The one in Beaconsfield is about 3-4 times a year so there won't be another until the summer now, but on the 23rd May there's Photographica 2010 down in London - that's the biggest fair of them all and happens once a year. You can get all the details of venue, directions etc at www.pccgb.com - I shall no doubt be scouting for further bargains there too

I'll do that too.

Just put it all away for the night 'cos it's my bed time but I'll do something in the equipment forum soon. It's not quite mint but it is pretty nice and the glass is immaculate, albeit slightly yellow. No caps though so looks like I'll be joining you in a search for a 46mm one...

Will do - although the only other 58mm I have is a Helios 44. I'd say the Helios (Biotar design) is sharper over the whole frame at all apertures, but the Takumar (Sonnar design) just has a more pleasing rendering style. I'll do some side-by-sides later in the week and chuck in a couple of 50mm's for comparison too.

Anything else interesting? Yes.

I was one of the first through the door while most of the traders were still unpacking their wares and the first stall I went to had a gorgeous Super Ikonta IV (just like mine but even shinier). I picked it up and had a play and asked how much he wanted (expecting him to say about £400) and he floored me with £200. For some reason that wasn't even clear to me at the time, let alone now, I said I'd think about it and walked away. I got two stalls further along when I decided I'd buy it and went straight back to find it... sold.

The doors had opened at 9.15am and this was around 9.20am - you gotta move quick if you want the bargains. Usually.

I didn't really find all that much else to tickle my fancy (although I did buy a brand new / boxed K100D Super for my Dad and a nice S1a with meter and hump-topped case fitted with a Super-Tak 50/1.4) until I was doing a third and final sweep of the room before I went home. One of the dealers specialises in Leica so I don't tend to pay much attention to his stall as a rule (not my sort of thing) but I noticed the outline of a Spotmatic as I walked past so stopped for a closer look. When I spotted the lens my jaw dropped and my heart did a little skip. I picked it up and stared at it to make sure I wasn't imagining things and as I turned it over in my hands noticed a price tag - £65!

I thought; Brilliant! He thinks he's got a 55/2 and he's asking top dollar for it - there's money to be shaved off there! A little haggling later and he wrapped it up for me in exchange for £55 - I could barely control myself at that point. I grabbed my mate who I'd gone with and said let's go before he realises what he's just sold and asks for it back.

So I spent the whole journey back whooping, singing and dancing in the car - much to the driver's annoyance - and I've spent most of the rest of the day playing with my new toys. The Spotty and the S1a will probably be going on eBay at some point soon and I doubt I'll keep the 50/1.4 for too long either; but the 58/2 is everything I hoped for so happy days!

There was lots of Pentax gear there (there always is) and most of it very cheap (£140 for a DA55-300, £300 for a A*200/2.8, Spotmatics / MZ5's / P30's by the dozen for peanuts, etc) but no Pentax 645 lenses or Voigtlander Bessas - the two actual targets for the day. Not that I'm complaining now though...

Takumar 58/2 no longer required - camera fairs rock!

You can use the green button but it won't stop the lens down - you need to do that part for yourself. In other words unless the lens is set (by you) to a manual value, the camera will meter (and shoot) wide open.

I find M42 lenses easiest to use in Av (Aperture Priority) mode as the metering will always be based on whatever the lens is set to at the moment you press the shutter. In that particular respect I find M42 lenses easier to work with than early (K and M series) K-mount lenses.

I'm actually quite content with the list of lenses in my signature - although there's been a lot of trial and error to get to this point. The only changes I see coming in the near future are (1) Sell the M100/4 Macro due to duplication, (2) Get a MkII WR 18-55 to replace my MkI and (3) Get a decent long/fast telephoto - probably the DA*300.

Then you can stick a pin in me 'cos I'll be done!

1. No. The camera doesn't have any mechanical connection to the lens so it can't stop it down. You need to use the lens in (M)anual mode (there's usually an Auto/Manual switch near the aperture ring) and stop it down using the aperture ring itself. A good method for many people is to set the lens to (A)uto, pre-select the aperture, focus with the lens open, set the lens to (M)anual, take a meter reading and then shoot.

2. Yes. But see below.

3. You can remove the springs, they're usually held on by a tiny screw. If you intend leaving the adapter on the lens then this is a must - if you intend leaving it on the camera then leave the spring clip in place to stop it coming off every time you dismount a lens. Adapters with flanges don't allow for infinity focus so avoid them!

AF button / Shutter half-press disabled / user selected point

I found that "centre only and recompose" gave me too many OOF shots, especially with the wider lenses, due to the large plane of focus that doesn't like to be moved around on a vertical axis. Since swapping to user-selected focus points my number of OOF shots has fallen away to negligible levels.

Very nice lens, but I'm waiting for the SLII versions of the 125mm Macro and 180/3.5 APO Lanthar to be released. Looks like I've got a little longer to wait...

I think you'll find that f/2.8 is as fast as you can get in Pentax mount zooms (that includes those from third parties and those that are out of production). In fact f/2.8 seems to be the limit for zooms on most systems so you really need a prime if you want something quicker.

Pentax did make the A*135/1.8 which still turns up on eBay from time-to-time but it isn't cheap...