I've seen them priced between £65 and £150 before now - the lower was a well-used example on ebay, the higher was an independent camera shop.

It really comes down to what you're willing to pay and how long you're willing to wait. By waiting for a couple of months I managed to find a near-mint 75-150mm zoom for £25, rather than the £60 I was seeing them elsewhere. If you don't mind waiting you'll find the lens you want at a price you're willing to pay eventually.

Here's a photo of the 40-80mm, taken with my 18-55 and a polariser in an attempt to cut down the reflection. I'm still experimenting with close-ups but think the polariser will be used in future, even with a flash it avoided that annoying shine!

[IMG]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x21/Kingofthemountains/IMGP1350.jpg[/IMG]

What I find is that my local posties are great, but that the big office up the line is a mess (even the local branch staff agree on that!)

I just wish they'd leave parcels in the conservatory rather than leaving a card all the time. They used to use us as a drop for post bags before building proper secure lockers, so it's perfectly safe (nothing ever went walkies).

Of course, one of the neatest parts of the MX is the fact that you can see aperture and shutter speed in the viewfinder.

I'm guessing that you already understand depth of field, as that's fairly crucial here (and will improve photos taken on any camera). I tend to use the scale on the lens rather than the preview lever, then set a suitable shutter speed (until you get a green light) and shoot.

If you need a manual for your MX (it'll help you find some of the less obvious things like the depth of field preview lever) then they are online as a .pdf.

That's a useful heads-up on the slide film, I just bought three rolls to use this summer and one will most likely go in my MX. I'll remember to meter for the ground rather than including the sky in bright weather.

I wouldn't bother for something like mountaineering, the 18-55mm kit lens is one of the best out there for the money and the old manual zooms are a pain as you have to reset the focal length (for shake reduction) after zooming.

I do have three (M 40-80mm, M 80-200, and K 85-210). They're fun to play with and I didn't pay much for any of them, but I suspect an A series 24-50mm is going to cost more than a good used AF 28-80mm.

That's a bit unfair. I know a couple who have (between them) an A900 and a couple of lesser Sony Alphas. They take them hiking, photograph motorsport events, and do mad things like hanging out of car windows to photograph spectacular scenery (while moving at 5mph or so). They've never had any trouble at all even while treating the gear in this way.

But they still envy my K 55mm f1.8!

Proper split focussing screen for all DSLRs priced at £30 or less.

A cheap 35mm prime, say around the £150 mark to compete with the cheap 50mm that Canon and Sony offer. A 35mm would be ideal on digital as it works out close to the field of view of the classic 50mm lens on film.

I have to say it rather reminds me of the Sontarans from Dr Who attempting to play rugby...

Rather watch rallying any day. Much better for photography, no rules about what sort of camera you can take in and you can get as close as you like providing you show a bit of common sense and listen to the marshals.

I'd be wary of SDM for now - I've read too many reports of it failing. Pentax seem to be good about warranty repairs but if I have a choice between an SDM and non-SDM lens I'll pick the latter.

Would this be related to the interesting effect I got by attempting to use the "dust alert" function while pointing the camera across a brightly-lit room?

I wasn't expecting a black and white line drawing of my kitchen!