Best £99 inc.p&p that you can spend on a
Pentax lens I reckon.

I understood it was just a slip of the keyboard, the K24/2.8 and A24/2.8 was the intended comparison.

Well the A24 arrived and a K28 too. Both lenses are in excellent condition and both were something of a snip too, so a happy punter. Initial impressions are positive. As I probably tend towards a tighter look for landscape then my A24/K28/K35 combination will make an excellent, compact landscape kit and compatible with Cokin A's which are plentiful and cheap.

I might just try a Sigma if I can find one at a price I can't refuse.

Thanks. I don't know why I never came across it from my searches. Is it that much better than the DA21 or are we seeing ff frenzy? I think prices of older lenses are shooting up, which makes me even more pleased with a couple of recent finds. I noted the K 50 1.2, ambitious to say the least. Silly prices do the forum no favours.

I couldn't find this, I'd appreciate a link to the completed listing ad I can't quite believe the prices talked about.

I have bought and sold over the forum and all transactions have been clockwork and all goods perfectly as described.

I pulled out of one transaction where a new member wanted me to send a lens in advance of payment. But I think it is common sense to take such precautions.

I recall one transaction where a purchaser was stung badly. I know of another where a lens turned out to be obviously faulty and the seller refused to acknowlege the evidence and responsibility. Because of good old SRS there was a transferable warranty and it was repaired, but at the cost of shipment to the buyer.

By and large it seems to work very smooth indeed. As a buyer I restrict myself to trusted members with a good track history. As a seller I insist on insured postage or, as has sometimes happened, a buyer requests economy postage but I obtain proof of postage and get written acceptance that the seller assumes the risks of transit.

I remember that shot well. It's a fine lens then, at least in your hands.

I've been looking out for those kind of things. The M35mm f2 is hard to find, the K135mm f2.5 less so and they are sought after. I think prices of rarer older lenses are heading north, mayve its all this talk of full frame.

I definitely think the Tammy would fit the bill, it has closer focus too than the K85 (obviously, being a macro). The K85 is also rare and much pricier.

At the cheap end of the scale then maybe one of the third party 28mm f2.8 macros would do?

Took me a fair while to see what it was, you can see why wildebeest and Australians get swallowed by them. Fascinating.

I don't think the precise quantification of these differences really matters much.

The IIs is clearly not a quantum leap in IQ. It does appear to be a quantum light in low light focusing, so a very worthwhile upgrade for those who use it in those situations and a handy upgrade for everyone else.

If you've had a K5 for a couple of years and a few bob under the floorboards then it seems worthwhile to get trade-in value for a II/IIs before a new model increases the supply of used K5's and prices drop. The K5II/s will presumably fall too but maybe not so much if the next model is high end APS-C leaving the K5II/s mid range. And you get a brand new two year warranty. The bit extra sharpness and slightly lower noise is a bonus. That's what I reckon anyway from seeing all these dicussions thread.

The cavities between my joists are empty so I shall wait for the next quantum leap, which is hopefully an 'entry level' full frame which I shall dream of whilst keeping my K5 as a second, or mouch more likely, only body.

Honestly, anyone with less time on their hands would read this and think what a bunch of geeks peering very closely at photos of jumper fibres. We are aren't we. Anyone got some photos of dust so we can do a more accurate comparison? I'll check the thread again in 53 pages time after I've polished my pointlessly large lens collection.