Depending on what type of photography you are shooting, you can't go wrong with the Pentax K-3 for all around shooting. It has over 76 weather seals for outdoor shooting in all kinds of weather. If you use Pentax lenses, they are also weatherproofed. The image stabilization is built into the base of the camera versus the lens bodies. This means the lenses are less expensive. The Pentax 18 x 135 lens is a very good overall (walk about lens). You can purchase any third party lens (sigma or Tamaron), but hey are not weather proofed. Stick with the Pentax lenses. I shoot with the Pentax K-5 and very impressed with the quality of the camera & pics produced. i would love to purchase a K-3 but very happy with what I have. Good luck with your decision & welcome back to photography.
Do you have the time delay on and set to say 2 sec?
The Oregon Coast is fantastic, especially this time of year if there is a storm coming in. Devils Punchbowl, Canon Beach (Haystack Rock). There are SO MANY photo ops within a days drive of Tigard, OR.
I shoot with Pentax and would not change. They have made great strides with there equipment recently. The cameras are rugged.
I travel with all my camera equipment in a tamerac Exp 8 backpac (heavy). Attached it to a roll away cart thru airport. I have only had it searched once. TSA agent could not identify a small pair of binoculars. Make sure the bag has identification attached and another form of identification inside. Enjoy the US.
I also have posted asking for opinion's on a good tripod. I ended up purchasing from B & H the Vanguard Altra Pro Legs (263 AT-$129) and a Manfrotto 804RC 3way pan tilt head ($59) . I love the combination. It is very sturdy and can be adjusted to almost any shooting conditions. DON'T use it or any tripods on boats or moving vehicles due to vibrations of the vehicle motors. Have a good shoot.
Depends on the camera you have. I shoot with the Pentax K-5 at high ISO-25,000 with NR on. Then in photoshop use the Neat Image plug in for Noise Reduction. I have had good results so far.
loose straps mean floppy t____ ( boys version back then lol)
I use the Manfrotto 804RC2 Tri-Pan head (weight load of 8.5 lbs). Bought from B & H. Adorama also has the head. Works great. If your camera & lens weigh more then 9 lbs, you can go to the Manfrotto 808RC4 head (15 lbs weight load). I also shoot with a mono and it's okay for smaller lens. I found the larger lens (150x500) a little unstable with the mono when shooting 1/250 and below. With this head (804RC2) I can swival around and follow the action (birds in flight) with good results. If you don't have a heavy duty tripod for the larger lens, get one. It's worth the extra $$$. I use the Vanguard altr pro 263AT and love it. Good luck
Where in Idaho do you roam for photography? I vacation there every year. My wife is from the camas prairie close to Cottonwood. Fantastic state for photography.
Thanks Sharpshooter-I appreciate your comment.
Thanks for the negative reply. All I asked was for an opinion. I guess i shouldn't be surprised with some of the negative comments. I do appreciate some of the comments (positive) from some members such as MT who I respect.
Thanks MT. I kind of figured I was low balling that $$ amount.
I am in the market for new tripod (old one broke). I would like one to handle my dslr & Sigma 150-500 lens. $$ somewhere $100 - $175. I have seen a couple with a pistol grip head for quick adjustments, but don't know if it can handle the larger weight of the Sigma 150-500 lens/camera.
Any suggestions.