I'm a big fan of number 2. I think it looks great with the mono conversion.

Thanks guys. I tried to take the advice from last time into account (but still found myself with wonky horizons and focussing too much on frame-filling when taking animal shots...).

Dr Orloff - I like the bit of open space that the monkey is looking into but I can see that the bright, bland sky is a bit overwhelming. Maybe I should try a square crop to take out some of the sky.

Aliengrove - the monkey is a Red Collobus (sp?) on Zanzibar. They were (and still are) very endangered and shy, but since they started protecting them they have become very relaxed in human company. They've got very expressive faces and big eyes so they make great subjects.

Hi everyone

Just a quick post as I'm at work. It's taken me ages but I have finally got around to processing some of my honeymoon pictures (I think I promised to post some about 2 months ago!). I'll attach a few more in subsequent posts but I have a couple uploaded so thought I would start the ball rolling.

As ever, I would love people's honest comments and feedback. Still very much a beginner and everyone's advice on my South American photos was really helpfull.

All taken with my GX20, Sigma 100-300mm and some with the Sigma 1.4 tele attached. I was really pleased with this combo for safari.










I realise I've burnt the highlights on this one. Will need to see what can be recovered in raw converting.







Cheers All. Any comments and advice appreciated. Be brutal, I can take it!

WG

Screen arrived this morning - very quickly. As described and works great in my GX20. Macro focussing should be much easier...

Cheers Reuben

It's manual focus though, isn't it? Wouldn't that restrict it's usefulness as a "normal" prime?

Of course I realise that all lenses used to be manual focus and people could still take pictures etc etc

However, I'd have though that if people were after a Pentax, manual focus, normal prime they would have lots of second hand options which will likely be cheaper?

(10 mins later)

Ok, I've had a quick look and maybe the older lenses aren't as fast. Still, there's likely to be a big price differential.

I am indeed looking to convert it to IR. I've been looking to get a Pentax DSLR converted for a while. I was planning on doing it myself (I've converted a couple of point and shoots as a test) but I can't find replacement IR filters in the right size. Plus I probably wouldn't want to risk it with a great machine like the k10d.

Once it's all sorted I will be sure to post some pictures. I realise it's probably the wrong time of year for IR photography (or will be once it's all working) but I can hopefully show you that the camera is being put to good use Mike.

Hah! We saw lots of the "invisible tree climbing lions". I'm convinced that's a myth...

Anyway, thanks for all the comments. I'll try and get some photos up soon. Still very much in the amateur stages and I'd appreciate more advice. My South American pics focussed too much on filling the frame with the subject. Hopefully I've got some more interesting compositions this time.

I did consider the beanbag - I think you may have suggested it to me Greynolds. I went into Jessops and they didn't have any in stock though(a bit of a last minute effort). I really think that balancing on the fleece was sufficient but having not tried the bean bag I can't really comment. We were a bit lucky in the jeep not being full though so I had plenty of room to move around and re-position.

I'm feeling pretty inspired. If it wasn't 2:00 in the morning I'd try getting some pictures online now. Need sleep thoughhhhhh zzzzzzzzzzz.

We were in lodges rather than camps. I would have liked to camp but as it was a honeymoon I didn't have the casting vote...

We went with Somak as people had recommended them as being very good. Although the package was good I wasn't impressed with them as a company - we had some flight problems and some delays caused by Somak. They weren't very good at sorting things out. We will definitely go back (although maybe we'll try Kenya for a change) but I think we will try our luck with a different company.

I definitely enjoyed the Serengeti the most. Hopefully a couple of the lion hunting pictures and the cheetah pictures have turned out as well as I was hoping...

'Lo All

Just back from a fantastic safari in Tanzania taking in the Ngorongoro crater, Lake Manyara and the Serengeti. Hopefully I'll post some photos soon to get some feedback from you good people but, understandably, there are a couple of thousand to sort through and it might take me a while...

Anyway, in the meantime I thought I'd share some of my experiences in case anyone else is planning a similar trip.

I took along the following:

- GX20
- Sigma 100-300 f4
- Sigma 1.4 tele
- Sigma 17-70
- Pentax-A 100 f2.8
- Polarising filter
- Graduated filter kit
- Lots of small memory cards (in case of card failure or theft - 30gb)
- Monopod
- Little extras (wired remote, ir remote, cleaning kit, couple of spare batteries)
- All packed in a Tamrac Aero speedpack 75

If I was packing again I would leave the monopod. I barely used it - instead just resting the camera/lens on the jeep roof. Similarly a tripod would have been useless (apart from landscape shots from the lodges). I saw one guy using a tripod in a jeep full of people and he didn't seem popular...

The bag was fantastic. It fitted all the kit in and had room for water, jumper, book, snacks etc in the top pocket. It was comfortable to wear, hardwearing and had dust sealed zips. I'd definitely recommend it or something similar.

In hindsight, an external flash would have been useful at times as would a wide angle lens (but as I don't own either there wasn't really an option). Similarly a second backup body would have been nice but I don't own one.

The 100-300mm lens was brilliant - thanks for the recommendations on here. At times I wanted something longer (even with the teleconverter) but for most shots it was fine. In some cases it was too long even at the 100mm end! I haven't been able to look at the photos in detail but from some pixel peeping on the camera (sorry :blush it looks to have produced some very sharp shots. I think the Sigma 50-500 would be a more versatile option but would have been bulkier. If I had both and I went again I would struggle to decide which one to take.

Best investment
A rocket blower and cheap makeup brush! Even being careful about lens changes, dust is inevitable. Without the blower and brush I'm sure that there would have been a lot more dust on the lenses and getting onto the sensor. My evening ritual was to brush down the camera and each lens, rocket blow the lens elements and then give the lens a wipe with a lens cloth (if it needed it). Only got one bit of dust on the sensor and a quick blow shifted that.

Worst investment
Cokin adapter and Hitech graduated filters. Although they're fine pieces of kit they weren't particularly useful without a tripod. Looking forward to trying them out on some landscape shots at home though.

Hope people find that helpful.

WG

I'm slightly disappointed in the plastic mount and the aperture not being at least f2. However, as I wasn't expecting any new lenses soon it would seem like good news to me!

I guess we just have to see how it performs. I understand that the plastic mounts are actually pretty hard-wearing. If it performs brilliantly at f2.4 then it may become a no-brainer.