Hi everyone,

I live in California and I purchased my Pentax k10d a year ago as a christmas present. It came with the 18-55 kitlens and a Quantaray 70-300 telephoto macro. Before this camera I was just the average point shoot user with practically no knowledge even when I first set hands on this wonderful DSLR. I've gained plenty of pointers from forums, online articles, friends, and simply going out there and snapping shots whenever I could. I dont think I could have asked for a better camera to suit my water/outdoor needs. i think the Pentax systems is working wonderfully for me and hope to upgrade to the K20d with 16-50 DA* and 50-135 DA* lenses in the future. For now I would like to share an extensive series of my favorite photos from 2008.

its incredible how many photos ive taken in a year!

Beware -Photos Intense! proceed at your own downloading caution!

[stevebrot]

awww!

well im going to spend some dough on DA* lenses so dont you worry! lol

I think the quantaray was very good for the money (looks like a tamron equivalent) with just a different name. Perhaps it was just a very good copy

There is a small, but very vocal group of us here that are always beating the drum in favor of shooting with less expensive glass...particularly the 18-55mm kit. It is so easy to get caught up in the gear and the desire for nice tools with the result being that we forget how to see the good pictures.

Your pictures show that it is possible to get excellent results with a modest investment in glass.

Steve

(Set my daughter up with a K10D, Tokina 19-35, and Tamron 28-200 about 18 months ago. She is happy as a clam with that kit and has even had some gallery action and commercial success with her images...she can decide at a later date whether exotic glass is worth the price...)

[Timtast1c]

There is a small, but very vocal group of us here that are always beating the drum in favor of shooting with less expensive glass...particularly the 18-55mm kit. It is so easy to get caught up in the gear and the desire for nice tools with the result being that we forget how to see the good pictures.

Your pictures show that it is possible to get excellent results with a modest investment in glass.

Steve

(Set my daughter up with a K10D, Tokina 19-35, and Tamron 28-200 about 18 months ago. She is happy as a clam with that kit and has even had some gallery action and commercial success with her images...she can decide at a later date whether exotic glass is worth the price...)

Indeed my experiences with these lenses has been phenomenal. Initially I had some doubts about the kitlens. little did i know the poor images were due to my own faults as the user. knowing what I know now I have found the kitlens to be a very very good lens and sometimes an amazing lens! I've also invested in the two manual lenses at only 120 dollars. They are also wonderful. However my interest in the DA* lenses refers to the weatherproofing and a few other added capabilities that will make my travels to Wet/ demanding locations less worrysome (I am spending three months in the rainforest in Costa Rica this spring).

[Timtast1c]

funny to think that this lens has sported 80 percent of my photographic career

https://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/showproduct.php?product=387&cat=82

[gawan]

Wonderful series! Shows talent and versatility to say the least. So many excellent photos!

[Andi Lo]

I need to go out and shoot more.... no excuse. Thanks for the inspiration =) Are the fish shots made with the Quantaray 70-300? I'm wondering if you work as a photographer?

[Timtast1c]

I need to go out and shoot more.... no excuse. Thanks for the inspiration =) Are the fish shots made with the Quantaray 70-300? I'm wondering if you work as a photographer?

lol thanks Andi Lo. All of the fish photos were taken with the quantaray 70-300 telephoto Macro> usually on macro mode. Im just a hobbyist college student for now