^^ Me too ^^

Actually, that link was for the M version which may be a little tight - here's the one for the R: link.

Sorry 'bout that!

The Limited lenses come with their own custom leatherette pouches where they sit as snug as proverbial bugs in rugs.

For older (small) primes I'd suggest looking at aftermarket bags for Leica lenses - the Pentax A28/2.8 is around the same size as a Leica R Elmarit 28mm and a quick scan of eBay turns up things like this: link.

At £9.90 including p&p the price isn't excruciating either!

Nice one Matt! I use the AF button rather than the shutter too, but I have my "Link AF & AE" switched off (default). Interesting to know what happens if I were to enable it.

For shame, 'tis true!

In my defence there's only a few Rolleis, a couple of Leicas, a Contax, a Ricoh, a Panasonic, two Minoltas, a Praktica, a brace of Zenits, a Voigtlander, a Zeiss Ikon, a Canon, a Rank, a Mamiya and a drawful of Olympus Trips & RC35's - that's a normal collection isn't it?

I must admit though I've never posted anything on this site that didn't somehow involve Pentax equipment (body, lens or usually both). I have no objections per se to others doing so, but I agree they should be clearly marked and I'm still not convinced they should be allowed in the competitions - but that's just a personal feeling (so watch out if I'm ever judging and you don't want to be disqualified! ).

*edit* almost forgot 4 Kodaks - 3 box brownies and a digicam...

I have something in mind but you'll have to wait a couple of days 'til I get time to shoot it

For me digital gets the lion's share of everyday use, film gets a couple of run outs a year. Film's nowhere near as convenient (and a lot costlier) but it has a magic all of its own - I couldn't give it up completely and the results easily stand up to the best a DSLR can offer.

Unless you're absolutely desperate for the cash I'd say keep the *ist and use it now and again.

The Takumar 135mm is an un-coated lens and has a poor reputation for flare outdoors, however, it does also seem to have a few fans who like it for it's overall sharpness. Needs use with care but can be quite capable.

The Tokina is a consumer-level zoom and zoom technology has come a long way over the last few years so probably best not to expect really great things from it.

The Super Paragon I have no knowledge of.

The M50/1.7 is a lovely lens, fast and sharp and capable of absolutely stunning results. A keeper.

Try them all, see which ones you get on with and draw your own conclusions. I'm sure you'll be able to get decent enough results with all of them though.

Yes and No. Shot-to-shot timings in RAW are poor it's true (about 10 seconds but I've never timed it) but images at ISO 100 show no significant noise that I've ever noticed.

As for the "why?" part, it's simply the ergonomics and the quality of the output. I've owned/used several digicams and prints from the Ricoh are just a class above the others. It'll never appeal to sports shooters (or the majority of mainstream users) because of the speed issues and the fixed lens, but as a slip-in-your-pocket landscape / interior / event shooter it has no peer.

And the high quality optional optical viewfinder. And the fact it can use my AF360FGZ. And... well, I'm a fan anyway.

Not unloved per se, just a little overshadowed by the 12-24. They generally sell at a similar price but the 12-24 has more versatility while not giving anything away quality-wise. The DA14 only really makes sense if you really, really must have that extra stop of speed.