As has been mentioned, the PZ lenses were FA lenses and were the first K-AF2 lenses (i.e. using the additional PZ/SDM contacts at 5 o'clock on the mount). They were launched with the Z-1 & Z-10 bodies, the *ist was much later (after most of the MZ series). Optically they were all good (compared with contemporary zooms - some better than others) although the 28-80/3.5-4.7 seems to be slammed pretty hard in the US forum lens reviews - unfairly in my opinion (the original 28-105 was better though). I used to shoot Kodachrome 25 in my Z-1 using the 28-80/3.5-4.7 and apart from barrel distortion at the wide end - not much worse than my M28/2.8 - had little to complain about.

My review of the FA28-80/3.5-.7 is here: link

Build quality is a two sided affair - they're bulky & heavy due to the PZ motors, when in manual zoom the zoom collar is quite uneven in use and the focus rings also felt 'gritty' even when new. Apart from the zoom switch (which is a weak point on the cheaper lenses), they're robust lumps of glass. On a Z-1 the focus is slower and hunts more than an FA prime, although the K-5 drives them better. When they hit the end-stops when the AF hunts, they do so with a thwack. The AP/PP reviews of the time were mostly favourable.

Later FA (non-PZ) zooms (often silver) were given away in 'body+standard zoom' or 'body with standard & tele zoom' kits with the MZ bodies, but the FA PZ's were sold separately for the Z-1 & Z-10 bodies.

John.

This is a great MF xx-300 zoom, metal barrels and very good optically. With a KA mount it would give full 'KA' functionality.

Doctorjeff - I'd be interested in the tripod mount should you wish to sell that separately (I already have the lens).

John.

Whether you'd like a tablet is one thing, for digital storage I'd use SD cards exclusively (I only buy Sandisk as I've never lost an image in 15yrs of using their CF & SD cards). As I'm a film shooter, for a 'trip of the lifetime' I'd take a couple of Pentax 6x7's and put up with the weight penalty - although 35mm is much more compact.

I'd wanted an FA43 since they were first announced, but not needing an MZ-3, I didn't pursue it (I really wanted the special 'L' version with the rangefinder L screw mount so I'd have a reason to buy a Leica). IIRC the original FA43s were only available in silver.

For me the FA43 was the Pentax lens to have, it's the only 43mm (135 diagonal) lens* out there and given my preferred 135 focal length was my M40/2.8 it made sense. I'd missed out on buying an MIJ version and struggled to find a dealer with one to try (at this point they were £700 and I wanted to try one first). Last year I found one at The Photography Show (I had the LX and M40/2., I tried the lens, simply looking through the 'finder convinced me. This was the AIV version but I wanted my copy - not somebody else's. Since then I've seen several MIJ versions for sale for much less than I paid, but my 'AIV' example is mine.

There are many ways of looking at it, either original MIJ's were better made or in the 20yrs Pentax (Ricoh) have been making them they've perfected the manufacture, but I really doubt either has as much variation as the usual sample variation related to manufacturing tolerances. As a collectors item the MIJ's are probably more sought after if you're into that kind of thing, but as user lenses I doubt there's a difference.

* I've only ever used my FA43 on film (this will change when the FF arrives), on APS-C it's a focal length that doesn't appeal to me at all. I've only put it briefly on my K-5 to test that the AF works as expected, otherwise it's the lens I use most on my LX.

I'm confused by the 'Given the k5's unreliable AF in some makes' comment (which doesn't make sense to me anyway - 'in some makes'?)! My K-5 is perfectly fine in all respects.

I couldn't make up my mind between the FA20/2.8 and FA24/2, both being hard to find and expensive (I already had the FA28/., so I went for the FA20-35/4. This was for two reasons, it's a decent focal length range on APS-C and more importantly it gives me a wide-angle zoom for my LX (with FF coverage & aperture ring). On film it's great, there are reports on the 'US forum' that it works well on non-Pentax FF bodies with random adapters (on a native Pentax FF body it should be as good or better).

Contax used this system on their only AF film SLR, the RX - probably because users having bought a collection of excellent (and expensive) Zeiss glass, wouldn't want to buy even more expensive AF versions of them as well.

Pretty much, you need the green button to set the selected 'program line' (either normal, action, depth, MTF as set in the menu) first, then hit AE lock (to get the '*' symbol) which locks the EV value. Spinning either dial then goes into Tv or Av (depending on the dial) with this locked EV. On it's own in HyperManual, AE lock will hold the manually selected EV value but won't 'correct' it.

The routine is: Set HyperManual & Spot metering, point the spot meter at a mid-tone, press green, press AE lock and then spin either dial as required (at airshows I prefer the Tv dial for props) and leave until the light changes. As an aside, setting 1/3 stop shutter speeds gives more options for props.

Light doesn't usually change that quickly - it changes slowly during the day as the sun moves across the sky unless there are fast moving clouds about. Trying to spot-meter a fast moving fast jet can be a struggle. Against a blue sky is easier than a white cloudy sky.

My take is different, I avoid installing additional apps/programs on my computer as much as possible. If a website doesn't respond fast enough (or at all), I'd rather not bother with it before downloading an unknown 'app' hoping it fixes it. Poor web design/implementation is rife and most sites today are orientated around maximising ad revenue rather than providing a 'service'.

It depends on the airshow and the subjects you want to capture. Big shows with fast jets are completely different to smaller or bi-plane shows. For props anything faster than 180-250th leads to static props which look awful. Zooms are much more flexible, a large aircraft or the Reds in formation often need a wider lens than you'd expect - even more so on APS-C sensors. A 150-500 zoom is much longer on APS-C than many people realise (a 750mm equivalent requires special handling - especially if you're trying to point it up into the sky for a large part of the day). I mostly use a 70-300 which I feel is a good range for most shows.

If it's a popular show you'll see the stepladder brigade in abundance (shooters perched on 5 foot stepladders with 400 or 600mm lenses). Trying to keep these (and Tannoy speaker stands) out of the frame is usually your biggest problem. Framing is my next problem - making sure you have the whole of the aircraft with enough space around it in the frame (it's easy to cut-off wingtips and tailplanes).

As far as exposure goes, I usually use HyperManual and spot-metering off either blue sky or green grass - as long as you check it every few minutes (the light doesn't usually change that quickly). Spot-metering & HyperManual combined with AE lock is a perfect solution - the green button sets your exposure, pressing AE lock then allows you to shift the aperture & shutter speed as you require. In my Kodachrome days I used to wave my incident meter over my head - looks quite weird but it works.

As far as AF goes, I usually use single shot AF using the centre-point only recomposing as required (anything over 100ft is pretty much infinity and at most shows the aircraft are much further away than that). In my manual focus days I used MF without problems, I still use my MF Tamron 500 mirror occasionally.

Lastly, the ground shots are often more interesting, either of aircraft or of the FF Canikon brigade trying not to fall off their stepladders with their 400 or 600mm lenses.

John.