LBA does eventually stabilise. Generally when you've bought all the lenses that fit into the desirable/affordable equation!

Although you will of course then spot something that you thought was so rare you'd never be able to afford one for sensible money...

Oops, I keep quoting the wrong range for that thing - it is indeed 35-70mm!

Could try ebaying it as a spares or repair, with the rarity value you'd probably get back what you paid. I've seen some truly mad prices paid for broken gear before now.

That's interesting - I thought it looked a bit cramped for 4 AAs in there. So you end up with a camera that takes 16 batteries of three different types!

You still have a 28-70mm f2.8 anyway - I think that's the fastest lens in that range Pentax have offered? It surely wouldn't be too hard to unjam it for manual focussing. I would still love to have a go with one even if it is slow and a bit unreliable - I fancy the challenge of using the first TTL AF camera ever made. Given that I just loaded a roll of HP5 into my newly-acquired KM I doubt it can be much more complicated!

Funny how 4x4s and photography go together. The Sony-owning friends who got me back into serious cameras (and inspired me to finally buy a DSLR) I met through the 4x4 world. Our greenlaning trips generally involve a fair bit of stopping and leaping out to capture interesting landscapes.

Yep, I understand that the special features only work on the Z series bodies (also known as PZ in the USA) but the powered zoom and auto retraction would be nice party tricks. I'll start looking for PZ lenses again!

So Power Zoom would work on my K-m then? It has the contacts but I definitely read a press release saying that it wouldn't. Anyone have a K-m and a PZ lens that they could try combining?

I quite fancy having a play if it would work, will be keeping an eye out for a suitable lens for sane money.

and if you do come across one at a price you consider reasonable, buy it and never let it out of your sight!

Pentax's first attempt at Auto Focus involved a modified ME Super known as the ME F. This would only auto focus with the matching 35-70mm f2.8 zoom, which is very easy to spot as it has a hulking great battery box under the barrel for the 4 AAs which power the AF motor. No other camera or lens was compatible with this, although obviously you can use any K mount lens with an aperture ring with the camera (you'll get focus confirmation but no AF) and the lens will function on any other body in the same manner as an M series. The camera is not too hard to come by, the lens is rare and sought after.

If you added the AF200S flash and the ME II motor wind you could end up with a camera that required 12 AA batteries and four button cells to operate! You would also have muscles like Arnie within a fortnight from lifting the thing...

When Pentax introduced the SF7/SFX a few years later the auto focus system had changed to that which is still used now, with the lens having a driveshaft that couples to the camera body to turn the focussing ring. That said, with SDM lenses they're leaning back towards the first AF system at least in spirit - these have a motor in the lens.

This brings us neatly to another couple of options to consider in your table:

"Power Zoom" - fully implemented on the Z series bodies, some MZ series bodies were able to power the zoom function but didn't offer all the effects (the Z series could do tricks like zooming in during an exposure, the MZ are limited to powering the zoom motor and retracting it when switched off). I'm not sure whether any of the digital bodies can power them. Basically there is a two position zoom ring - in one mode it's simply a switch to activate a motor and move the zoom, in the other it's a standard mechanical zoom control. In the latter mode these lenses will work with any Pentax camera in the same way as any other FA series lens. IIRC four lenses were offered - a 28-80mm, 28-105mm, 70-200mm and 100-300mm.

SDM - these have a Supersonic Drive Motor in the lens which is supposed to be faster than the old screw drive. There seem to be question marks over reliability - it could just be that there are fifty silent happy users for every person who had one break and then posted about it, however.

"*" and Limited lenses are top quality versions - star performers and limited production runs. They're not limited editions, but if you order one you might have to wait a bit as the production line makes a limited number - it's optimised for absolutely superb build quality with speed of production a far less important consideration.

I'll have to try to figure out which version of the lens I have then - is there an easy way to tell them apart?

A quick run-through of the types:

SMC Pentax (often known as K series), the first K mount lenses made 1975-77
Pentax-M, second generation K mount lenses introduced with the ME and MX
Pentax-A, the first series with Auto aperture contacts, introduced with the Super A.
Pentax-F, the first to use the now-standard autofocus mount.
Pentax-FA, second generation, some were rebadged F series
Pentax-FA J, aperture rings deleted as they were designed for cameras where the aperture is set on the body
Pentax-DA, the current range designed for APS-C sensor DSLRs

All of these will fit onto your DSLR with varying degrees of functionality. SMC Pentax and Pentax-M lenses will be manual focus and require you to use either stop-down metering in M mode or shoot at the largest aperture in Av mode. Pentax-A lenses will work with all modes but are still manual focus. Pentax-F and later will all work just as your kit zoom does, with all modes and autofocus available.

That would definitely fit - I would guess that their original camera was a Spotmatic of some sort and that they simply kept the case and lens for their new KM.

The case has done a superb job of protecting the camera, but the ERC is a pain if you want to use longer lenses and I've already been playing with the KM and my K 85-210mm zoom. Definitely want to try that combination when the weather is a bit brighter (so I don't have to restrict subjects to things that won't move).

I just wish I hadn't already loaded my Super A - might see if I can recover that roll as it's only been loaded and wound on to the first frame, then swap it into the KM.

I do know that the Pentax-F 35-70mm is very well thought of, although I've yet to try mine properly. It's compact and sharp with a good focal range - equivalent to around 50-105mm on digital.

IIRC the 28-70mm can suffer from separation of the rear elements, which is pretty much terminal. If you decide to go for one then make sure you get a guarantee or can check it carefully before buying.