There's only one real choice at that price:

DA 35mm f2.4

It's a nifty lens. Mine doesn't see as much use now I have the DA* 50-135mm but it's sharp, fast, and relatively compact considering the maximum aperture. I still take it if I think there's a chance of very low light shooting where f1.4 makes the difference between a photo with very shallow DOF and no photo at all.

The 50/1.7 is an excellent first prime. Very sharp and compact.

I'd stay clear of the manual zooms though. Some of them are excellent lenses but the SR business is a pain, so I tend to keep them on my film cameras. I haven't used most of my manual primes on digital since buying the DA 35/2.4 and DA* 50-135mm to be fair.

I've just seen the opposite ends of the spectrum:

Takumar Bayonet 135mm f2.5 for £149 BIN (ok, I'll accept they aren't that bad, but they're not better than an M 135mm f3.5 which can be had for £30-£50!)

Pentax LX for £200 - if I wasn't about to buy some new alloy wheels I'd bite their hand off. Recently serviced, good condition and has some guarantee according to the listing, I'd call it a fair price.

Pentax-M 35-70mm f2.8-3.5 maybe? I haven't really done any scientific testing of mine but it definitely seems sharp, and at either end it's pretty fast. Only snag is that it's a bit bulky and heavy.

I don't mind R2 aside from Jeremy Vine. He really, really annoys me due to his habits of cutting off callers and deliberately picking callers to slant the debate in the way he clearly decided he wanted it to go before the programme began. Pure tabloidism on the radio.

Otherwise, it can be a bit "OAP choice" but it's now reaching the stage where their target audience's musical tastes were formed in the 60s-80s. In other words before the recording industry took over and force-fed us constant (c)rap!

Main snags I can see with the A version (either variant) is that it isn't AF and the camera won't adjust SR automatically when you zoom. I'd love an A 35-70mm f4 for my Super A, but I'd still recommend the F 35-70mm for anyone after a cheap compact AF walkabout lens.

I can't remember exactly what I paid for mine but it came with an SFX and was still cheaper than that!

SFX isn't a bad camera either, the MZs are smaller and lighter but the SF series feel more indestructible. Worth keeping an eye on SFX/SFXn listings if you want a 35-70mm as it often works out cheaper to buy camera + lens than lens alone.

To be honest the build quality of the 2.4 is astonishingly good considering the price and weight. Yes it's plastic but the focus is smooth and has some damping when used manually. It feels much better than a lot of current consumer goods and I can see it lasting for a good length of time.

I'd love to see a return to the K series build quality but it just won't happen. People want light lenses with AF, which isn't compatible with building them to similar standards to a railway bridge. The only way to get the old MF feel back would be if Pentax fitted some form of clutch system with an AF/MF switch. Change to MF and a resistance would be engaged to give the old damped focus feel, which can't be used with AF as it would over load the motor.

Seen on a 4x4 forum signature: "Stop laughing and pass me the tow rope!"