They are heavy and they take some getting used to (it took me a few attempts to get mine set up) but that heaviness also means they are incredibly stable when you have a large camera/lens at very strange angles (which you do for macro work).

My Manfrotto 055 will also do very low (as well as very high) work but it's not as convenient (or quick) to set up and there always seems to be a stray leg in the way just where you don't want it to be.

The main problem with all tripods is weight: To be really stable you need the heaviest tripod you can get. To carry it around you need a much lighter tripod. The trick is to find something that's a compromise between the two extremes - something you can carry without breaking your back, but is heavy enough to actually be of practical use.

Good luck with your search anyway!

For macro work and ultimate flexibility you'd be hard pressed to beat a Benbo tripod - I'm a recent convert after many years with a Manfrotto 055 and I wish I'd bought one ages ago.

I don't know this particular lens but if it came off a Pentax film camera then it should work on a Pentax digital camera without a problem (the only lenses I'm aware of that can be hazardous are those designed for the Ricoh system which include an extra pin - with a little surgery even thay can be used though).

Did the other person give any indication why they think it would be unsuitable? If you post a picture of the lens bayonet for us to see I'm sure we can give a definitive answer anyway.

I'm selling three SMC Taks on eBay right now (along with some Super-Taks) including a near-mint 200/4 which does indeed have a tiny spot of fungus on the front element. You may find that puts enough folk off to make it a bargain..?

Generally rubbish. They often as not destroy image quality to the point where you'd be better off shooting at the shorter focal length and then cropping the picture.

There are a handful of exceptions though, and those are where the converter has been designed specifically to attach to a particular lens. These tend to be more common with P&S cameras and camcorders but there are a small number out there.

Not that I've ever come across. The Mamiya/Sekor SX series lenses have *an* aperture coupling but it's in a different place to the Pentax one so not compatible. The only other variation I'm aware of are the "electric" lenses for Praktica cameras (CZJ and Pentacon) which have electrical contacts (hence the name) on the lens mount, again no use on your ES II though.

Nearly all third-party lenses (Sigma, Vivitar, Soligor, Hanimex, etc) used a vanilla M42 mount with an A/M switch in order to broaden their appeal across as many manufacturers' systems as possible.

So if you want to keep the open aperture metering with you ES II I'm afraid you're going to have to stick with SMC Taks. Although if it's any consolation then M42 lenses rarely get much better anyway.

That's what I like to hear!

Delayed by a trip to Luton Airport - but I'd have said much the same as you anyway.

Most M42 lenses have the Auto/Manual switch, some older Taks and Russian lenses (Jupiter-9, etc) are pre-set or manual only (fine to use) and it's actually quite unusual to come across a lens that's Auto only - the only ones that spring to mind are the later versions of the Helios-44, and they're a doddle to convert.

I wouldn't bother with the flanged adapter as you're pretty unlikely to ever actually need it tbh.

Apologies for not being there - by the time I got home it was gone 6 and it would've meant not getting there until gone 8, by which time I'd have only had an hour or so before heading back to get the train home again.

Hope all of you that did attend had a good one and took plenty of photos!

My mate just won it at £547 - I didn't know he was bidding but he's just texted to see if I fancy a drive down to Cornwall tomorrow

Assuming it's a good'un then expect me to be advertising his current mint/boxed GX20 and grip in the classifieds very soon...