I've just made and consumed mine, the dishwasher is now active!

I just bought my second Takumar - SMC Tak 135mm f3.5 with original hood and front cap (Hoya rear cap) from Melgray in Hereford for...



£50! Not bad eh? I've given it a brief go on the K-m but the cheap adapter I have seems to be machined wrongly, so the focus and aperture markings end up at about the 10 o'clock position rather than on the top where they should be. I'll wait and see if the ebay find KM and 35mm Tak includes a genuine one.

Little bit worried about them waving the thing around without a lens on the front - dust!

A quick run-through of lenses, which might help:

Takumar/Super Takumar/SMC Takumar - M42 screw mount, will fit but you need an adapter

SMC Pentax - sometimes called "K series", made between 1975-77, the first to use a K mount. All manual, all metal, superb glass. Will fit on your K-x as Pentax have kept the same basic mount ever since.

Pentax-M - introduced with the ME and MX, generally smaller and lighter than the K series but otherwise similar. These and the K series will work in M or Av mode on a DSLR, in Av mode they meter and shoot at the widest aperture, in M mode you need to use stop-down metering. There are plenty of threads about this on here.

Pentax-A - introduced with the Super A, still manual focus but these have an "A" setting on the aperture ring and contacts on the lens mount to allow the camera to set the aperture. Will work with all modes on your K-x.

Pentax-F - the first full range of auto focus lenses for Pentax, using the same mount as the latest lenses. Will clip straight on and work just as your kit zoom does.

Pentax-FA and FA-J - later AF lenses, the J series have no aperture ring but as you're using them on digital this doesn't matter, aperture is selected from the camera body. All lenses from this series or earlier were obviously intended for 35mm film use, but they're fine on digital too. A good lens is a good lens, after all.

Pentax-DA - the latest digital lenses, your kit zoom is one of these.

There are specials too:

"*" denotes top end lenses - the star performers, if you will. "Limited" is similar - the lenses are not usually limited editions but they're made on a special production line where quality is the first priority, so not as many are made and prices are much higher.

There was an attempt at a Pentax auto focus system before the Pentax-F lenses, it isn't compatible with the current system and only applied to one camera and one lens - the ME F and matching 35-70mm f2.8. If you're offered one of those for under £100 then bite the seller's hand off as the lens is very rare and worth a tidy sum in full working order.

Well I wanted to get a decent photo of the dam, but the viewing area is up above it on one side so you can't get a good angle. Did manage a couple of shots I was happy with though, here's one:

[IMG]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x21/Kingofthemountains/Landscapes/IMGP2017.jpg[/IMG]

Spillways are usually quite interesting in an industrial way - you get walkways and funny lumps of concrete along with currents in the water

I want to complain about Llyn Clywedog. The viewing area is not in a helpful place!

Fun road out there though...

I've come to the conclusion that I render any vehicle invisible merely by climbing aboard. This runs from Mazda MX5s to 3.5 ton motorhomes along with Land Rovers!

You'd be amazed how often I accidentally leave my spotlights switched in, so they flash along with everything else when I'm forced to alert Noddy of my presence before they drive into me...

It depends on what you want to do. Personally I'd recommend something like the 55-300mm zoom as your next lens, followed by some older primes. You could also consider something like the Pentax-F 35-70mm which is a very handy compact zoom for general use.

My camera bag usually contains four manual prime (fixed focal length) lenses, which I use as the image quality more than repays the extra effort it takes to set them up. I tend to leave a Pentax-M 28mm f3.5 on the camera as it's about the right focal length for day to day use and about half the physical length of the kit lens, so it makes the camera a lot less obtrusive and a lot less bulky to carry.

I also have a Pentax-A 50mm f1.7 (which I'd recommend as your first manual focus lens - it will work with all the modes on your K-x as it has the contacts to allow the camera body to set the aperture) and a couple of telephoto primes (120mm and 200mm). To build this kit now using new lenses would set you back thousands - thanks to some ebay and camera shop hunting it has probably cost around £250 for all four.

I use both lens caps when lenses are off the camera, and tend to replace the front one between shots. I do it without thinking and to be honest I'm glad I got into that habit - I'd rather the lens cap got scratched than the front element!

I do wonder if it's a case of professionals not being as protective of their kit as amateurs. To a pro, the camera is just a tool and they're insured against accidental damage, as well as expecting to replace gear every few years as a business expense.

Is Lensip a cure for fungus?