Been having a quick look onm SRS and there are a few flashes for under the ton made by Metz. I only want an extra bit of help for the K5 for indoor baby shooting as I am very much an available light kind of guy and still have enough to learn without doing flash yet. Have film era flashes but nothing that wouldn't cook a DSLR!

To my shame they would be mainly used with everything auto for quick and dirty snapshots so would I be allright with these budget ones maybe gpoing to the Metz Mecablitz 36 as it has a swivel head so eventually could look at some more advanced stuff?

This is the type of thing I wish I could achieve!

The Spotmatic F is much later, about 1972-3 I think. It has stop down metering and with the SMC Takumars definately meters with the diaphragm open closing the aperture to the correct f stop when the shutter is fired.

I have two Spotmatic Fs and I think they are great.

There is a nice neat phrase and name for this but I can't think of it at this time of the morning (I blame my baby for shouting all night!).

Sadly with my glasses and digital I really need AF. It was a thought. I used to have a DA 50-200m WR and was a bit underwhelmed by it I will admit.

I hardly ever use long lenses, (used my M 135mm a handful of times).

Hi,

Looking for a cost effective occasional longer option and this seems to be a pretty reasonable choice so was wondering if anyone had a spare that they would be willing to part with?

Looking for good optical condition and fully functioning AF.

Cheers

I think the one I saw is a little too expensive possibly then. May put an ad here tomorrow. Would be mainly for the K5 and as I have a shoulder bag with me most times weight isn't too much of an issue....

Just seen one of these and seems to have an ok reputation. I have nothing longer than 50mm at the moment and am wondering if this would be a decent buy? What would be a reasonable price?

In Hungary anything even remotely 'luxury' really is much more expensive in real terms. My albeit small experience is that even basic stuff like a kettle can get pricey for something that would be equivalent to Argos own brand. No such thing as discount stores like Primark etc over there.

You actually get choice in the UK..... So, it's not that bad really. Plus Cabstars point is fair about recessions and pricing of luxury goods of which Dslrs are definately classed within really. Premium brands tend to do well (look at BMW sales figures) and pricing reflects the need to be seen as 'premium' i.e. higher.

If I had any money this would be the lens I would have...... Sadly the price probably wouldn't come down all that much. I could lose all my other lenses, small and WR perfect on the K5. Maybe with the high ISO performance of the cameras they felt a constant 2.8 wasn't necessary? I love my DA* 16-50 but it is big....... Really big! This looks like exactly the sort of thing that would suit me.

Imagine it on a K-01!!!!

It's the only problem sometimes with a bright sky and dark foreground!! K5 struggles on occasion too. With my partner and the baby I get about 2 seconds for composition and have to rely on the cameras metering as standing around checking zones for more than a minute is frowned upon!

One thing to take away is the impact of a good lens on any camera...... The DA* is not lightning quick but knocks the kit lenses into a cocked hat!

I think I am very happy with the results really from a 4 year old camera!