Technical Question about using older lenses

I would contest that, actually - my best carryaround lens is a 40-80mm zoom (£12.50 off Ebay XD) and I've not had any problems with SR calibration. Admittedly this may be because I tend to compose the shot before turning the camera on, and then dial in the focal length. But there's times when it's set wrong and I'm in a hurry to get the shot so I don't change it, and it's been fine. For quick draw photos in low light I appreciate this may be more of an issue but if you have a look at this thread:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/49993-shake-reduct...

If SR becomes too much of a pest you can turn the shake reduction off while using a manual lens. I don't have much in the way of problems with camera shake because of having a steady hand, so I guess that's why medium-length zooms work okay for me. I did have problems with longer-length though, so maybe OP should bear that in mind when looking to acquire a longer lens - maybe go for a prime 135mm or something rather than a 80-200 or whatevs. But don't rule out shorter zooms like 35-70 or whatever just because of that - you'd be missing out!

But anyways, sounds like you've scored your first lens, so congrats! I'm similarly stalking Ebay for a 50mm but my budget's much more limited so I'm waiting for a bargain XD

I have the "A" series 50mm f1.7 and it's a cracker. I also have an "M" 200 f4, a Tak 135 f2.5, and a 50 f2, and they have all been a great help in understanding the relationship between aperture and shutter speed. For 20 years I had a Pentax film camera and used 'Program' mode all the time. Now, with a collection of good manual focus lenses, and a few good AF ones, I'm finally learning what it's all about.

Regards