So far I like it. A brief outdoor test saw it metering perfectly in M (none of the usual shutter speed juggling, it appeared spot on at all apertures at 400 ISO under natural daylight) and it seems very sharp from f2.8 onwards. Well worth a look if you see one at a price you're willing to pay, although they seem pretty rare.

Build quality is the usual Pentax K series - smooth, precise controls and heavy. It balances nicely on my K-m though. I would like to get hold of the matching lens hood but I'm not holding my breath, the lens was a lucky find!

That said, I did manage to find a matching hood for my K 85-210mm...

Only remaining interesting thing that I can see is a K series 200mm f4 for £99...

Too late, they don't have any bargains left (I've bought most of the interesting stuff!)

Carmarthen Camera Centre is the one I keep an eye on, they usually have a few items for less than ebay.

Took delivery of an SMC Pentax (K series) 120mm f2.8 today, pretty much mint apart from needing a clean, £65. Not bad I feel!

It seems pretty well thought of. I wish I spotted these "common camera with unusual lens" lots, my bargain hunting is limited to browsing a certain camera shop's website as they occasionally have uncommon primes for low prices!

Yep, I can see it too so it isn't just your monitor!

I'm not really sure what's causing it - I have had similar effects caused by haze, and also when there's a lot of snow about which upset the auto white balance. I would suggest that it's a white balance problem assuming that the weather was clear when you took the photo.

The alternative would be to hang onto it, get some slide film (Boots still sell it) and get back into film over the summer. If home developing black and white appeals then look up the thread about Rondinax daylight developing tanks - armed with one of those and a negative scanner you don't need a darkroom to develop film.

Film camera value is an odd one. Generally, KX, K2, KM, MX, ME Super and LX seem to be popular. K1000s are too for some odd reason. I used one for years, so I'm amply qualified to say that I wish I'd been able to afford an MX or KX instead!

Auto Focus bodies are less popular aside from the top spec MZ-S, unless it has a rare or good quality lens included. I've seen SFXs rocket up to £100+ before now because they have a 50mm prime attached to them, normally they go for about £20 body only.

Sad to say, it isn't just the photos. Judging by adverts I've seen for "Bridal Fairs" (apparently the groom is just another accessory and doesn't get any decision-making powers?) there's a huge amount of money to be made in selling people horrifically gaudy stuff that they don't need but are determined to have because their friends didn't have it. In such an atmosphere is it any wonder that they'll thrust money at the first person who wanders past holding a camera-shaped object?

The Z1 was the top of the range at the time of release, unfortunately £20 seems to be roughly the going rate for them now.

If you do list it on ebay make sure you include the lens details - ie a title along the lines of "Pentax Z-1 with 28-80mm f3.5-4.7" or whatever lens was supplied with yours. I frequently see lenses go for more than a camera/lens combo and many people here have a selection of old film bodies that they bought for the attached lenses. By including this information your listing will appear when people search for the lens as well as the camera.

It's a tricky one.

Apparently there's a similar individual around here, doing wedding shoots for £50 with a DSLR which appears to be jammed on full auto. Now, I have a couple of friends who are pros and I can see their argument that it's damaging their businesses (they have to charge more as they put more time and effort in, use better gear and better processing). However, from what I hear I don't get the impression that the people using this individual's services would be able to afford a proper photographer and they seem happy with the handful of reasonable photos that result from the day.

I also suspect that once you get into bargain basement wedding shoots you cannot get out again. Word will get around that you charge very little, and should you put the effort in to improve then you'll find you can't put your prices up as your current client base won't be able to afford you and those who can afford you will remember you as the "cheap photographer". Plus as digital cameras improve it will get harder to convince customers that you're a better bet than just asking their friends to email their photos of the day and printing the best results as an album.

Interestingly another friend of mine owns a Canon Digital Rebel and has been asked to photograph his sister's wedding. He plans to hire a decent lens for a fortnight, giving him time to learn how to use it and also get some other shots he wants to try.