My current blade champion (although serving time as a paperweight until a suitable camera comes up) is this mid/late 19th Century Ross "Zeiss Patent" Anastigmat f8 196mm:

[IMG]http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd37/hefty1969/IMGP1933.jpg[/IMG]

A grand total of 16 blades and near perfect circles throughout the (f8-64) aperture range! Now if only I could find a K mount adaptor...

I get the most pleasant bokeh from my FA77 (9 aperture blades), closely followed by my D-FA100 (8 blades). My FA43 (8 blades) and DA18-55 (6 blades) are harder to distinguish at smaller apertures and my DA12-24 (8 blades) rarely displays any bokeh to speak of (not suprising though for such a wide lens with a comparatively slow maximum aperture).

Obviously it's easier to describe a circular aperture with a greater number of blades but the shape of those blades must also play a part, along with their position relative to other lens elements. This is borne out by my other 9-bladed design, the Tamron 70-300, which despite its (on paper) advantage still manages to deliver a rather messy and distracting bokeh - not unlike the Canon example in the link above.

I still think the most pleasant bokeh I've seen in a K-mount lens was the Voigtlander APO Lanthar 180/4, sadly no longer available new but one I keep a regular eye on eBay for...

Then bite the bullet and buy a Pentax AF360FGZ. It's good value for money, works without any compatibility problems, gives a wide range of features (probably more than you'll ever need) and unless you're looking to light up the Albert Hall has plenty enough power.

There may be cheaper units out there, and better featured units out there, but as a good all-round workhorse to cover 99% of all situations then the 360 can't be beaten.

Pentax compatible Zigviews are available but that's quite an expensive sledgehammer to crack this particular nut! I'd probably look to eBay and something like this which can be programmed for up to 399 (or unlimited) shots and comes in at less than 30 quid including postage.

Looks like I underestimated the price on all three; £73.00 for the Spotmatic + 50mm, £39.05 for the 135mm and £48.02 for the 500mm - not a bad result at all!

Now there's a picture to warm the cockles of my heart!

Glad you like it, I was a bit concerened that the feet were a bit too close to the edge of the frame from a composition point of view, that's why I was toying with the idea of making a composite from the two captures. Maybe I'll just leave it alone instead.

Well the Zenitar can be picked up new for £99 (+p&p) which, as Reuben says above, will give you a wide angle with quite a bit of barrel distortion - nothing that can't be sorted in PP though. I don't know if it would give better results than the kit lens but it will be 2mm wider, half a stop faster and useable on 35mm film (or a future "full frame" sensor).

That still leaves you some change for an M50/1.7 and a set of extension tubes.

Bucks County Show yesterday; filled a 2GB card with dahlia pics (but I won't bore you all with them), did wander out to the main ring for a while though to give the Tamron 70-300 a bit of a workout. Not perfect technically but better than no pictures at all!

Got quite a few of these guys and I like the pose in the first one here but I much prefer the composition in the second. Reckon it's worth spending some Photoshop time on it or leave it as it is?

C&C welcome as ever!

[IMG]http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd37/hefty1969/IMGP1754.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd37/hefty1969/IMGP1756.jpg[/IMG]

That last one went a little off-topic, it happens from time-to-time so don't take it personally. Anyway, Internet forums need a little stir now and again to keep them from stagnating...