glivingston

<p>Anirban, I'm fairly certain that your warranty does not cover cleaning. I have the same lens and I just read the warranty card. It says the lens is "warranted against defective materials or workmanship...." Dust isn't either of those. If I were you, I'd just leave it alone unless it affects your images. More than likely, you'll never see the dust on your images.<br>

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<p>Last year, I bought the Sigma 100-300 APO DG lens and the Sigma 1.4 EX DG tele converter to use on my K10D with that lens. The lens by itself fit very tightly but the converter was a bit loose as you described. It was the same on two other Pentax bodies that I own. So I returned the converter (to Adorama, I think) and got a replacement, no questions asked. The new one fits great and all three Sigma lenses that I have are excellent products. If you can, return it because it should be tight on the body of the camera. </p>

Steve, Sorry I'm late on this. I recently bought the Sigma 100-300/4 and the Sigma 1.4 APO teleconverter which can be used with this lens. Sigma does not make an HSM version of this lens for Pentax but the lens is still a fine lens. I also use it on my ZX-5N film camera and the autofocus works great with or without the teleconverter. Of course, autofocus works on the K10D. I have not yet tried this lens for sports, but I intend to do that.I intend to take it out to some high school football stadiums with notoriously bad lighting, and see how it performs. My tests on wildlife has shown this lens to be sharp, contraty, and well sturated. It is running at $1199.00 US at B&H and the teleconverter is about $200. In my opinion ithis lens is a bargain at this price. The only negative is that it is heavy, especuilly with the teleconverter, but can be handheld if you are very good at it.

Jacques, I have exactly the same setup and I had exactly the same problem. The lens does a great job

over its entire range---sharp, fast focus, etc. I added the 1.4 TC later and immediately noticed the looseness that you

desscribe, and a disturbing grinding sound when focusing on automatic. I was able to focus manually. I returned the

TC to Adorama as defective and got a refund, no questions asked. However the TC was out-of-stock there and at

B&H. After some Internet searching I found another one at

Sigma4lesss (http://sigma4less.com/). I got one from there and am extremely happy with the setup. The TC/lens

combination now works well--no looseness, no grinding, fast focus and so on. I strongly recommend that you keep

trying to find a good sample of the TC. You will be very pleased with what you get.

All three of these have excellent reputations. I have a new Tamron 90 that replaced my old Tmaron 90 that was stolen out of my truck in January. I think it is an excellent macro lens and it doubles as a portrait lens. It is currently lited on B&H for $450 with a $90 rebate. My rebate came very quickly, I think within a couple of weeks. However, as you said, you can't go wrong on any of the three.

The Chinese screen has instructions on the website for the K10D. I assume that the Katz Eye also comes with instructions. I put one on my istD and it was very easy using just a fingernail and tweezers. The only problem seems to be getting the wrong side down. If that happens (it won't focus correctly), just take it out and turn it over.

Go to a site called "Virtual Village" http://www.virtualvillage.com/.

They have split-image focusing screens for the K10D/K20D for $26.99. They also work on the istD. They come through the mail from China, so it takes awhile, but mine seems to work exactly as it should for manual focusing.

When I was in graduate school at OSU, I lived at, I mean spent some time at, Eskimo Joe's. I have some good memories of that place and, last I heard, my niece works there. I wish I could join you for your birthday but I now live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas on the Mexican border where "cold" is the adjective attached to adult beverages and not the weather. Please post a picture of the cheese fries.

I got the Sigma 10-20 in November and have used it a few times. My initial impression is that it is a very good lens: solid build, accurate focusing, sharp. It filled a big gap in my lens collection and it's less expensive than the Pentax 12-24. I have a Sigma 15mm fisheye and it's great lens. I have taken some outstanding photographs with it, but it is very specialized and I use it only with film, when I occasionally shoot a roll. I won't get rid of it but it really has a limited use. On my K10D, it becomes the equivalent to 22.5mm which I really doesn't make it useful as a fisheye on the digital camera. I think you'll like the Sigma 10-20 and use it a lot if you get it.

I have PS CS3 but I'm not very good at it. I downloaded the trial version of Lightroom and played around with it enough to know that I liked it a lot. I went ahead and bought the full version and have never regretted it. I think it's a great program and it can manage about 95% of my editing and image enhancement. I now use PS once in ahwile and always after I've worked an image in Lightroom. Lightroom was created specifically for photographers but PS was created for graphic artists. You won't regret getting Lightroom.

B&H now lists the 360FGZ at $220 with a $25 rebate and has the 540FGZ at $340 with a $50 rebate. I am one who has spent a lot of money trying to save money on flash units and finally got the 540FGZ. I can say that it is a great flash with my K10D and my istD as well as with my film camera. I would recommend either one of these flashes over the non-dedicated ones. Your needs may change as time goes on so it is better tuy more than what you need now, in my opinion.

KEH.com currently has two 55mm F1.8 lenses rated as "bargain." One is $25.00, the other is $39.00. KEH's bargain lenses are very good and work well. I have bought a couple of them and had no problems whatsoever.

This doesn't have to be an either/or question. You can do both. I just bought the K10D and think it's a great camera. This is an upgrade from my istD, which is also a good one. However for some things I use my ZX-5N film camera. For example, I much prefer black and white photography on film and use various brands and speeds to get different looks. I think Fuji Velvia is untouchable for nature photography. I've also had an instance or two when my istD was in the shop and I was going off for some photo shoots and got great shots on film and the best part is, all my lenses work on all the bodies. Chances are you will not get much on ebay for your film camera, so I recommend you keep it and use it once in awhile. I think saving for awhile to get the K10D is worth it. It's unbelievable.

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Pentax made three versions of the 300mm f/4. You can find reviews at http://stans-photography.info/ and more information at http://kmp.bdimitrov.de/ I think you may be looking at the older K version, which is probably a good lens. However the M and A versions are considered to be classics and are two of the best lenses that Pentax ever made. Unfortunately they seldom come on the market and when they do sell for $700-$800, but they are worth waiting for and saving for. I have the 300 f/4 A and it is a superb lens. It is outstanding on either my ist film camera or my istD digital. I use it with a 1.4x Pentax converter with almost no loss of clarity. I do not have a 2x converter but most wildlife photographers do not recommend them. All older Pentax lenses are compatible with the K100D. Hope this helps.

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I have a Sigma 15mm f2.8 fisheye for my ist*D and for my ZX-5N film camera and I think it's a great lens. I've taken some wonderful shots with it on both cameras. It's tack sharp, easily focuses on either automatic or manual and produces great color saturation. I've never used the Pentax or Tokina, but I love the Sigma. Here's an example from the Big Bend area in Texas on Fuji Velvia film.<div></div>

Larry,

I live in Austin about 3 and 1/2 hours away from Aransas and go to the refuge often so I followed Rita closely last week. I'm fairly certain the cranes have not arrived--they usually arrive in mid-Oct. The really good news is that Rita missed Aransas altogther. Early last week, Aransas County officials ordered a mandatory evacuation of the county; the order was cancelled on Thursday, September 22 because of Rita's change in direction, and residents were told that it was safe to return. I guess the bad news is that some other sensitive areas on the Texas/Louisiana coast got the brunt of it.

Check out http://www.sdgfp.info/Parks/Regions/Custer/index.htm. They have a buffalo roundup and auction October 1,2,3. I've always wanted to see this event because rounding up American bison is a lot wilder than rounding up those tame domestic cattle.