The K-m was discontinued a year or so ago - I think you mean the K-x?

Welcome, anyway!

I suspect aperture is more important than strict focal length - in order to isolate the subject from the background you need something with a fairly large aperture (I see a lot of f2.8 or faster above).

If the 55mm appeals then look for the old K 55mm f1.8, absolutely amazing lens and a fraction of the cost of the new DA 55mm. It's manual focus and you need to use stop-down metering, but providing your subject can stand still for a few seconds this won't be a problem.

I don't think Pentax do anything that's cheap, ultra-sharp, and has the WR seals? The 18-55mm is preferable to wrecking a more expensive lens by taking it out in the rain.

You definitely won't feel that you've wasted any money on those lenses, anyway. Both are very capable and will enable you to work out what focal length you use most, thereby enabling you to buy the right length lens if you decide to upgrade.

I nearly bid on a Spotty today until I noticed two things - missing triangular strap lugs and the blurb "In good cosmetic condition"!

Still keeping eyes open for a tidy, working example with or without lens for around £20. I have a near mint Super Tak 35mm f3.5, ever ready case, and original leather strap to suit one but lack the camera body to tie all of those together.

They may be cheap but they aren't nasty by any means, plus the WR seals make them very handy indeed.

My cynical streak suspects that it will be cheaper if there's a competitively-priced lens from another brand. Nobody else offers an 85mm prime for anything like the Samyang price, same goes for the 8mm fisheye. If they thought they were losing sales to the DA 35mm f2.4 they'd probably drop the price to around £180.

How do you provoke or look for purple fringing? I don't tend to hunt for problems in images, providing they're sharp and the colours look realistic I'm happy!

It is definitely an SMC - Pentax haven't made a lens without that since the Takumar-F zooms.

I was a bit baffled why anyone would worry about flare too.

Hmm, see, the Dimitrov site lists it for the M 28mm and 35mm lenses with 49mm filter threads?

I only used it for about 5mins but it feels well made, better than the 18-55 DA-L. No quickshift but it's badged as a DA (no L). It clicks onto the camera positively despite the plastic mount and weighs next to nothing. Can't comment on flare control but I see no reason for it not to keep up with other SMC-coated lenses.

Now looking for a PH-S49 lens hood (which fitted the M 28mm and 35mm, so should work on this too), no luck yet.