I considered bidding at the end, but remembered that someone else on this thread had expressed an intention to do so? I don't need any more 35mm bodies anyway!

Maybe the buyer would care to post some of the photos taken with their new toy online and send the seller a link? We all know that the lens makes the biggest difference to the performance of a camera. Stick a 43mm Ltd on the front, in the hands of someone who knows how to use both properly, and you'd get images to embarrass his beloved Leicas for a fraction of the cost.

It went for £23 in the end. Can't help thinking he'd have got more if he'd been able to wind his attitude problem in!

AFAIK these contacts will not drive an SDM motor. I know I've tried a Bigma with an MZ-10 and it wouldn't AF.

I just wish Pentax had kept Power Zoom on all the DSLR bodies. I've got one of the lenses but my K-m doesn't support it.

Yep, they will work just like a modern lens. Just remember to set the aperture to "A". The 70-210mm is still a very well-regarded lens. Assuming you also have the F 35-70mm then you'll want the 18-55mm with your new dSLR to give you a true wide angle lens (thanks to the crop factor - Pentax dSLR sensors are smaller than a 35mm film frame so lenses need to have a shorter focal length to get the same field of view).

I'm guessing the part with the fog is a filter? Does it have lettering on the side of the metal ring around the glass? If so, it can be discarded without affecting image quality (it might even improve it).

If it isn't a filter I don't quite know what to suggest - parts aren't meant to unscrew from these lenses!

Just wondering: Does anyone have one and, if so, is the head attached to the legs with a standard thread mount?

I'm looking to replace my broken Slik 500G as cheaply as possible, as I could do with something a bit smaller and lighter than the Red Snapper for scrambling up hillsides in search of angles which haven't already been shot by everyone else. I'm now firmly convinced of the merits of ball heads though, so I'm after a tripod on which I can swap the head. The 500G has the head pressed/riveted to the centre column, otherwise I'd take the broken head off and replace it.

Also looking at the old Slik 450G, if anyone has one of those could they answer the same question? I know some Slik models have a removable head as my Mini Pro V does.

Yep, thanks, very useful! The kit I'm building is the early version. I didn't know they made a kit with the bogies and beams to transport it by rail, will have to buy one of those! I was planning to scratchbuild those parts and build it as an unusual wagon for my model railway collection but as they make a kit life is much simpler!

Did you get instructions for building two different gun barrels, but no guidance as to which is correct for which mortar and when?

When I get that far I think I'll be encamped on Wiki and the few military history sites with a view to working out precisely which vehicle I've got!

I've been building a kit where the instructions, if followed, wouldn't produce anything resembling the picture on the front of the box. They suggested putting the exhaust silencer halves together in a way they simply wouldn't fit, and also wanted me to fit the gun mounts on the wrong sides! I'm also having to make some educated guesses as to detail painting as I rather doubt the real thing was simply drowned in grey paint.

(It's a 1:72 kit of the Karl Gerat - German WW2 self-propelled mortar. Self propelled in that with three engines and one presumably rather worried driver it would struggle across the eastern front at a blistering 6-10KM/h...)

It is impressive - the review I saw of the Samyang said that it was a bit too light for the focal length (a bit heavier and it would have been easier to use hand-held).

I've considered buying one of the Samyang mirrors before now. Main thing putting me off is the fixed aperture (f5.6 on the one I liked the look of), very shallow depth of field, and the fact that you really need a tripod to get the best from them. That said, I've tried a Bigma and wouldn't fancy that handheld!