As I understand it there was a failure in some early motors and subsequent ones were upgraded. Online "surveys" are meaningless as only those interested take part and that ignores the vast unconcerned majority.

We haven't heard of any SDM problem for a very, very long time, have we?

I'm not sure how many years ago now the 16-50mm lens was introduced, but the problems occurred with an early batch, if not the first batch.

It's all a very long time ago and I'd buy a current lens with confidence.

I use a bit of common sense when shooting in the rain, so, for example, if the lens barrel is fully extended and soaked with water I give it a quick wipe to remove most of that before pulling the barrel back again. In this way, I expect to be lessening the load on the system and helping to keep things dry inside.

I think that reading the instructions helps and this is what they say for WR lenses such as the 18-135mm: "These lenses are made with a simplified weather-resistant construction by using DA* lens sealing technology which makes it difficult for water to enter the lens."

Difficult, not impossible, so we just need to be sensible.

You could keep an eye open for the Tokina 80-400mm. It's fairly rare in Pentax fit, but they can be found.

It's compact, quite heavy but not at all bad. Try to get the Mk II version if possible as it performs better.

Thanks Axel. There's indeed a lot to like about the K20D.

You wouldn't see a spot on the lens, so it will undoubtably be a speck of dust on the sensor.

Try the dust removal system several times and if that doesn't clear it try a rocket blower. Make sure to use the rocket blower a few times first to avoid any dust being shot all over the sensor.

If that still is no good then contact cleaning with a swab kit may be needed. But hopefully not.

So which was the camera you used for all your recent shots? I ask because you've been mentioning the K20D a lot, or was that just because you had a "soft spot" for it?

A bit of rain in the North West, but not much. It's just been enough to freshen everything up.

Did you never have a K-5 Axel?

You've got an impressive set of images!