Do you mean a 70-200mm zoom, or a prime (fixed focal length) lens in the range 70mm to a 100mm?

New Pentax lens are expensive, but they are much cheaper second-hand. They are generally better than third-party lenses, so my advice is buy a second-hand Pentax lens.

Here is where to go for advice:

http://stans-photography.info/

George

My suggestions are as follows:

For the last 29 years, all Pentax 35mm SLR cameras have used the Pentax K bayonet. Prior to that they used a 42mm threaded screw-mount, and you should normally avoid the latter because they have limited functionality and need a special adapter.

So any lens with a bayonet that is claimed to work with the Pentax 35mm SLR system will work on your camera.

If it is an "A" lens (sometimes called "PKA" or "KA") it will give aperture priority metering, whereas "M" and "K" lenses will only give shutter priority or manual. These designations appear on the lens itself (assuming it's a Pentax lens), in the form "SMC Pentax-A", etc..

"K" lenses are an anomally, and there are not many about. Being the first bayonet lenses they are simply marked "SMC Pentax", but people call them "K" lenses despite the absence of a K in the name.

Any autofocus lens ("SMC Pentax-F" or "-FA") will provide aperture-priority metering too.

There are lots of very cheap third-party 300mm lenses available in the screw mount, but they are very slow to use, and I wouldn't really recommend them unless the budget is very tight. The Pentax 300mm bayonet lenses are very good but pretty expensive.

One option might be a good 200mm lens plus a Pentax 1.7 convertor.

However, speaking as somebody who grew up in Kenya, and did a certain amount of photography there, I would caution you that a 300mm lens isn't necessarily the best bet, unless you are photographing birds.

When I was last in East Africa I had a Pentax 75-150mm zoom, a Tamron 200mm telephoto, and a Pentax 300mm f4.

For all sorts of reasons, I found that I got far more good shots from the 75-150 than from the other two lenses combined. The ability to frame better, less camera shake, and the sheer convenience of a small, light lens which wasn't a hassle to carry were very important practical considerations.

It is surprising how close to the game you can get. If you're twenty feet from an elephant a long telephoto is not much use.

On the other hand, if you are organising your own trip, and will be planning things around your photography, as opposed to being just another Joe in a mini-bus, then by all means take the longest lens you can afford.

Ffordes are selling a 300mm "A" lens for £299.00 at the moment.

Enjoy yourself

George

Card readers are now extremely cheap. If camera manufacturers had any sense they would omit USB connections altogether. Very few people use them, and when they do they often have problems. Get a card reader.

I well remember the thrill of getting my Spotmatic SPII in 1973. Although I sold it years ago to finance a K2 when they came out, I recently bought another SPII just out of nostalgia.

The ME was a lovely little camera in its day, and I was very fond of both it and the ME Super that replaced it. The Super gave way in turn to a Super A, which was truly marvelous, and I kept that for twenty years.

Meanwhile I had also been using the formidable Z1-P (recently sold) which has just about every feature you could conceive of, and many you couldn't. Another superb machine, which I would have kept if digital had not come along.

I have also had a K1000 and a couple of the very solidly-contructed SPXs, purchased as job-lots on Ebay.

And now I have a *ist D. As JR says, the quality is most impressive. I have never owned one of the recent cheapy Pentaxes, so my only experience has been of well-made equipment.

I have enjoyed every one, though probably the one I found most practical was the Super A, which was small, robust and very flexible. It had all the essentials, and no inessentials, as far as I was concerned. The Z1-P, by contrast, had all you could ever want, and quite a lot more.

I regret never having had an MX or LX, but I do like to use both auto and manual exposures modes.

So, I rate the Super A my favourite, just, with all the others close behind.

G

Photography is photography. The principles are the same whatever medium is used to capture the image.

Books claiming to be specifically about "digital photography" are unlikely to do a very good job of teaching photography.

On the other hand, a book about digital image manipulation (which starts at the point where photography ends), can prove to be very useful.

Buy a book on photography. No lens can keep everything in focus, but you can improve things if you know the right techniques to use and have a camera that allows you to set the aperture of the lens.

I've deleted the original last paragraph because I've just noticed which camera you have, and I believe it is capable of manual over-ride.

The 18-35 is an FAJ lens, which means it is designed for 35mm. The 16-45 is a DA lens, which indicates it is designed for the Pentax digital frame size, which is approximately APS.

Battie,

I notice you are flogging a load of kit on Ebay at the moment. One item is the much maligned (and unfairly so) FAJ 18-35, which you describe as "for digital cameras".

You are doing yourself a dis-service by suggesting this. This lens is not a digital-only lens, and will work quite happily on any camera from the Super-A onwards.

It is not expensive, is quite sharp, and has superb flare resistance. It's not at all a bad choice if you want a light, economical, (semi) ultra wide-angle for walking around with.

G

It is certainly the case that many camera shops advertise very high prices - often double what items sell for on Ebay. However, I suspect they are struggling to sell anything, and you might well be able to haggle in smaller owner-managed shops.

Personally I buy mainly through Ebay.

There are still quite a lot of small independent camera shops in London, but they can be hard to find if you don't know about them.

Jessops have loads of branches, and they have a lot of second-hand gear at their big store in New Oxford Street, close to Tottenham Court Road tube station.

Pentax M and A lenses are fairly widely available in small camera shops, but AF lens are much more rare. If you don't want to buy on Ebay or by mail order, your best bet might be to get a copy of Amateur Photographer magazine when you arrive, and ring all the shops which advertise.

Good luck