Well, it finally arrived today! So here's what your own 30 quid could have got you (drum roll):

Pentax SP500 with ERC and strap. Meter needs a battery but all shutter speeds sound about right, no dents or dings but in need of a clean and possibly new light seals. ERC and strap in good condition and it should all scrub up like new.

Super-Takumar 55mm f/2. Front trim ring pulling away slightly (needs glueing) but otherwise excellent - no scratches, fungus, etc and mechanical condition all good with a snappy iris and positive click-stops. A little brassing to the barrel but seen a lot worse. Original front cap.

Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 135mm f/3.5. Pretty minty with perfect optics and mechanics and barely any signs of use. Included original front/rear caps and original hood (which unlike the lens does have a few scuffs but still in one piece).

Unitor Auto-Wide 28mm f/2.8. Once again perfect optics and mechanics but with quite a bit of brassing to the barrel (I guess this was the previous owner's favourite lens!) - no damage though. Original front/rear caps included. Unusually big and heavy for an M42 28/2.8.

APS Auto Teleplus 2x Converter. Nice clean optics but due to the small size I'm guessing a 4 element TC rather than a 6, so I don't hold high hopes for IQ. Original front/rear caps included.

49mm Hoya Skylight Filter. Perfect.

49mm No-Name 81A Warm-Up Filter. Perfect.

Sunpak MX122 Manual Flash. Looks like new - seems to work just fine. PC sync cord included.

Flash Bracket. A little scruffy but useable.

Zeiss Ikon Ikophot Light Meter. Super clean condition, seems to be well calibrated. Complete with leather case, chain and diffuser.

Carlton Padded Camera Bag. Looks almost like new and complete with all the padded dividers, etc.

Roll of Fuji Astia 100. Out of date.

Original receipts for everything! He paid £110 for the camera+55 back in 1973 - haven't been through them all but I will at some point.

So all-in-all not a bad haul - if anyone spots any similarly misplaced eBay listings feel free to let me know!

Did I just hear the sound of a cash register in Russia go ker-ching as another Zenitar 16mm heads West..?

The DA12-24 gets my vote too - I'd buy it again without hesitation

(and mine is primarily used for interior shots where it excels)

I bought the last three rolls of 120 film from the Jessops near me last month - they had them on special at £1 a roll but no plans to stock any more in the future. Seems they think film's dead too...

Humbrol Maskol Liquid Mask (or similar). Much better for complex shapes than tape and I find it easier to work with (others may disagree).

Auto paints should give you a durable finish and the combinations are pretty much limitless

I wish it was! Maybe then I wouldn't have to keep on flogging off all his camera gear / hi-fi / home cinema / etc each time he upgrades to the new-greatest-thing-ever...

As far as I know though both of these sales are now done and dusted and my mate is still too computer illiterate to contemplate having an eBay account - hence the status quo is maintained.

The manual won't cover it because (as George says) the feature wasn't in the original version of the firmware and the manual wasn't updated to include it.

Anyway, to answer your question, when you set the built in flash to "Master" it will contribute to the scene along with the slave flash. When you set it to "Commander" it will trigger the slave flash but not make any contribution itself (well, apart from a tiny amount of residual light that's used to do the triggering - nothing that should show up though as a rule).

Ideally you want a lens with a wide aperture (to seperate the subject from any background distractions) and a medium-telephoto length. From your list I'd say the best bets would be the A50/1.7, DFA100 Macro and Sigma 70-200/2.8. No harm in taking the 28-70 as a back up though...

Yes, but don't use a superglue-type CA adhesive in case it ever needs lifting at some point in the future. Something like Copydex (or any PVA glue) will give a strong hold yet will allow the ring to be peeled off without damage if required.

As far as I can tell it's just a standard PC Sync socket so the cover from pretty much any camera (that has one) would do the trick - not even neccessarily a Pentax camera.

If you can't find one then I'm sure I've got a few in my crate'o'spares, just send me a PM and I'll get one to him.