Errol,

I was assuming, perhaps wrongly, that you were on a bit of a tight budget. If so, the cheap manual route is the way to go. But if you can afford the Sigma, or, better still, one of the Pentaxes, then that would be the best solution.

G

The solution is to buy a very cheap, very small, manual flashgun, and mount it on the hotshoe. This will then trigger an external very cheap but somewhat more powerful flashgun located to the side.

No reasonably modern flashgun is going to damage the camera, and if you are at all worried, measure the voltage across the terminals with a
voltmeter.

G

M42 and screw are the same. The others are all Pentax 35mm bayonet mount, otherwise known as K-mount, and they will also fit the various Pentax DSLRs.

M and K (aka PK) are early lenses which are incapable of having their aperture set by the camera body. They only work in manual exposure mode.

KA and PKA refers to lenses with an A setting on the aperture ring, which means that the body can set the aperture. They provide full exposure automation, if required, or anything in between that the body can handle.

The KA lenses carry the following suffices after the words SMC Pentax:

-A (manual focus)
-F (auto-focus)
-FA (auto-focus)
-FAJ (auto-focus, no aperture ring)
-D FA (auto-focus, optimised for digital, but OK for film)
-DA (auto-focus, digital only)

The screw mount lenses require an adapter to fit K-mount camera bodies, and require manual exposure setting.

G

I suspect you are a little bit insecure. Just don't worry what other people think.

G

In the last few years, Pentax's share of the SLR and DSLR market has slipped to below 5%. It is therefore not unreasonable to expect to see that same proportion reflected in what is published in magazines. Perhaps even fewer, because Pentax has not really tried to compete in the long lens market in recent years.

However, the introduction of the K100D and K10D has meant that more photographers are now using Pentax, and if the momentum is maintained we can expect to see more Pentax pictures published in the future.

So the explanation is quite simple, really.

G

It would depend on where.

G

There is an issue with Canon cameras, which are said to be sensitive to more than about 10 volts. Pentax US reported that a voltage of up to 400 was OK with the *ist D.

However, most flash guns made in the last twenty years have voltages under 10. If in doubt, use a voltmeter to check.

Early versions of the Vivitar 283 had quite high voltages.

G

Not bad, though I might have bought two 2GB cards for greater flexibility.

It'll work fine. It's not a bad lens.

If it's the A version, it'll work fine. If not, you'll have to use it in manual metering mode.

No idea about the flashgun, but it'll probably be fine with the camera in manual mode.

Good luck.

G

I think I have under-priced my 200mm!

G

I repeat, you are looking for graduated filters, not ND filters. Graduated ND filters are certainly an option, but there are other options, with various tints, which you may or may not find pleasing.

G