Argee,

I have read somewhere that Pentax was forced to abandon the use of a sophisticated built-in flash on the K10D that would be able to trigger an external flash in full P-TTL mode, like the *ist D. The reason had something to do with the SR machinery.

However, as Matt, I think, said earlier, most Pentax bodies can operate satisfactorily with earlier flash guns, and I personally would be surprised if the K10D can't work with your Metz.

G

I should warn you that this Ricehigh is a well-known troublemaker and troll, who has been banned from DPReview.

He dresses his stuff up with pseudo-scientific jargon, but in reality he is a pixel-peeper and nit-picker of the worst kind.

Take everything he says with a pinch of salt, and double check anything he claims to be a fact.

Some, even all, of what he says may be true, but there is no guarantee. It's just as likely to be balderdash.

G

Ye're nae a Scoot, Jimmy lad, or ye'd aspelt it "whisky".

But, aye, it's the thocht that coonts.

Guid licht!

And guid liquor.

G

In fairness to Pentax UK, most problems seem to revolve around the issue of parts. They keep only a very limited stock in the UK, and a not much more extensive stock in Germany.

This means that often the UK orders from Germany, Germany orders from Japan, Japan orders from Vietnam, and eventually the part required is sent by camel along the silk route to Istanbul, whence a jannisary is entrusted with taking it to London (via Mannheim, of course).

George

Somebody will correct me if I have got anything wrong:

All except the first series of AF lenses are identical in terms of the features they offer when used with your camera body.

That means FA, DA, FAJ, D-FA lenses are effectively the same as far as you are concerned.

The first AF lenses, designated SMC Pentax-F, send slightly less information to the body, and may therefore offer slightly less functionality. The emphasis is on "may" and "slightly".

"May" because I am not sure whether the DS2 can in fact use the additional information (I have the *ist D), and "slightly" because the reduced functionality is in practice so insignificant that I personally have never noticed it.

Some F lenses are in fact better in terms of usability than later lenses. If you have a chance to buy the SMC Pentax-F* 1:4.5 300mm, for example, snap it up. It comes with a superb tripod-mount cum handle, whereas the optically identical FA version does not.

F lenses can be more strongly built than FA and later lenses, and optically they are mostly identical. The only exception I know of is the 28mm lenses, where the FA is superior to the F.

Because the pixels in a digital sensor are slightly recessed, it is possible to experience some problems with lenses which transmit the light to the sensor at more than a slight angle. DA and D-FA lenses have been designed to minimise this problem, but in practice it's not usually an issue.

The FA 24mm has been mentioned as a lens which suffers slightly in this regard, and serious pixel-peepers claim to notice problems with other lenses. Personally, I prefer to look at pictures rather than pixels.

The moral of the story is that there is no need to worry about the suffix (unless you buy an old film body, in which case the FAJ lenses may not work with it, and the DA certainly won't).

Aside from the 300mm mentioned above, I have the F 1:1.4 50mm, the lovely F 1:4.5-5.6 70-210mm zoom, and the F 1:2.8 135mm. All are excellent.

By the way, the * in F* and FA* lenses denotes a lens of exceptional optical quality and construction (and cost! ).

And to answer your last question, the SMC Pentax-F 1:1.7 50mm is superb and probably the best value AF prime you can buy. On Ebay, you might get one for around £60.00.

Good luck.

G

Get yourself a screw-mount Takumar, smoother than Jersey cream.

G

The M42 to K adapter fits inside the K mount, so doesn't alter the focussing distance. If you can find a Nikon to M42 adapter that does the same, then you should be able to use both adapters and still get the full focus range.

G

The only person who can tell you if you need a wider lens is you.

If you find yourself often wishing you had something wider, then you need one. If not, you don't.

Your style and vision are unique to you. Let them develop naturally.

G

Thank you.

Though I'm not sure anyone will believe that I tried to dissuade somebody from buying a (good) Pentax lens.

G

I am not sure how you can miss a boat that hasn't yet been launched.

Canon is a hundred times the size of Pentax, with corresponding financial muscle. The fact that they are advertiing so heavily may be a sign that they see a threat from a superior product.

But I suppose you could say that about any Pentax camera.

Our job is to help Pentax publicise the K10D by telling people about it.

G