Out-dated film should generally be rated at a lower ISO. How much lower depends on how far past the date it is and how it's been stored. B&W usually expires much later than colour, so it makes sense that it should age better.

The 35 limited is the best normal prime I've used, certainly a significant step up in use and in IQ from the 35/2.4. I hear great things about the 40mm too, and it might suit you better as it's much smaller. If you can afford a ltd then get one, they will serve you well and are much more fun to use than other AF lenses.

Regarding the 135mm, make sure you have the camera in M mode and stop the lens down a little for good results.

It's a horrible, horrible colour.

And it still has a 28mm-equivalent lens.

I was in Lanzarote a year ago and checked many, many electronics shops for camera gear and didn't find anything I considered good value. There were quite a few old film cameras but they were over-priced.

Aside from photography gear, I also hoard (and use) minidisc gear. There was plenty of old MD gear available too, and not the newer models, we're talking late 90s. In short, the electronics shops are a real blast from the past and I wouldn't buy anything I thought likely to need repair under guarantee.

The only thing I did find was a couple of rolls of the now-discontinued Fujicolor 100 in 35mm. It's nice stuff, I still have one roll in the fridge, and I wish I could get more. However, at €4 for a roll of 24 exposures, it wasn't cheap.

When it was still widely available new everyone on the forums complained that this lens lacked a special something, had bad bokeh and wasn't that good.

Now it's hard to find and everybody wants one...

I have the older "M" version and it's very nice, though wide open it's not the best.

I've looked into it but decided that it's really not worth it. The only films available are Ilford and Kodak B&W, and maybe some movie films that can be spooled to 35mm canisters using a bulk loader. I don't use nearly enough to make it worth my time and effort. Once you factor in the cost (and difficulty) in getting empty canisters and maybe DX labels (some cameras require them), unless you're shooting huge amounts it's just not worth it.

Those that do use them certainly have preferencies on which brand/type. There was a recent discussion in the I Shoot Film group on Flickr, that would be a good place to start.

A few places still list them as available new but I'm not certain they really have them in stock. The prices are always high though. Second hand, I think you'd be looking at 250+.

Wow, great gear for great prices. The KX is one of my favourite cameras and the M 28/3.5 is no slouch, you'll be hard pressed to find a sharper lens wide open.

Could you post some pictures of the SPII and advise if the light seals and mirror buffer are in good condition (not just working, but the condition)?

The last time I travelled far (New York in the spring) I was very, very close to getting a 50-200WR, not because it's WR, but because it's much smaller and lighter than my 55-300. The 55-300 takes up too much space and weighs too much for travelling now and stays at home. I took the M 135/3.5 instead for lonnger shots and was fairly happy with that, plus I used it on the film SLRs I took too.