My MX would be the last film camera to go, simply as it's the one I use most!

I do like the K series too, but seldom see them at prices I can afford. I managed to get hold of a K 85-210mm f4.5 (near mint in original case) for £35 last week which is currently working its way through the post office, and my 55mm f1.8 is superb. I just like the solidity of them, and obviously the image quality.

I'd also like one of the 35mm primes, again I'm just going to watch and wait. There was one for around the £50 mark a while ago but I "thought about" making an offer for rather too long and it went.

I bet they didn't sell many of the "soft" versions, bit too specialist for most.

They've been through a few variants of the 28mm f2.8, if you look on the Dimitrov site. Including a whole batch of non-SMC versions of the second Pentax-M one.

I also have the Takumar Bayonet version which is an ok performer but nothing special. If you see one cheap and want a 28mm prime then it's not bad, I bought mine over ten years ago when I didn't know much about lenses beyond the fact that I wanted a wide angle one to go with the 50mm on my K1000.

Well, I bought it so I'll let you all know how it behaves! I love the results I get from my 50mm f1.7 so I wanted a similar level of sharpness with a wider field of view.

Kris, there's another one in similar condition for £44 if you're after one, I just pounced on the £39 one.

I'm hanging onto the Pentax-A 28mm, it's been through hell and still works (strange flare problems aside), as I said it's great for landscapes and night shots but I want something a bit sharper for use as a standard lens. When I got it the last owner's name had been gouged into the side of the barrel and it had no caps at either end, so I gently sanded away the gouges and repainted the barrel (managed to do this without damaging it further). If I ever see one with a fungus problem I'll probably buy it to swipe the front element and restore mine.

The 28mm I have is the A version (basically identical to the later M series f2.8 version but with the A setting). I've heard that the f3.5 is a better lens but I thought I'd see if anyone had an opinion on that, along with whether the price I've seen is reasonable. It looks ok to me compared to what 50mm lenses seem to be going for at the moment.

As the topic title says really - I recently compared my A 28mm f2.8 to my kit zoom and wasn't terribly impressed with the sharpness. Admittedly my f2.8 isn't quite perfect (some scuffs on the front element, not scratches but the coating isn't flawless, it was cheap as a result) but I'm not convinced it would be much better if I bought a perfect copy. It's usable if I add a lens hood, but it's better for landscapes than, say, recording fine details for modelmaking purposes.

If I could get a near mint Pentax-M 28mm f3.5 for around the £40 mark would it be a smart buy? I'd like a 28mm prime as a compact "walk around" lens but I'm just not impressed with the one I have.

Ah - sorry! I hadn't tried putting a cable release on mine so assumed it was a standard size socket.

If I'm just wandering around then I've little compulsion about using the auto mode. Obviously if I'm trying to shoot a close-up or want a specific effect I'll be in Av or M depending on the lens, but if I just want to document something I let the camera sort the exposure out and concentrate on making sure I've got a good record of the subject. It's just a case of taking photos for the sake of art vs taking photos for a record of the subject.

I do tend to use A series primes for this - either the 28mm or 50mm. Weirdly the 50mm is a bit more useful as it allows you to screen out foreground clutter, as well as being my fastest lens. My camera bag holds those two along with my A 200mm f4 (when it comes back from being cleaned and having the mould removed). I then strap one or two extra lens cases onto the ends of the bag holding more specialised glass (or my latest acquisition which is still being played with).

I leave the 18-55mm on most of the time as it's a good all-rounder. If you see something and grab the camera that lens won't let you down and will work in full point and shoot mode for moments such as (for example) a helicopter buzzing you at treetop height when you simply don't have time to set it up manually.

AFAIK any standard cable release should fit? Or you can use the self timer.