It's not the shutter or sensor life I'd be concerned about when buying second hand, but more how careless the previous owner had been when cleaning the sensor, or whatever else they might have done. Unseen damage can be a problem - for example, the heavy handed user who decides to clean the mirror....and so on.

Having said that, I still buy second hand cameras and lenses, but very selectively and usually for a specific purpose.

5000 actuations is not a lot with an expected life of 100,000 from the shutter mechanism.

I've sold DSLRs with 6700 or so actauations that have been like new.

However, you need to carefully assess the one on offer, ask any questions that you feel are relevant and then really only you can decide.

Personally, I would buy new if I could afford the difference, from a Pro Dealer so that I had 24 months guarantee. But that's just me.

Interesting. There are some more interesting Pentax items on there as well.

I'll make a special effort this weekend!

Some people would think you are very close, Neil.

The answer is the "Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia"....

Thanks for the offers so far, it looks like we'll be able to sort something if I can't buy anything suitable.

As regards the MZ10, I've just bought one with 28-80mm lens for £14.95, so i wouldn't give him €40! Unless you really want that lens.....

I'm now looking at preparing something for PU magazine on the MZ series cameras and I'm in my "buying phase" for some of the range. After I've used them, some will get sold on again, my favourites kept.

I could be interested in any of the following: MZ-30, MZ-50, MZ-60, MZ-6, MZ-7 and the MZ-S.

Preferably mint and fully working, but even a non-working example can be photographed, so nothing excluded. Prices, let me know what you have in mind, but can't be OTT otherwise the project would be too expensive.

Many thanks!

If we turned the clock back to 1975 and asked, "What would we do if the Spotmatic stopped being made?" then the answer with all these years of hindsight would be that we would continue using our Spotmatics.

Eventually we would repair them, maybe replace them with mint examples, even now we could buy, with a little patience, replacement bodies and most lenses that were made.

If you want to be a Spotmatic user today, you still can be.

So, looking forwards, I don't really see it as a problem.

The Pentax and Samsung K mounts are the same.

Turn the small dial on the side of the pentaprosm housing to "MF" and the job's done.