I have in the past couple of months switched to Sandisk Ultra micro SD cards for my two k-5s:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sandisk-Ultra-Class-Micro-Adapter/dp/B007JTKLEK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361018117&sr=8-1

They're actually considerably faster than one of the 'class 10' cards I was using previously (half the time to clear the buffer!)

No real negatives yet.

I partly got them so that I could use with my tablet, although I have to confess that the micro sd cards are so small and fiddly that I'm generally reluctant to transfer them in and out of the tablet.

That and the lack of any great raw viewing software makes it a bit less useful than it perhaps ought be, although it does mean that down the line I can use the same cards in a gopro or phone or whatever other microsd (or any other kind of SD!) device I end up getting.

Well, not the only advantage - being able to shoot, albeit softly at f2.8 300mm obviously counts for something.

Has to be said though, £1400 (at SRS prices) is a hell of a lot of money to pay for those two advantages.

Given the much improved low-light AF sensor on the K-5 II, perhaps it's worth giving that a go- can anyone comment on if the K-5 II improves focus speed for birding?

I'd imagine with the small f6.3 aperture at the 500mm end it ought help quite a bit?

I'm certainly looking to pick one of these up in the near future but having just picked up a pair of flashes, mieke battery grip and new SD card the camera budget has been rather blown for the month!

I'm fairly local at least.

Thanks to Gareth for very swift service and communications - a pleasure to trade with. Flashes arrived yesterday and working beautifully

Tim

1 and 4 my favourites. Sky looks a bit odd in 7, is that just my PC?

Anyway, good shots

I've resisted nearly all day.... Go on then, I'll take the pair at asking. PM sent.

Alright, I've taken the plunge and ordered the above. Hopefully it get here in time for me to have a play this weekend

You sound like you're pretty much decided to buy the 50-135, so why not just buy it, make your own comparisons and decide for yourself?

Both are good lenses, but the 50-135 isn't going to be much good to you if you want to take a shot at F1.4

If it's a question of cash you could always sell the DA*55 and replace it with the cheaper FA50, which will obviously give more similar results to the DA55 than the 50-135 can.

That depends.

Generally speaking, these lenses should give you better results (sharper picture, better colours, nicer bokeh), however, if you mainly shoot F8 or smaller aperture landscapes, then you probably won't notice any difference at all. The Pentax kit lens is perfectly competent.

If you're shooting indoor, or in low light, then these lenses allow a bit more light in, meaning that your shots can be less blurry and less noisy.

With all these lenses, because of their larger apertures (lower f number) you can create a shallower depth of field - that is, only a smaller amount of the picture will be in focus. This means that when taking a picture of, say, a person, the background will be more blurry and so less distracting from the subject of your image.

Unfortunately, as with most things in this hobby, there's no guarantee that buying more/'better' equipment will make your pictures any better. If you don't know what difference these lenses will make to your pictures, then I would suggest that you practice with the equipment that you already have, in order that you can get a better feel for what is missing.

Another thing you could consider is buying some old manual focus lenses, as these are typically much cheaper and let you test out different focal lengths/larger apertures without putting yourself well out of pocket. You can sell on those that you don't like.

Generally speaking an old 'prime' lens (that is, one that doesn't zoom) will give better quality images than an average new zoom lens.