There are at least two 10-20 Sigmas. I use a 10-20 f/3.5 constant aperture on my A mount Sony Cameras. Mostly Real Estate Photography, but also for some WA landscapes. The lens is really comfortable to use. Excess distortion is cleaned up in LR, although, I believe DxO also has Profiled the Lens. Sharp (very) at f/4 or smaller and not soft. A great bargain. If your Pentax is APS-C, then you will have a 15-30 mm lens equivalent, which is a very useful range. Have fun. BTW, keep the lens hood on for all your shots and watch for dirt on the front element.

If you still have your Minolta A Mount Lenses, you can use them on Sony SLTs 65. 68, 77, 77ii, 99, 99ii Cameras.Used 77 and 77iis are priced generally below 800 dollars. OR, you may opt for a Sony mirrorless, such as an A7ii (new abut $998.00) and a Sony adapter LEA4 on sale at $298 new or less used. Save money, use good glass you are familiar with, money saved for the inevitable future GAS attacks. Have fun!!

As noted, jpegs LOSE info when opened, modified and saved. There is a product called "jpegmini pro"sold from their website and BH plus others. It is software and somehow, though its interface drives me nuts (just personal opinion), this program will remove depending on the file up to 70% or more of space and RETAin THE IMAGE QUALITY! i use it to send HDR photos to MLS and family friends via email. Storage is cheap, but to send a "same quality" jpeg reduced from 24 megs to 5 megs is pure sweetness. I know this is not exactly the subject of the OP, but certainly related.

Re: Mitakon lenses-I use a Mitakon 85 f/2, manual lens that is heavy, well machined, very very sharp and has soft circular bokeh. I have not tried other Mitakon optics but I was impressed with the one I purchased to fill a hole in my prime lens array. If their other lenses are as good, you would save money, learn focus peaking and taking time to compose and set up a picture. Just because a lens, new, less than a tird of the native brand does nor take away from its ability to assist in photography.

I made the move you are contemplating. The A77ii is a major improvement from the A65v. Faster operating and ease of use make it grand. Low Light shots are noisier than I like, bit I can capture shots that would otherwise be elusive. The "kit" 16-50 2.8 is a good lens, albeit heavy. Sigma makes a 17-70 2.8/3.5 (Ithink) that is much lighter and very quick on the camera. A multitude of battery grips are available as well. Have fun, plenty of glass available as you know, at good prices.

I have owned a Canon Pro 100 for over two years. I keep it plugged in and print (mostly) color only every three or four months, printing three to five 13 x 19 inch and two or three 11 x 14 inch prints. i have replaced some of my Canon cartridges twice. The KEY is that I have not had a clog or ANY issue with this printer and the results are (IMO) high quality. Canon tech service fro Printers is superb. I use two MX922 printers and recently had an issue (in warranty)where the printer would not print. After five minutes with a support person, who replaced the printer and all I had to do is pack the defective unit and ship it via UPS back to Canon at no charge. BTW, the MX922 does decent photo printing and excellent document printing and high quality scanning, both photo and documents. I use only Canon inks, there are third party inks available at a lower price, BUT it is not worth taking a chance. You can get some objective info about the Pro 100 on the Red River Paper website. I use their papers and Canon's depending on size and finish. RRP also provides color profiles for its papers for best output. Good luck, maybe Canon may have a rebate special with paper shortly.

Downtown Fort Myers and the yacht basin there; starting about two hours before sunset. Water, architecture, colorful buildings, Federal Revival Buildings, some storefront windows offer superb color and perspective opportunities, shadows, cobbled and brick streets, street-side metal statuary, boats with and without sails, and bridges with sunsets to the South and West. One could spend days there. On select Fridays there are Art and Music walks with sidewalk musicians, etc. Wear comfortable shoes. Enjoy Our community!I will post some shots later, have to go to work now.

