I've always been a bit bemused by how few K mount cameras have a depth of field preview. The first one I had with it was the P30T, the only other one I have is my MX.

I don't think I have anything with mirror lock-up, although my (digital) K-m seems to raise the mirror immediately when you press the shutter in self timer mode, then count down and take the shot. I guess that's probably long enough for any vibration to damp.

I took the MX to the pub this evening. Pro photographer friend loved it despite being a Sony A900 owner!

Reviews seem to have the F 100-300mm placed higher than the FA zooms (the reason why I chose that one). Just interested as to how accurate the reviews were, as obviously I couldn't afford to buy all 300mm-ish lenses and compare them.

The same lens was later offered with power zoom, mine's the earlier version without. A good thing, as it's a heavy enough beast without an extra motor and circuitry!

What about the old Pentax-F 100-300mm? I have one and quite like it, although I'll readily admit it can be a bit soft at 300mm. Just interested to hear how it compares to the other two mentioned here as I bought it for airshow use but have yet to try it for that.

ME Super prices seem to vary between lunatic bidding wars and bargain basement. I've just replaced the light seals on an otherwise mint one that I paid £28 for. I was originally just after the 50mm f1.7 lens on the front of it but having handled the camera I couldn't sell it now.

Only snag is that as I also have an MX it's a tricky decision as to which will get a film through it next...

The P30 series are worth a look if you want a more recent film SLR. Still manual film advance and manual focussing, they use a bit more plastic than the M series but they handle nicely and prices are low. A P30T can offer aperture priority auto mode with any K mount lens, or full auto with an A series or later lens. As they were made in the early 1990s you should get a few years out of them before they need attention.

I have an "Ion" scanner that can handle negatives or slides and work stand alone or via USB. It just scans the images and dumps them to an SD card. Resolution seems good, plus it can plug into a TV and display images as a slideshow. It takes a couple of seconds per image.

I have an OM10 that I bought for next to nothing on ebay. It works perfectly, but it just isn't as nice to handle as the older Pentaxes. I'd say to look for an ME Super or an MX instead. It will cost a bit more but you can use your old M42 lenses with an adapter, and obviously any K mount lenses you buy for it can be used with a DSLR too.

The MX is purely mechanical, the battery is only used to power the light meter. An OM10 behaves more or less like an MG (Aperture priority auto, flash sync and "B" settings) unless you track down the manual adapter that clips onto the front of the camera.

I didn't bother buying a digital camera (aside from the surprisingly handy camera attachment for my PSP) until I could afford a K-m last year.

Still use the PSP camera for video - considering it's only 1.3mp it's pretty good, and I have a suction cup mounting for it.

As I said, if you see a 1.7 for sensible money then just go for it. Judging by prices here it'll be worth at least what you paid if you later decide to buy a 1.4 and sell the 1.7 to help fund it.

That said, you're not likely to want to part with the 1.7. Great little lens!

Oh, this one was pretty good. One guest was a duck (of the domesticated variety) which just stood around making contented quacking noises from time to time. We also had fireworks at midnight, one of which exploded at ground level after failing to launch!

It's definitely a tablecloth, and the lens hood is black rather than silver!

I usually try to photograph smaller items on a white background, but this was a hurried spur of the moment thing. I found the removable bit during a quiet spot at a New Year's Eve party!