Would a Cobra 700AF also fit, and are any of these old flashes safe for use on digital? I realise the trigger voltage can be too high and that Pentax don't seem to want to publish details of the maximum safe trigger voltage for their DSLRs

Here's a photo - the top of the grip is a mirror image of the underside of the block on the end of the cable, with sprung pins instead of PCB contacts:

[IMG]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x21/Kingofthemountains/IMGP0929.jpg[/IMG]

The K1000 still has a huge amount of hype, despite always being the basic entry-level model (and nothing like as pleasant to use as an ME Super or MX). Surely this suggests that the person behind the camera is more important than the hardware itself?

Generally the difference seems to be about £600 in my experience...

If those are Takumar Bayonet lenses then they'll fit on any current Pentax DSLR just as they do on your ME Super. You might not want to use the 80-200mm as manual zooms can be a bit of a pain.

When you switch on with a manual lens the camera will ask for the focal length of the lens, in order to set the shake reduction up. Fine with primes, but with a zoom the changing focal length can be a pain as you have to switch off, back on, dial in the new length, etc. I do use an 80-200mm with mine but I tend to only use it set to 200mm.

That sounds about right. I see those on ebay but the sellers never show a photo of the back of the unit around the hotshoe (which would confirm whether it unclips or not). I'll get a photo tomorrow.

Are the D650 or D700 safe for use on a DSLR?

I have an off-camera flash bracket for a Cobra flashgun, but I don't know what flash I'd need to buy to use with it?

The bracket is a flat plate that bolts onto the base of the camera and has a hand grip that the flash evidently clips to the top of. It has space for 4 AA batteries (spares, as there's no electrical link to the holder) and a cable with multiple contacts. Obviously the matching flash has a removeable hot shoe, the flash being clipped to the top of the grip and the hot shoe to the block on the end of the cable.

Hopefully that makes some sense to someone - I can get a photo or two if needed!

Pentax don't seem to have produced anything like the Olympus flash mentioned on the previous page - odd really, the AF200 series are a bit big for the MX.

I have an off-camera bracket for a Cobra flash here, but no idea which flash I'd need to buy to work with it.

The 50mm f2 is pretty simple to work on. However, if you're removing the aperture ring make sure you don't lose the tiny ball bearing that provides the "click". I have yet to see a supplier for these aside from other dead lenses.

The fungally challenged lens responded very well to treatment and is in excellent condition. Something odd has happened with the coating on the front element in one area, but it worked perfectly when briefly tested on digital. I plan to try a couple of shots with it when I put a roll of B&W through one of my M series and see if it affects film performance. I now have another one on the way with what sounds like a similar problem!

Assuming that the lens on the ME is a K mount (rather than an M42 screw fit - if it just clips straight onto the ME without any sort of adapter then it's a K mount) then it'll fit any Pentax DSLR. You just need to change a setting in the menus to allow the use of the aperture control ring, set the camera to manual focus, and use Manual or Av modes.

You can use the earlier M42 lenses but you need an adapter, ideally a genuine Pentax one as some of the 3rd party types don't allow you to focus to infinity. The camera won't hold the aperture open, stop down to take the photo, then open it up again as it does with K mount lenses.

Unless you've already done so, you might need to change a setting in the camera menus to allow use of the aperture ring on lenses (otherwise the camera won't work).

The in focus beep/light can be a bit out - try to learn to use your own eyes to decide what's in focus. I've had much better results since I started ignoring the beep and using the MK1 eyeball with manual lenses.

Edit, not sure about the K200D but my Km will also support Av mode with manual lenses - it just meters and shoots with the lens set to the largest aperture. This makes them a lot more useful for photographing moving subjects at a distance as you merely have to focus and shoot.