I'm considering upgrading to a K5 mark ll so you might be interested in my K5. I bought it from a forum member a few months ago, it's in pristine unmarked condition, complete with box, software, charger, etc. Body only - no lens. (please be aware though that the instruction manual is in French, so I will include an English PDF version on a disc) Shutter count is 1226 and I'm guessing it may still have some warranty left on it and I'll sell at £475.00. That includes RMSD (UK only)and paypal fee!

Let me know if you are interested....

I would strongly recommend that you first remove the mount from the lens before proceeding to work on the flange, thus ensuring you don't damage the rear glass and avoid getting swarf into the lens body.

Good luck....

PS. When you remove the mount, do so carefully and avoid removing the aperture ring as re-locating the minute ball bearing that defines the click stops can be a pain...

I love my 8-16 and I don't think anyone should be put of buying into it because of filter issues, which imo at least aren't really all that necessary with this lens (duck). This filter issue however, seems to have been overcome to some degree, albeit a pricey one! See here:- link

The 8-16 club link is also a good place to see some exceedingly fine examples of what this lens is capable of.

Whatever you buy, enjoy it...

Impressive shots indeed and in particular that they were MF in low light.

I'm seriously considering an upgrade to a Mark ll, but it all hinges on whether there is a significant improvement in low light MF focusing to make it a worthwhile investment. Your fine examples are just the sort of affirmation I've been seeking.

Thanks again...

If you are used to using Windows XP then imho an un upgrade to a 64bit Windows 7 OS might prove to be a much more straight forward migration path and much more intuitive to use.
If you are not familiar with either Win 7 or Win 8, before you commit yourself, consider going into a local PC World or Curry's or Tesco's even and have a look at some laptops & PC's that have Win 7 or 8 installed to get a feel for each them. I strongly suspect you will favour Win 7 over 8 as the latter is more akin to a phone app in the way you navigate it.

Your graphics card won't give you much of a boost either as a graphics cards main purpose these days is in 3d applications not 2d such as photo editing.

To be perfectly honest and if your budget allows, I recommend you get yourself a new motherboard, a multicore cpu ( I think AMD still provide the best bang for buck) and a minimum of 8 gig of ram and do a rebuild.

You could probably get a cracking bundle deal for the above items if you shop around for well under £200, which should prove much better value in the long run and be ample capable of running Photoshop on a 64bit OS.

Depending on how computer savvy you are, Windows 2008 server OS converted to a workstation OS is a dream to use and supremely stable. Otherwise, Win 7 should be just the ticket for you.

These are only my thoughts however but based on years of PC building and using. Others may disagree as is there right...

Good luck....

Delighted you've been able to get out and enjoy the camera Andy. I'm also so very pleased it has gone to such a discerning new owner, one who I've no doubt will give it the use such an elegant piece of engineering deserves.

Very, very best wishes....

Thank you very much for that it's greatly appreciated. An upgrade isn't exactly cheap so there need to be sufficient benefits to justify the outlay. Looks and sounds promising so far!

Thanks again and I'll look forward to your results....

PRECISELY!

Thank you Kris, you understood my question and moreover proffered a sensible reply!

Does any one know if the improved focusing applies to auto focus lenses only, or is there a benefit to manual focusing with manual lenses as well???

Thanks in advance...

Just at this moment I think not, but I suppose everyone has their price and doubtless I too could maybe be persuaded.

If you don't get sorted then ask me again and we'll see!!!

Regards...