Tonight (May 5th), the moon will be closer to the Earth than any on other day in 2012, and consequently we will observe what is called a "super moon". The moon will rise at 7:59pm and reach perigee (the part of its path closest to the Earth) by 8:35pm, which is when it will reach its largest size.  The reason that the moon will appear so large today can be attributed to variations in its orbital path.

We recommend that you take the majority or your shots during moonrise, while the moon is fairly low on the horizon, so you can catch some interesting things - such as trees, clouds, or buildings - in the foreground.

We're looking forward to seeing you share your photos of the moon in the Post Your Photos forum, as well as on our Facebook page!  Read on for some tips on lunar photography technique.

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Do you have a heavy lens that doesn't come with a tripod mount, such as the SMC Pentax 300mm F4?

Forum member Jack has recently written a Do-It-Yourself guide explaining how to make one at home using simple materials! 

Continue reading the DIY Tripod Mount How-To

Please note that this is the last of the 15 finalist articles submitted for our $1000 giveaway.  Expect voting for your favorites to start soon, so we can determine the winners!

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Pentax has just officialy launched a summer cash back program in Europe!  For any new Pentax K-5 purchased from an authorized European retailer between May 1st and July 15th, 2012, you will be able to save 50 Euros, or 80 Euors if you also bought the kit lens together with the camera.

Pentax K-5 specifications:

• 16.3 Megapixel APS-C DSLR
• 100% viewfinder
• Weather sealed
• 7FPS shutter
• Full-HD video
• ISO 80-51200
• More in our review

Full details and links can be found on the forum

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Yesterday, we announced that our official May photo contest theme would be Night Scene. In addition, for this month's contest, we are featuring prizes totaling over $150!

• 1st Place: $100 B&H Gift Card + Featuring in the Premier Gallery
• 2nd Place: $50 Gift Card + Featuring in the Winner's Showcase
• 3rd Place: premium photo paper + Featuring in the Winner's Showcase

All members are welcome to enter in our monthly contests.  All you have to do is post your photo in a thread in our Contest Submissions forum.  Read the instructions, or enter now!

In addition, voting for our April Patterns photo contest has just started!  We invite all forum member to vote now for their favorites!

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Sigma's new 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OS HSM II lens has just been made available in the Pentax mount! It's arrived at retailers together with a very welcome $100 instant rebate, reducing its final price to just $399. With the new high prices for Pentax brand lenses, this seems like a particularly good deal!

This 18-200mm is an all-around super zoom lens, and the new "mark 2" version features improved optics compared to the old 18-200mm, as well as Sigma's HSM system for fast, quiet, and (unlike Pentax SDM) reliable autofocus.  The Pentax version of the lens does not have in-lens OS (optical stabilization), as it is rendered redundant by in-body SR.

The new lens has already been added to our lens database, where you can post your own review of the lens sound you decide to get it.

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We'd like to kick off this week with a comparison of two tripods:

• Oben AC-1310 3-Section Tripod
• Oben AC-1410 4-Section Tripod

In this new comparative review, we not only compare the two tripods, but also show what to be on the lookout for when shopping for a new tripod, and what matters in practive.  We hope you enjoy!

Oben Tripod Comparative Review

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Our penultimate member photo article presents a vacation picture post-processing workflow using GIMP, a free photo editing application comparable to Adobe Photoshop.

In the article, the author (forum member tranzistors) lists four routine post-processing tasks and describes how to carry them out.  If you don't have any post-processing software, or haven't found an effective workflow, we are sure you'll find this article helpful!

Post-Processing Workflow using GIMP

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As was announced at the 2012 CP+ show, Pentax will soon be releasing a new DA 50mm F1.8 lens targeted at the intro-level market.  They have no plans to discontinue their full-frame FA 50mm F1.4 lens, however, which has been available for over a decade and continues to be one of the most cost-effective Pentax lenses out there, even on digital bodies.

On our site, the FA 50mm has over 100 user reviews, making it one of the most popular Pentax lenses as well. Its average price range is $250-$300 and it is available new in the US for $359.  We've recently improved our in-depth review of this lens, and we hope you'll find it helpful!

Read our review of the FA 50mm F1.4

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