You cannot buy a "bad" DSLR from any manufacturer these days, so ergonomics count for quite a bit! If you're looking for a body with weather sealing then the K200D really is the only game in town - the K-m isn't and nor are the similarly-priced Sonys.

A lot of what makes the final picture shine is in the quality of the lenses and this happens to be Pentax's strongest suit IMO. Pentax make some wonderful glass that can easily hold its own against the best of the rest and often at much lower prices - this really should be your primary consideration when buying into a new system as good lenses can hold their value and last a lifetime, whereas bodies will come and go as technology and fashion march on.

Happy shopping!

Great shots of the kids jumping in the water - really makes me wish I was somewhere warm and sunny right now.

I prefer the Tamron on the basis of these shots, but I'd probably want to use the Sigma a bit longer under varied conditions to be sure...

I would have suggested the "other" P too, but as they're blacklisted how about Ricoh? They make some nice (if a little quirky) compacts.

Hello Matt, welcome to the forum

Hi there, welcome to the forum!

We look forward to seeing some photos of Kuala Lumpur.

After another quick scan of eBay I found this:

link

Currently standing at £15 with no bids and 3 days to run, it's a Zeiss 35/f2.4 in B mount that happens to come with a free 50/1.8, a Praktica BC1 body, some filters, manuals and a camera case. Thinking about it, you're more likely to find this lens bundled with a Praktica B-body so it may be worth your while scouring through the several hundred that are on eBay right now...

I have seen a couple on eBay before but they're very rare. There's one on there now from a dealer but it's been converted to Canon mount and he's asking even more than the M42 versions normally go for! I'll be interested to see if anyone actually buys it...

You may have to wait a few weeks but one will show up sooner or later I'm sure.

Hi Colin, welcome to the forum.

Portrait lenses tend to be a little longer than general walkabout lenses, I'd suggest that 50-70mm is probably the best portrait length and 28-35mm is the best "general purpose" focal length.

For a 50mm lens then the Pentax FA 50mm f1.4 is hard to beat value-wise. SRS currently have them for £159.00.

For a 35mm lens then it may be worth considering either the Pentax FA 35mm f2 (SRS price £239.00) or the more modern Pentax DA 35mm f2.8 Macro Limited (SRS price £269.00 but with £25 cash back from Pentax available at the moment).

Any of the lenses above should give you outstanding quality pictures.

Nice try, but I don't think he's quite that green...