Thanks, Rick. I'll give Asahi Photo a shout. As I get older, I find I'm less inclined to lug around a DSLR kit, unless I need that versatility. I was never happy with the visibility of the MX-1's screen outdoors on a bright day, so may check out the latest (affordable) EVF offerings.

Hi, guys. The lens on my cherished MX-1 won't retract and I've had no success in finding someone to repair. I live in France, and both the official French and German repair centres say it's too old to fix. A couple of YouTube videos suggest the problem is a broken gear cog, but possibly parts are no longer available. There are also videos on DYI repair (assuming you can find a part), but I already have too much hi-tech equipment lying around the house in pieces and unlikely to work again. I'm quite attached to this little marvel and would pay a good few quid to get it back in action. It works perfectly, apart from the lens problem. I often see Pentax repair specialists mentioned on this site, so thought I'd run it past you. Any suuggestions would be much appreciated. Cheers.

Quick update: the French repair people, PM2S, are fixing it for the equivalent of £180. I think that's money reasonably well spent if the repair holds up for a while. Thanks again for your advice.

Many thanks, chaps. Off to the repair shop it goes.

Light level made no difference. What I can't understand is why it would hunt only at maximum zoom or thereabouts. Knock it back a few millimetres and it would work normally. I made sure to test it with full batteries. My old Peugeot 307 did the same as your VW. Luckily, the problems disappeared when it spontaneously combusted in a car park

Thanks, Peter. I'll try your system for a while and keep my fingers crossed.

Hi, folks. I'm in a bit of a quandary over my DA* 50-135. It started failing to lock focus at 135mm or slightly below, although it was fine at other FLs. This seems to relate to an SDM issue and I was getting ready to post it to Pentax repair in France (where I live) when the problem disappeared. I've been testing it for a week now and focus locks properly and quickly at all FLs. Admittedly, I hadn't been using the lens much but the same problem cropped up a year ago when it saw regular action at least once a week.

I'm concerned (and fairly confident) the problem will return when I'm relying on the lens later this year at some music gigs. It strikes me there's no point sending it in for repair while it's working properly. I suppose I could describe the problem and hope for the best, but this wouldn't be ideal. Any advice on the best way forward? I looked into switching it to screw drive but all the information on the net was quite old and some of the required software doesn't seem to be available from a reliable source any more. I'd appreciate any wisdom you can offer.

Thanks for your thoughts, Rob. I think I'll leave it alone until I can contact Pentax directly, although the answer will probably be "Follow the instructions". Oddly, the microphone came with an extra cable to connect smartphones, tablets and Macs. The jack has four contacts, like the K70 remote shutter release. Beats me.

Hi, guys. I'm hoping to get some advice from any of you who are into video. I'd never bothered with the video function on my K70 but took a short clip at a music gig and was quite impressed. Bought a relatively cheap mono shotgun mic to explore things a bit further but now read in the K70 manual: "A monaural microphone cannot be used with this camera." I find this odd because the mic is fitted with a stereo plug and I assume it just sends the same mono signal to both input channels. I would try it it anyway but the manual warns that using a microphone outside of spec could "cause the camera to malfunction". Don't want that. Any comments? Thanks in advance.

I recommended a Pentax X5 bridge camera to a friend a few years ago and it hasn't exactly been smooth sailing. It wouldn't turn on after a month of light use and was repaired under warranty. Since then, he has had it repaired twice for focus issues. Now, it won't turn on, even with a new battery. I feel a bit responsible for his woes and wonder if there's any obvious way forward. He emailed me today and plans to scrap it. If anyone needs an X5 for parts/repair, I sure he'd be happy to let you have it for the postage cost. He lives near Edinburgh.

While I'm here, I'd like to thank forum members for recommending a DA* 50-135 for gig photography. It works a treat. My latest quest is to find a bag to carry my K-70 with fitted DA 16-45 plus the aforementioned 50-135. My present array of bags are either too big or too small and I want something as small as possible to do the job. Any suggestions would be welcome. Cheers.