Whilst I was sorry to hear of Bob Hope’s passing, I don’t think you could class him as a ‘Really funny man’, one of the finest ambassadors for entertainment yes, a man who was passionate about his fellow countrymen, a man who served his country and generally all round good egg, but funny no – not for me.
May he rest in peace.
The funniest man on this earth died last year, he’s now in the ninny nonny yang.

Umm, I once had a Tamron ‘adaptall’ lens, 28-70 I think, and it was great. But this was in the days of Canon FD mounts and non-auto anything and my expectations were probably lower.
I tried a big Tamron a couple of years back and sure it was cheap – it looked cheap, felt cheap and performance was, well lets say not fantastic. However I was using a Nikon 400 f4 and a Nikon 300 f2.8 at the time so my expectations were pretty high.
If I was doing this for my crust there is no doubt that I would use nothing but Nikon prime lenses, but I’m not and I cant. Therefore I have to make compromises and having owned several Sigma lenes to date I believe that they offer excellent image quality at at reasonable price.
It would be interesting to see what percentage of folks buy top brand bodies and then go for alternative lens manufacturers, I would hazzard at about 75%.
Perhaps Nikon, Canon, Minolta there is some lesson to be learnt here. I work in an industry where we have the best product on the market (MRI) and our customers demand a year on year 5% price reduction, so effectively our products are half the price they were 10 years ago. Being the best does not mean you have to be the most expensive.

Of course there is always this one:-
Latest News
Nikon announces new Super Telephoto Zoom Nikkor with Vibration Reduction and Silent Wave Motor
The first 2x super telephoto Nikkor lens to be fitted with both Vibration Reduction (VR) and Silent Wave Motor (SWM) is announced today. The AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED features a super telephoto zoom reach with the advantages of Vibration Reduction for increased photographic opportunities in low light.

<<…OLE_Obj…>>
The Vibration Reduction system offers up to three stops slower shutter speeds either in Normal Mode for hand held shooting or Active Mode when shooting from a moving platform. The VR system can also detect panning movement.

The optical design includes 24 glass elements in 17 groups manufactured to the latest environmental standards. Four ED glass elements ensure sharp, high contrast results with film or digital. The picture angle is equivalent to 135 format focal lengths of 300mm to 600mm when used with a Nikon DX format Digital SLR, fast and quiet auto focus enabled by the incorporation of a Silent Wave Motor (SWM).

The f/4 maximum aperture and overall length remain constant at all focal lengths and focus distances, and a new ‘Memory Set’ button close to the camera body, facilitates instant one touch focus re-set.

Environmental protection has been attended to with rubber seals around the F mount bayonet and drop-in filter slot, and damage prevention has been improved thanks to a removable clear glass front element.

Compatible with both TC-14E II and TC-20E II teleconverters.
Weighing in at just 3200g, the lens is about 300g lighter than the AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/4D IF-ED II.
The lens comes complete with hood (HK-30), shoulder strap (LN-1) and soft case (CL-L2).
Expected availability October 2003, estimated price £5,499
Posted on: Tuesday 22 July 2003

Eject Reject !

Brave man Plazz, brave man.
I think you may have just stuck the old neck out a bit there, but hey theres nothing like lively debate is there.
My understanding of RIAT is that it aims to make as much money for the RAFBE as possible by what ever means and I should imagine its pretty successfull in that respect.
As for presenting modern airarms, not sure thats fully its mandate it has always contained an element of GA, historic , civil, display teams (far too many) and of course modern hardware. Yes the emphasis is toward modern military but thats probably because its at one of the only locations in the uK capable of staging such an event therefore it can cover a wider range.
I dont think using ‘WWII left overs ‘ as a term is a smart move on this forum, still lets see who bites.
Good luck
Phil

Have a good one and have one for me, whatever it is your having !!

[email]flypast@keypublishing.com[/email]