers, since then I have not done so.
I would like to use on camera flash now though and was wondering if there was any way of knowing which flashes are safe and which are not.
I have a Vivitar 285 which is quite powerful and a Vivitar 2500 which is not.

Steve

Sometimes I have left SR on accidentally and it may heave been on in this example.

Thanks for the link by the way I will give it a go. How does one adjust the lens though?

Shim I will try and give that a go. Thanks

Hefty
I know the trouble with digital is, everyone thinks they can sell stock images and I am as guilty as anyone. The dissapointment is more about the image quality itself and being lost as to why it is so, and not about whether it is accepted or not. Its a long way back to Spain.

Still, you live and learn.......

Re commission I once bought a budding rock star a pint and he promised to give me 10% of his earnings if he ever 'made it'
Make it he did many years later, he wasn't true to his word though and I haven't seen him since lol

I have been automatically going for a small aperture when shooting any landscape or anything thats not 'flat' or where I am trying to isolate a subject with a narrow DoF.
I understand hyperfocal distance and so can relate to what you say about wide angles and DoF. At 12mm f5.6 HD is at about 1.3m on the K20d so nearest point in focus is nearer than I am usually going to need. Even at 20mm its only 3.5m

So I guess combining tripod use( I had thought handheld was OK at 1/60th)with wider apertures will hopefuly see some improvement.
I shall try working this way from now on and thanks all for the helpful replies as usual. In particular Hefty and Mattmatic for such in depth information.

Regards
Steve