Properly listed I could see it doing well. Genuine Pentax lenses of all sorts seem highly sought after at the moment and with this being an unusual version I think you might be pleasantly surprised by the final price.

I've actually been able to develop black and white film at home using an Agfa Rondinax daylight developing tank and then an Ion negative scanner, although I'm sorely tempted to get a roll of Boots colour slide this summer. I always remember family holidays including two or three rolls of the stuff, then watching the slides a few weeks after coming home.

Slide film also has the advantage of being process paid, so you just put it in the envelope and stick it in the post. My scanner will take slides too, so I can turn it digital later on.

The corrosion around the winder contacts is pretty common - I've found that a cotton bud dipped in lens cleaning fluid will usually sort them out.

You may have fun finding one at a price you're willing to pay however. £40-£60 seems to be the going rate at the moment, it seems that everyone is desperate for a 50mm lens.

Check the light seals and mirror damper foam - if they're breaking up and leaving a sticky black mess then you need to change them. It isn't hard to do,just beware the gooey mess that was the old damper foam contaminating the focussing screen as it's pretty much impossible to remove.

Other than that, enjoy it! You might want to have a look at one of the auto flashguns Pentax offered that are compatible with the ME Super, if you have a manual for the camera (google it if you don't, they are online) then it'll tell you which flashes suit.

I would agree on that - or at least read every review you can find.

I've since looked up my Velbon, it's a CX 540. Nicely made and not especially heavy, but too bulky to carry around unless you're planning to settle in one spot and really need the extra height.

In general, it seems that the wider the zoom range the worse the lens?

I've got an Ion scanner that takes negatives or slides and outputs JPGs to an SD card. Ok, it's not professional quality but the results are more than good enough for archiving old family photos, and they look good shown on a big TV too (via the supplied video lead). Scanning takes around two seconds per image and you get a live preview, so you can choose to scan individual frames rather than having to do an entire strip of negatives and then pick after.

I don't usually do much post production beyond dealing with any hairs/dust/whatever that I notice. Only annoying part is finding that some of my most interesting photos (in terms of subject) were obviously taken with a really terrible compact camera!

I've now received my Slik 500G and it's a handy little thing. Weighs next to nothing, easy to use, and pretty stable for a lightweight 'pod. I wouldn't fancy putting a full frame SLR on with a big lens, but with my K-m and a prime lens for landscapes it works perfectly.

It also performed well for photographing birds on a seed feeder with a 200mm prime - I just pre-focussed on the feeder and then used the remote trigger to take a shot whenever something flew into view. Even captured one bird in mid-landing! I'll try it with my 100-300mm zoom at some point and see how it copes, as that's the heaviest lens I own.

AFAIK it's just there to help you grip the lens while attaching/removing it. It doesn't do anything.

There is a button on the aperture ring that you'll need to press to put the lens into A mode. Simply rotate the aperture ring to the smallest f stop, then hold the button down and turn it further. The "A" on the ring should then line up with the white line.