You have a PM.

Harsh words from a newcomer. I don't know where you perceive the "back slapping" because I don't see it. And there are quite a few photographers here who use Pentax professionally. If you hadn't actually paid in to be a PU Plus member I'd wonder if you were trolling, but it makes it less likely.

Could the camera be set to read battery power? I can't remember the exact procedure, but it might involve setting the camera to B and ASA100.

I think there are lenses available that we don't ever get to see, such as the SMC Pentax-A 50mm f1.2 - I asked SRS if they could get one but I don't think Chris ever got a reply about that.

Canon and Nikon sell cheap 50mm lenses, so I expect Pentax could sell one too. The FA version still seems to be around, at a similar price to the marque alternatives, when we compare like with like.

Try Amazon, who list quite a few lower cost lens hoods for Pentax lenses.

The policy seems to be to make lower cost options using less expensive manufacturing techniques. This doesn't equate with a lack of build quality, just different materials and methods.

It seems that the lower cost lenses do have less features (no Quick Shift, no supplied lens hood) but the optical quality remains high.

It does give a real choice depending upon our budget.

Well done Dan, where do we queue for autographs?

How about the 1200mm f8 and 2000mm f13.5? All amazing lenses with amazing price tags.

How simple life must have once been for lens designers, in the sense that all the manufacturers would have slow and fast lenses in the same focal lengths 24mm-28mm-35mm-50mm and so on. Pentax stood out by always making odd focal lengths (and still do) such as 30mm, 120mm, 150mm.

But the point I'm making is that these lenses were available for decades, either as Takumar, Super Takumar, SMC Takumar, SMC Pentax, SMC Pentax-M, SMC Pentax-A....

Then came zooms and today lenses seem to have a limited runs as well. So, some designs which are excellent have already gone, such as the 24-90mm, 18-250mm, and some such as the 16-45mm seem harder and harder to find. As technology increases its pace so the possibilities of lens design mean that exclellent products are superceded by even better ones.

Things are much more fluid these days and in terms of price/quality we're doing pretty well I think.

Favourite lenses for me now would have to include the WR designs though as they totally free us to continue shooting in the worst weather!

There is a 31mm lens that should do very nicely...