I would suggest buying the K-r with the 18-55mm lens as a kit. It's an excellent lens for the money and definitely worth having as a starting point. Stop down to the usual shooting apertures for landscapes and it's very sharp.

Your 50mm and 24mm lenses will probably get the most use from your existing kit, many people like a prime around the 24mm-35mm range as a walkabout lens. Read about the crop factor on Pentax digital bodies if you haven't already done so, suffice to say the field of view of your lenses on a digital body will be narrower than on film due to the sensor being smaller than a 35mm frame.

Your 80-200mm is a superb lens but you may find setting the focal length for the camera's shake reduction annoying - it won't change when you zoom. Obviously not a problem with the primes as you just set it and leave it.

I will not buy another Sony product or any Apple product due to their terms and conditions.

Sony have given themselves the legal ability to force you to use an item which you have bought, paid for and now own the way they want, and have used their near-infinite resources to crush anyone who attempts to argue. Look up the details of the Geohotz case where someone was forced to accept punitive damages for daring to modify his Playstation and tell others how to do so.

I couldn't care less about Sony's bleating about piracy, that is entirely their own fault for over-charging for media. You have the moral right to do anything you like with an item you own, to modify, upgrade, change the software, anything. I've no problem with them saying that doing so will void the guarantee, make it impossible to use their network services and also prevent their tech support from being able to help you if it goes wrong, but this goes well beyond any reasonable concept of consumer rights.

Aside from a few quid via Pentax for a K5 sensor (maybe next year if prices come down by £100 or so...) they will not see another penny from me until they stop bullying their customers.

I always reckon the main advantages of a faster lens are the brighter viewfinder (helps AF to work as well as being easier to MF, I know my 50-135mm f2.8 will AF in light levels which leave slower lenses hunting from end to end) and the fact that it will be sharper as you open the aperture up.

He doesn't mention the other reason many people like primes either - the size. The 35/2.4 is a much more bag or pocket friendly lens than the kit zoom.

I habitually shoot around f8 as I find it to be the sweet spot of pretty much everything from an old Tokina PK-A 28mm lens up to the DA* mentioned before. The difference is that if I shoot with the Tokina at f2.8 the results are nothing like as good as those from the DA* at the same aperture! It also offers the best balance of DOF with a reasonable shutter speed for hand-held shooting.

I must try adding my recently acquired K series primes and DA* zoom to the testing I did a while ago of the Samyang 85mm Vs K 120mm f2.8 and M 135mm f3.5.

The £60 for the M42 adapter really is bonkers. Given that there is most likely a milling machine in Vietnam cranking them out by the thousand how on earth is that a sane price? They shouldn't cost more than £10-£15 given how cheaply the 3rd party ones sell for.

If you want a cheap flash and want to stick with Pentax your best bets are the AF200T/280T or the AF240Z IMO. All long-discontinued but plenty out there for very sensible sums. Bear in mind that in buying from outside the EU you will most likely get stung by not only Her Majesty's Highwaymen but also Parcelfarce's admin "charge".

The switch and button are for the more advanced power zoom functions, and only work on Z-series film bodies. They make no difference to a DSLR.

On the K200D, K10/20D, K7 and K5 you can use the powered zoom by simply pushing the zoom ring away from you to reveal the words "Power Zoom" then turning it. A slight twist will zoom slowly, turning it against the end stops will move it faster. The lens will automatically retract to its shortest physical length when you switch the camera off.

This does not work on other Pentax DSLRs, the lens behaves just like any other AF zoom on these. Pull the zoom ring towards you to operate it manually.

You need to have the aperture ring set to "A" for the lens to work properly with a DSLR, if you hadn't already found this! It'll behave just like a modern DA zoom once that is set.

Shooting against the light is one thing, but I would strongly advise always keeping the sun itself out of the frame (either with a bit of tree as seen above or just by aiming the camera differently). It definitely isn't good for your eyes and it won't do the sensor any favours either!

Rocky Cameras have a poor reputation. The main problems I see reported are poor descriptions (usually items significantly worse than claimed), slow service and non-arrival of orders.

I have never tried them as a result!

If buying a Super A check the translucent window in the pentaprism housing is properly attached, mine was loose. It's an easy fix but involves removing the top plate, scraping away the old glue, then holding it firmly in place and using a few drops of liquid plastic cement to reattach it. This window brings light in to illuminate the viewfinder LCD displays - there's a small button on the side of the lens mount which turns a light on to illuminate them when you don't have enough natural light.

I also had a non-functional flash hotshoe on my first one. The sync sockets worked so I guessed it had to be a dodgy connection rather than melted trigger contacts from heavy use of big flashguns. I just unscrewed the hotshoe and bent the contact underneath slightly so that it pressed firmly against the centre pin, now it's fine.

I managed what I consider an excellent shot of a wild bird with the DA* 50-135mm shortly after buying it. Mostly due to the fact that with this lens you can crop images mercilessly without losing much quality.

Length isn't always needed. If the last couple of frames on my latest slide film work as intended then they should be excellent shots of a highly vocal robin taken with a 200mm f4. He was too busy singing to worry about the human creeping to within a handful of metres!

My theory on Red Kites, on the other hand, is that they can tell how long your lens is and stay an appropriate distance away. Go with a 50mm and they'll be close enough to make out markings (but still tiny in the viewfinder), go with a 500mm and they'll just cruise around on the thermals taunting you!

To be honest there isn't much to go wrong on an MX providing the shutter speeds are reasonably accurate and the light meter works. Don't leave the shutter cocked for long periods as it can damage the spring tension, and when you aren't using it give it a wind on/fire cycle every few weeks to keep it happy.

As for accessories there are a couple of motor winders, various focussing screens and a databack. All listed on the Dimitrov K mount site.