Why is everything going Townsend Ferries green? Hope nobody reads this after a heavy night in the pub!

Yep, have a collection of film bodies that are used in rotation. At the moment I have a KM with B&W and an SFX with colour slide, after those rolls are finished it'll be an ME Super with B&W and an MX with colour slide. I like to run a roll of B&W through first to check the metering and shutter speeds are correct, as I process it at home so I know that it isn't down to a lab tweaking the results.

I'm determined to get my hands on an LX at some point, but I can't help but wonder if it's that much better than the MX or KX? Even well-used examples fetch what I consider big money (around the £200 mark) and you've no idea how long a used example will last before requiring a service, which seems to be scarily expensive.

Not sure this is the best sales technique, wanting to get rid of something nearly new with the implication that it's a bit hopeless!

He might do better to sell the Canon as an unwanted gift and then buy a Pentax after.

I think it would need to keep AF and SR, otherwise they simply wouldn't sell any. We're talking about a premium camera and users expect both of those options. However, if it was delivered with a 45 degree split focussing screen (or microprism depending on personal taste) I can see it proving popular...

I have both an original '70s KM and the digital K-m, and while they're very different they do share some things. Both are very simple to handle, to the extent that you won't need a manual to pick it up and take decent photos providing that you have some understanding of photography.

If you can afford it, go for it. The 50mm f1.4 in all its variants is a well-respected lens.

I can confirm that Power Zoom doesn't work at all with the K-m, no idea about the K-x. I assume that the contacts are only there for SDM therefore.

Found this out by buying a fairly cheap example of the 28-80mm PZ lens. Slightly annoying that PZ doesn't work but hey, it's a nice enough lens, reasonably sharp and with pleasingly chunky controls.

So I should buy another one or two and then keep plugging them?

Yours is the K version though which is reckoned to be the best K mount 28mm Pentax made. The M is close behind it in image quality and easier to get hold of, but I suspect the one you have is probably slightly better so I wouldn't bother changing!

They don't seem to attract the lunatic prices seen on 50mm lenses, £40-£50 should get you a good example of the 135mm. Same goes for the 28mm f3.5 which very few people seem to know about!

Turns out I was a bit hasty in rubbishing my ebay screen. I'd installed it back to front...

The little tab was supposed to go on the right, not the left as with the original. Unfortunately I can't edit my original comment, but it seems to be working now. It's a bit darker than the original screen but the split prism more than makes up for that. I need to do more testing but it doesn't seem to have had much effect on metering.