I wonder if they'd take a tenner...

I might yet buy one of these, the standard strap on my K-m isn't really the right length. Thanks to the thicker webbing bit I can't adjust it short like I do with my old film bodies (which then nestle comfortably in the crook of my arm, making them very inconspicuous and stopping any "snatch" mugging attempts).

I take it that the ebay strap bolts to the tripod socket?

It could be worse. There's a sandwich shop here with "Fresh Fill's" proudly emblazoned above the door. They also offer "Panini's" but, strangely "Jacket Potatoes" don't get an apostrophe.

I am always sorely tempted to do a bit of guerrilla grammar and go around with a few small pots of paint, to cover apostrophes in the same shade as the background of the sign...

I have heard 100000 shutter actuations (before a service is required) mentioned in relation to some Pentax bodies.

Lotus every time. The engine's in the right place...

I'm not sure I really want a Pentax toilet? I know they make medical imaging gear!

On the plus side it would at least be compatible with all people. As opposed to the Canon version where you'd have to upgrade your rear end every few years in order to fit on it...

A new set of Land Rover headlights, a pile of body repair products, a set of privacy screens and a rear door ladder have narrowly beaten an FA 50mm f1.4. Mostly as I seldom use the manual focus 50mm I already have!

The K-m and K-x aren't exactly massive, especially if you put a prime lens on. Not quite down to the incredible compactness of an ME Super and 40mm f2.8 but hardly a lumbering monster of a camera.

I think the lack of mass market exposure does the damage. I was at the RIAT airshow and only noticed one other Pentax owner (white K-m or K-x, didn't look that closely) compared to the sea of CaNikSons, many of which sported lenses costing the same as a decent car. If Pentax wanted to jump-start their sales then they'd do well to get an exhibition trailer together for events like that, with examples of the latest models and maybe some classics (say a Spotmatic with 50mm f1.4 and K2 with 55mm f1. to demonstrate how the system is backwards compatible.

If you want good and surprisingly cheap...

Keep an eye out for the Pentax-M 28mm f3.5. Incredibly sharp, very compact, the only snags are that you have to use manual focus and stop down metering. The former isn't really a problem with this lens as it hits infinity pretty quickly - for example, if you want to take a photo of a normal sized car then it'll be in focus at infinity when you're standing far enough back to get all of it in the frame. It'll scratch your LBA itch and you won't lose anything selling it on if you then buy a 21mm DA Ltd and decide you want rid of the older lens.

If you want a good, cheap, compact AF lens then the Pentax-F 35-70mm is pretty handy, not too expensive (I paid £30 for one bundled with an old SFX), has full AF and AE capability, weighs next to nothing and takes up very little space. It also has a surprisingly useful set of focal lengths for a walkabout lens. Again, not a huge outlay and you'll probably get the same money back if you sell it on.

It does look like a light leak - did they bother to replace the seals during the service?

I have never had any luck whatsoever with predictive text entry despite being in my mid 20s!

Then again I tend to use words like "mitigate" in text messages and also have a habit of writing in a similar manner to the old telegrams. I don't miss letters out but will occasionally send something like "What time pub tonight?" if there simply aren't enough characters to use words like "the" or "at".