Also worth bearing in mind that the other forum seems to be predominantly USA-based, and lens prices across the Atlantic will be different to ours as they have a larger community to buy from.

I'm determined to take more and better long exposure shots in the snow this year. My attempts last time were spoiled by a bit of lens flare:

[IMG]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x21/Kingofthemountains/Landscapes/IMGP1041.jpg[/IMG]

Agreed

Good luck to them if they want to get married, but it's nobody else's business other than their own and I really couldn't care less about it!

Be a bit careful about M42 lenses (Takumar/Super-Takumar, etc). My K-m won't work at all well with them (underexposes horribly all the time) but is quite happy with anything K mount. I've no idea whether the K-x shares the metering circuitry and might therefore have similar problems.

My new slide projector is here - Zeiss Ikon Perkeo. No idea how or why it comes by the Zeiss name as the rights to that have been bought and sold all over the place (IIRC Sony are now using them for their primes?) but it seems decent enough. Needs a new drive belt, I've put a rubber band in for now but don't expect that to last long as it's a bit stretched. Will be calling a few suppliers soon to ask if they've got anything suitable.

If you're planning to list the FA 35mm f2 I'd suggest doing so sooner rather than later. I suspect the new DA 35mm f2.4 will take a lot of the demand away as it's a cracking lens and has a street price around £150.

True, but they are a bit better than the fake leather (cardboard?) ones which came with the M series. I wouldn't fancy stuffing the front part of an M series ERC into a pocket but the one on my Spotmatic is very soft and flexible.

Finding original leather straps for them can be a bit hard too - currently on the hunt for one for my SV, best I can find is £18 including post from the USA which is almost as much as I paid for the camera. Think I'll keep looking...

I managed to damage mine pretty effectively at Top Gear Live. Blame carrying a box of screwdrivers in a rather unsuitable free bag from another show stand. They are nice screwdrivers though...

If you want a K mount Spotmatic then I'd go for a KM rather than K1000. The KM has a self timer which is very handy for long exposures as you don't need to remember a cable release - you can just park it on a suitable rock or wall, wind the timer, and set it off while standing guard "hands off" over it.

From my recent experience:

I was worried about being able to see the meter needle with the lens stopped down, this isn't actually a problem in daylight although I haven't tried any indoor shots with it.

The back part of the ever ready case is handy. It makes the camera a bit comfier to hold especially in cold weather, and also protects it from minor scrapes (such as when you rest it on a rock). The front part tends to be removed before use and left in the car as it's a pain - I do fit it but only for transport or storage.

I've no idea how skewed the metering is, it behaves differently to a KM or K1000 but I think it's about on the money. Given how tolerant Ilford HP5 is I'm expecting usable results, but I won't be risking colour slide on this one.

Shaun of the Dead (and Hot Fuzz, by the same team) are both brilliant comedies. Loads of neat references to their respective genres and little touches in the background.