[Hannican]

Wow! Thanks for all the great responses everyone!!

I had no idea that there were fraudulent websites out there, and hadn't even gotten to the part about 'no credit cards' on the superpricedelectronics.com website (that would have surely tipped me off...)

Thank you all for well developed and thought out posts and recommendations.

I have been looking around and think that the Sigma 10-20 mm lens and the Tamron 18-250 in combination will give me the coverage I'm looking for.

I've seen some AMAZING shots with each of them (especially that Sigma)... I love wide-angle landscapes (I'll try to upload some of my P+S sunset and landscape images soon).

The Tamron sounds quite versatile and that's definitely something I'll need while travelling.

Just for the record, my trip in China will be spent mostly in the countryside, far away from any large cities, so I'm hoping to avoid the polution, if that's possible. I think I'll want to check out Beijing and Shanghai at some point though, so I like the idea of the 18-250 Tamron and not having to swap lenses amidst the disgusting air

You guys have been extremely helpful!! Thank you very much!!

-Tim

[Confused]

Hi again Tim

When you said:

"I have been looking around and think that the Sigma 10-20 mm lens and the Tamron 18-250 in combination will give me the coverage I'm looking for".

....You "warmed the cockles of my heart"....Bang-on, sunshine, NOW you're talking !

Obviously if you have VERY deep pockets, I can't deny that there are some amazing Pentax primes out there, but for what you are proposing, I don't think you can go far wrong with that pair of lenses as a starting point. You may be aware that the Sigma has had a slightly chequered reputation as far as de-centering issues are concerned with some early examples of the 10-20mm, but find a good one and you'll be amazed by what you can capture with it. Pentax's 12-24mm is reputedly also a very fine optic, but IMHO it's not worth twice the price of the Sigma. You 'pays-your-money' and you 'takes-your-choice' so to speak !
And in reply to Will, when you said "I was planning to be in the Grand Canyon" I suddenly went 'green with envy'..............
I Sooooo want to see that place with my own eyes, I can't begin to tell you !!
In conclusion, you encapsulated my primary objection to 'bridge-type' cameras when you said:
"The images are noisy at high ISOs.........and it's probably true of all the fixed-lens superzooms, with their little sensors".
Alas, also plainly visible at ISO 100 as well I'm afraid !
Enough said on the subject....

Best regards
Richard

[pop4]

I'm in a similar situation to the OP; I'll be spending the next year studying in China, near Shanghai.

I've settled on the K10 camera, for a variety of reasons (price, features, fact that it forces you to learn about photography w/out relying on 'scene' modes), but will I be able to get adapters and other components (lenses, accessories, filters, replacement batteries, etc, etc) while in China? Is Pentax well represented in Asia? Or should I purchase all of my gear before I leave to make sure that I've got everything I need?

I don't know about the availability of Pentax gear over there, but I'd get the gear first, just so that you have plenty of time to familiarise yourself with your camera.

And are there convenient ways to adapt the camera to Chinese power sources (read: can I easily, and cheaply, get something that lets me plug it's charger into a Chinese wall?). I'm hoping someone here has been there and can save me the time of scouring websites looking for compatibility solutions for Chinese wall sockets.

China's AC electricity is 220V, and the Pentax K10D charger takes 100V-240V input, so that shouldn't be a problem. You'd need a socket adaptor so that your plug can fit in the wall socket; or you should be able to find a figure of 8 power cord with the local plug that you can plug into the charger. I don't think running out of power would be a problem, especially if you've got the spare battery as well.

To clear things up, it goes: Wall Socket -> Power Cord (figure of 8 plug on this end) -> (figure of 8 socket on this end) D-BC50 Battery Charger

I have been looking around and think that the Sigma 10-20 mm lens and the Tamron 18-250 in combination will give me the coverage I'm looking for

I agree, that would be an excellent combination, and if I had the $$, I'd love to do that too.

However, my plan is to get the Tamron/Pentax 18-250mm and put that on my K10D + Battery Grip (i personally prefer having the grip on), and bring along either one, or both of my prime lenses.

[Hannican]

Thank you for more interesting replies!

Pop4 what will you be studying in China?

I'm working on my Mandarin right now (even though they don't like to speak it in the part I'm going to...). Part of the reason I'm going is to learn the language.

Anyway, I'm still researching, but I really think those two lenses will fit the bill for me quite nicely (if I can scrounge up enough cash for them!)