I've just noticed that Pentax have announced this new fast prime lens as well.

It is described as having a particularly circular aperture for superior bokeh.

I've sorted the title for you.

Good wide angles don'y come cheap, so the most versatile high quality lens may well be the SMC Pentax-DA 12-24mm f4.

There are also some primes, but they aren't cheap either.

Generally I prefer handheld as it gives complete freedom of viewpoint. At the other extreme macro and still life shots I use a tripod.

I've never got on too well with monopods, they stop up/down movement but waver all over the place unless firmly wedged in some way.

What I have very occasionally found useful is the Trailwise photo Shoot, which is a walking pole with a 1/4" tripod screw in the head. When firmly jammed up against a wall or tree or similar support it can be fairly effective.

In these days of SR though when out and about I do find it's mainly possible to travel light.

According to the Screw Mount Guide the 85mm f1.9 had 5/4 construction, but the improved 85mm f1.8 had 6/6. I would expect the K mount version to be the same as this last SMC Takumar. The next change would be the M series lens, which became an 85mm f2.

I'm pretty sure that ISO200 is the "Native" ISO of the K-5, along with most if not all of the others. However, with different sensors there could be exceptions, so that's not a definitive answer.

The K-5 is so good at controlling noise that I wouldn't worry too much. You could always check with the JPS technical people to see what they say. They are the official Pentax repair house and you'll find their contact details by downloading the forum for repairs. Being a PU PLus members you're entitled to 20% discount on servicing, so the form can be downloaded from this site. Shop>Exclusive Discounts.

I think the only way to be sure you are getting what you need is to try it out. Shoot an image with a high dynamic range at all the ISO values that you are likely to use and see what the end result is.

That test will tell you what benefit you will gain by shooting at various ISO values.

It depends what you mean by better, because sometimes the lower ISO levels are reached via electronic wizardry and the camera sensor may still be shooting at ISO200, the "native" level.

Also, low ISO may in theory offer low noise, but that won't help if we end up with camera shake because the shutter speed is too low. For this reason I mainly shoot at ISO200 or ISO400 and the K-5 has no problem with that.

Any of the Pentax DSLRs will do just fine, but the K-r is very good value at the moment if you can still find an offer around.

The K-5 is the upper level offering and that too is great value, but it depends where you want to start.

At the lower cost end, second hand K20Ds or K7s could be the answer.

Off topic comments removed.

Good idea Bernard, we'll try that next time.