Send a demand certified return receipt to her, saying when ahd what she told you about canceling payment. Add a line that waht you have r\written is true and to be fact, unless answered in writing within five (5) business days of the letter's date. Keep copy and go to prosecutor. Good luck, i am sure she will pay, go criminal onher. Do not say that if she will not pay you will go to prosecute. Say that you will take ANY and ALL avenues open to you to recover what is owed. Tell her that she should pay within ten days, the full amount plus the charge from your bank for a check not honored. Not to do so will be at her peril. Good Luck.

I wish you well. If nothing else, the notoriety of a criminal charge for theft of services (If you paid a hotel for her room, depending on your state, the criminal charge may even be to a higher degree, misdemeanor or felony )may force her to make restitution. If the funds were not in her account when she wrote the check, even worse for her. Keep us informed please. I also suggest thast you look into becoming a member of PPA. PPA has forms and templates that will save you time , money and agita.

A MAJOR advantage with many Sony cameras is IBIS(steady shot). Depending your technique, health and subject matter, the 6500 would be a better choice. However, the Sony A mount cameras might be a better fit, especially the SLT A77ii or the SLT A68. The A77ii has no OVF, but an excellent electronic view finder (EVF), plus many, many customization options. As pointed out, in another post, not only are there many reasonably priced Sony A mount Lenses, there are the Minolta lenses of which almost all have great optical quality, especially when compared to the higher priced newer glass. Sigma, Tamron, Tokina and many other lens makers have a plethora of glass available. Purchasing used from Adorama, B and H, KEF, Cameta and from the Hedgehog Members Buy and Sell is a saving experience. The first four offer warranties and return policies that are quite liberal. Do some research; you will be able to assemble an excellent KIT and save money. One note: the Sony A6000 series appear to be small, relatively light and cute, true. But when lenses, adapters and grips are added, the differences in size and weight between the 6000 series cameras and most DSLRs becomes meaningless. Have fun, keep researching.

One suggestion, join the PPA. daily forums on contractual issues, etc. Also equipment coverage, forms for your business and workshops. Ned Levy from Philadelphia (No,he is not a Philadelphia Lawyer, but sounds like a competent one) is a frequent contributor in issues such as OP's. BTW, Where is Op in these five pages of commentary? OP could answer a number of questions raised by us Hedgehogs.

Maybe in your area, but theft of services is prosecuted quite heavily in many areas. We are not talking about a few dollars, but depending on the small claims limits in a particular jurisdiction, OP's loss may beyond small claims ability to collect. BTW, Often in "uttering"filings, the Court orders restitution and probation in lieu of jail time, although costs are assessed and occasionally a civil fine as well.
Remember, prosecutors are not bill collectors, but a crime is a crime, fraud is a crime.

To be clear, most state's criminal statutes have provisions for this type of activity, if criminal in intent or by inadvertance. No, we are not talking about armed robbery, but the amount OP lost certainly would trigger a misdemeanor or felony investigation. If a prosecutor said go to small claims court since the amount of money is small, is NOT the case. A crime may have been committed, and non-prosecution of these monetary crimes, which are not crimes against a person, are warranted. Theft is Theft, via a gun, an uttered instrument (check,bond, etc. ) or strong arm robbery. If OP has attempted to collect from the lady and she has not responded properly; he may say, "An action open to me is to file a criminal complaint with the police (sheriff) if this cannot be resolved."

If she refuses to pay, after a Demand Notice is served OP would be remiss if he did not file a compalint. this is not a tort, this is theft!!

Not an Atty., but most states have a law (criminal) against this sort of thing. First you must make a TEN DAY(varies from state to state) Demand for your unpaid funds, in writing, plus costs if any ("Service" varies from state to state, USPS, return receipt, process server, etc.). Preserve emails and all correspondence, etc. If the culprit does not respond within the time frame, go to the local State Prosecutor,; the crime, depending on locale and circumstances, will range from "theft of services", to Uttering or some other named fraud. In Florida, once criminal proceedings begin, the defendant will somehow find the funds to pay you and the costs. The States Atty. mau dismiss the case without prejudice (meaning that the case can be reopened.You will have your money at that point. By all means hire an Attorney.