Images from South Australia (with the 16-85)

Hi all,

I have returned from a holiday to South Australia and came back with some good shots, some of which I've posted here for your viewing pleasure.

It was great having a camera bag that contained only my K-r and the Pentax 16-85, along with a couple of filters. The focal range of the lens is ideal as a walk about lens.

I had previously posted some tests using this lens and some people were kind enough to comment on some softness with the images. I have confirmed that the lens was back focusing somewhat, and I was able to dial in an adjustment which seems to have solved that issue. However I am also noticing that just every so often, I get a shot where focus has been completely missed. I am trying to focus on the distant horizon and it focuses just a few metres away. It happens in situations where there is no possibility the focus sensor could have picked up a foreground object. With a small aperture, this usually just results in the horizon being soft due to the large depth of field, but it was quite obvious if it occurred during test shots and the lens was wide open. During testing I also noticed that my Tamron 17-50 occasionally did the same thing, so I am suspecting that this might be the camera that is playing up. It does not occur often enough for it to be a big problem, but it is annoying. Maybe I need to save up for a new camera.

Anyway, here are some pics. All except the last were taken on Kangaroo Island. The last is at Victor Harbour.