Sounds a safe bet then - I was just a little hesitant as you seldom see any reputable suppliers undercutting SRS by that amount.

I'll see how finances look come the end of the month and decide. I think the summer alloys might come next year as having used the DA* 50-135mm I'm now quite keen to get something a bit shorter to partner it. The 21mm would fit in well with my 35mm and said zoom.

I still reckon Pentax would do well to expand the cheap prime range. Something like a 135mm f3.5 or 200mm f4 with the same quality as the 35/2.4 would fly off the shelves without damaging the brand. People wanting zooms, lenses with WR, faster apertures or just preferring the all-metal construction would still buy the * ranges.

Don't worry, they need to be on all four wheels or none at all. The AWD system would throw an expensive wobbly otherwise!

At the moment I have Yokohama Geolandars (yep, that is how they spell it!) which are more of a light all terrain tyre than anything else. They're quiet enough but due to being on 16" wheels the sidewalls are a bit tall for sharp handling. They should be admirable in snow though. These were the standard fit for Foresters as they can handle loose surfaces reasonably well, but given the performance of the Turbo model it'd be nice to have something like a set of 215/55 R17s for summer use.

Back to the lens, anyone have experience of dealing with Walters Photo Video in Merthyr Tydfil? I've checked them out on Streetview and they do have a proper shop (always a good sign). They're asking £385 for the 21mm as opposed to £435 or so from SRS, hence asking!

I'm not sure. But Pentax having been bought won't change my plans either way.

Ricoh aren't going to abandon them or dump the K mount, they're not that daft. I could well see them reintroducing some of the older DSLRs as budget models under the Ricoh brand as has been suggested by others.

Next month I will be torn between...

Set of spare wheels for new car (so I can have one set with knobbly winter tyres and another with low-profile grippy summer tyres)

DA 21mm Ltd

A good use for all those rolls of Kodachrome which can no longer be processed, maybe?

I used to use an SMC Pentax 28mm f3.5, then switched to the new DA 35mm f2.4 for the AF and simpler metering. To be honest, I'd prefer the field of view of the 28mm or even something wider. For this reason, my next new lens purchase may well be a DA 21mm when funds allow...

I'm not entirely surprised by that. The 35-80mm is a bit of a dog!

The earlier F 35-70mm is a much better lens, if you want a compact walkabout zoom.

I'm not hugely fond of the older zooms because of their size and bulk. Part of the appeal of the ME Super is the tiny size (it'll fit in the cubby box between the front seats of my car, or in a coat pocket), add a hefty zoom lens and it becomes a noticeable weight.

Talking of the M 40-80mm I didn't find it that bad. I managed to buy a minty one for £20 and aside from barrel distortion (noticeable with long horizontal or vertical lines) it seemed sharp and contrasty. The M 35-70mm is better though and now lives on my MX with the motor winder for balance.

If you can afford it I would suggest looking at something a little more recent - I see K-ms dropping in price on the used market and they're superb little cameras, you may also find the more pro-oriented K10D for similar prices.

I wouldn't mind a tidy *ist D but that's purely my collector instinct kicking in, on the basis that the original K bodies from 1975 are now rather sought-after.

About the only pitfall with genuine Pentax lenses is that there was an AF 35-70mm f2.8 zoom made before they adopted the now-standard mount, it only works in AF with the ME-F film camera. It's a rare lens though, so you're not likely to come across one. Any Pentax-F/FA or FA-J lens will work just like the current DA lenses, providing you set the aperture ring to "A".

To be honest, for the cameras you list I'd get onto ebay and track down something like the old Pentax-M 80-200mm f4.5. This is a brilliant lens, not horribly expensive for a decent example but very sharp and well-made. I have two which are unfortunately in need of attention for a sticky aperture mechanism and some dust/smearing on internal glass respectively. Before the problems developed I had some superb results from the lens. Alternatives could include the Pentax-M 75-150mm f4, Pentax-A 70-210mm f4 or the various 200mm f4 they've made over the years.


Bear in mind that many current Pentax-fit lenses lack an aperture ring as the digital bodies don't need/use one, the ME S and K2 can't control aperture from the body. As a result I'd be inclined to look for SMC Pentax, Pentax-M or Pentax-A lenses, which are still capable of astonishingly good results and are better suited to your cameras.

Edit, if you want 300mm and want a zoom (300mm primes being uncommon and often expensive) then look at the old Pentax-F 100-300mm or the other Pentax zooms of similar range. They won't be as nice to focus manually as they lack the damping of the older lenses, but they do have an aperture ring and will be able to work with your cameras.