Only snag with an MV - will you really want to use it afterwards? I find the lack of shutter speed display on these and the MV1 very difficult to cope with, even though I generally use my MES in Av.

The number on the front is usually the filter size. 53mm is a very odd size though! 52mm is far more common.

I've seen a few DIY things which were similar, but at £4 it isn't really worth the time and effort to make one.

It also makes my K-m and flash look rather professional, even if it does take up a fair bit of space when deployed!

I bought one of these a while ago and it's a lot better than £4 would imply. Seems to do a decent job of providing coverage for an 18mm lens from a flash only intended to go to 35mm wide, judging by a few test shots.

It also attaches with a velcro strap, rather than having to stick bits of velcro to your spiffy new flashgun.

Pentax have yet to publish any official figures for safe voltages but I doubt the modern digital flashguns have voltages much lower than these. There's a website somewhere with a table of measured trigger voltages - I checked these myself with a voltmeter and got the same results. Just set the meter to show DC volts, turn the flash on, and touch one probe to each of the contacts (the one in the groove on the side of the mount, and the central one on the base).

I would still check any old flash before using it. For all I know there could be a few rogue ones about with internal faults causing high trigger voltages, so it's worth checking.

I would surmise that any Pentax flash with the "Program" setting (they often have an "SA" suffix) will work in P mode with the K-m. I know my AF200SA, AF200T, and AF240Z all do although I don't think the older AF200S does.

I have heard that more recent lenses rely heavily on precise torque settings and/or bonded elements, as opposed to the "little more than finger tight and it'll work" approach seen in the K and M series.

Given the value of a clean FA 28mm it may be worth investigating professional attention for the lens?

This 28mm has a bit of an odd history. Effectively it's an A series lens without the "A" position (same as the final batch of M 50mm f2s) according to Dimitrov, which explains the plastic.

I doubt I'll use it much now as I have both K and M versions of the 28mm f3.5, but it would be good to clean it out so I can store it without worrying about other lenses catching the mould. It's likely to live on my new orange ME Super to complete the '80s look.

I have tried a drip of lighter fuel around the finishing ring (which has un-jammed lens fittings in the past). No luck yet! I'll probably get hold of a doorknob of the right size and cover it in sticky foam pads.

I'm going to have a nose in GO! Outdoors when I'm next down there, see if they have anything suitable. The one attached to my black MES came with a Maglite accessory pack, so it's about the same thickness as the standard M-series strap. I don't plan to dangle it from my wrist with a big zoom on the front for obvious reasons!

I'm thinking about a simple lanyard/wrist strap for it, I've put one on my black ME Super as I want to use that as a pocket camera with the 40mm lens, so a full strap would be a pain when it comes to stowing it away. Wide straps always seem a bit daft on the M series as they're bigger than the camera!

I'd probably have taken a little more time over it if I was making one to sell - I will be intrigued how well the paint will stay on as I just rubbed the parts with 240 grit paper and then sprayed them orange. It isn't perfect, there are a few chips here and there but it looks decent enough from a distance.

There should be a standard screw thread for filters - I've yet to encounter a lens without one? It may take larger filters than the 50mm lens (which confusingly takes filters with a 49mm diameter).

You can fit filters to a zoom, the only thing to bear in mind is that if you're using a graduated ND or polariser then on most zooms it will be turned as you focus, as the front element rotates (producing a different effect as it's turned). This doesn't happen on most primes, like your 50mm.