Thanks to everyone for the great help. I'm very much obliged to all who responded.
Best regards,
Jack

For years I've has the user manual on my hard drive as a pdf file and I know I should have backed it up and all that - I just never got around to it.
Now the computer has gone in a big, big way and all files are gone and the download page at Pentax no longer has this manual.
Does anyone have the pdf of the manual that they can e-mail please?

Hecky thump! I'm ancient and I haven't learned owt. At least, I can't remember learning owt - but if I did, I must have forgot it!
Never mind, since I'm well on into my second childhood (or so the gaffer says) I might manage to learn summat the second time around!!!
Jack

I think that it might be time to put this one to bed
After owning many Pentax cameras for many (too many) years (and still owning five), it's the first camera that I've had with SR and I have still to get to grips with it properly.
As you may be aware, my main interest is in wildlife photography and the problems arose whilst trying to film kingfishers. You may be aware that these birds are somewhat hyperactive and so quite often you have to "shoot from the hip" as it were.
Unfortunately, I deleted the duff images from the camera soon after they were taken but I have done a series of tests since and I am begining to come to the conclusion (whether erroneous or not) that I may have been firing the shutter before the SR had settled.
I guess it's just the operator that's a bit too old and knackered
Many thanks to all for your very helpful contributions. I am very grateful.
Jack

Having just purchased a new K200D, I am more than a little disappointed with the image quality.
It is no where near as good as that achieved with my Samsung GX1S. In both cases I'm using a Sigma 70 - 300mm 1:4-5.6 DG lens. I am getting almost a double edge on most of the shots (almost a ghost image).
I was expecting far greater clarity especially since the Sigma is only 6 mega pixels.
I should perhaps say that I have done comparative shots with the cameras mounted on monopods and with the shake reduction system turned on on the Pentax.
Any suggestion would be most welcome.