Many thanks for the books, Galoot, they arrived safe and sound and will be very useful.

I won't forget I owe you a pint!

Yes please, I'll PM you my address. I have an insatiable appetite for pentax Info, so I hope I'm first!

There are indeed such adapters - I've used them. T mount lenses are designed for use with them, so there won't be a back focus problem.

A T mount allows a T-Mount screw fit lens to be mounted on a variety of camera bodies. You just buy the mount for the camera you have. This screw fit is not 42 x 1mm. You would need a T mount to put one of these lenses on a Pentax M42 mount body.


An M42 adapter allows use of a Pentax/Praktica 42 x 1mm screw mount lens on a bayonet body.

You could try Jessops or Park Cameras, both reliable mail order or in their store(s).

Or try www.pricerunner.com to get some comparisons, if they list the item you want.

The 17-28mm Pentax lens for film cameras is a fisheye at the wide end in exactly the same way that the 10-17mm is for the digital bodies.

These lenses are of the same character, so to speak.

No personal experience, but I have read that the 135mm f2.3 is a superb performer.

I never said wanted to....only what if.....

However, I think even with only one lens I would want SLR viewing and SLR lens quality.

So suppose you could only have one lens, and I mean one fixed focal length lens, not a super-zoom! What would it be? And why?

My choice would have to be a 50mm f1.7 - with this lens you can shoot almost any subject and you can add all sorts of close up devices as well and still retain a good degree of quality. 50mm lenses can be happily abused in many ways and still deliver acceptable results. They can cover portraits, landscapes, reportage, you name it and it's at least useable.

How about everyone else?

It depends how big you are going to print and what compromises have been built into a lens with such a wide zoom range. You don't get something for nothing, and quality is what suffers.

You might also find a very restricted maximum aperture, especially at the telephoto end, which will mean a struggle to avoid camera shake in all but the brightest light.

However, it will mean you don't need to change lenses and from that point of view will be more convenient.