Judging by the mess, I suspect they're decimating the local pigeons!

I've found another advantage of Pentax DSLRs being comparatively tiny:

While searching for a holster of some sort able to take my K-m and the new lens I'm planning to buy in a couple of weeks I found that the biggest Lowepro lens case should be able to handle the lens with the camera attached to it, spare AAs and a few SD cards. So, that over one shoulder, KX with 28mm f3.5 over other, and I'm all set for Goodwood FoS!

I hope he manages to sue and recover the cost of the equipment. This is simple criminal damage regardless of any relationship involved.

I'm getting a bit fed up with various media sources implying that revenge (generally by defamation of character or criminal damage) is an acceptable response to the end of a relationship. If you're that petty and childish you really shouldn't be dating!

I think it's more consistent now. Certainly I'm getting better exposures than I was last year and know more about metering than I did then, rather than just aiming and expecting the camera to cope.

I could do with new subjects now, as it's getting to the stage where you could construct a precise replica of the Elan Valley from a moonscape using my photo albums as a reference...

Tokina also made a few PK-A fit 28mm f2.8 primes, if you see one cheap enough they aren't bad performers. Not quite as good as Pentax but not dire either.

I don't think you can go wrong for a tenner. Vivitar had a decent reputation in film days, although I've no experience of their lenses. I am intrigued by the lens they did with a "matched multiplier" teleconverter, although I don't know much about it.

Try typing the lens details into Google and see what comes back? I know there's a manual focus lens forum which often pops up when I do such a search.

Fair enough - it'll be the first lens I own with a tripod mount, so I thought it might be rather heavier than the rest!

I'll probably leave the tripod mount off normally, assuming it's comfy to use hand-held without it.

While we're talking 70-200mm f2.8s, what do existing owners do about a strap for them? Will the standard strap cope or should I be looking for something like the Black Rapid strap which connects to the lens tripod mount?

I'm probably using the 120mm in the same way, really. I like the bright viewfinder even though I seldom use it at f2.8, it's about the same size as the DA 18-55mm and also balances nicely on a film body.

There is one huge advantage of the Pentax-M 135mm f3.5:

If you have one of those, an M series body (ME Super or MX for preference), the Pentax-M 40mm f2.8 and a Pentax-M 28mm f3.5 along with an AF160 flashgun (and three or four rolls of film), you can create a superb micro-SLR outfit in one of these watertight boxes. I cut a piece of soft foam to pad the base and slipped a silica gel bag underneath it to keep the moisture down, the resulting box is very easy to tuck away for travel.

I've got that one too, although I've yet to try testing them side by side. I did find that the somewhat rare SMC Pentax 120mm f2.8 is sharper than the Pentax-M 135mm f3.5 at maximum aperture, although they're more or less even by f8 (which seems to be a sweet spot for a lot of older lenses). The 75-150mm is well worth buying though - mine was about the same price/condition and I've no complaints with the results.

I would also quite like to get my hands on the Pentax-M 100mm f2.8, although that'll have to wait a while as I'm currently saving for a Tamron 70-200mm f2.8. You might think the prime a bit pointless, but the zoom will be strictly for digital or AF 35mm use as it lacks an aperture ring. Given I like wandering city centres shooting architectural details with an M-series body, the 100mm sounds handy.