I agree entirely that it would not be to Pentax's advantage to produce a new mirrorless system just to keep up with the Joneses. The only possibility I can imagine for Pentax in the FF mirrorless world would be to produce unique optics for the L mount, something along the lines of the FA Limiteds: top-of-the-line but without being massive and super-fast.

Having said that, while I'd like to move to FF mirrorless in principle, there is no system currently that meets what I'd want from such a system. Pentax could provide that, but it'd be a niche even smaller than the one they have now, and for people who want what Pentax offers in a smaller, lighter, mirrorless system there is already a system that fits very well: Fujifilm. They're doing very well and I can't see Pentax pulling customers from them.

Hopefully this commitment to DSLRs will result in even better cameras and I have high hopes for the new flagship APS-C model. I think when the K-1 came out Pentax gave up on producing a flagship APS-C and settled on something lower-specified (KP) but changed their minds when people weren't entirely happy with having to choose between the KP and the K-1 II. That's why it's taken so long to develop, because they started late.

Of the three candidates, the HD Limited 35/2.8 is the best of the bunch, with excellent build quality and superb image quality. The others are a bit faster and are just as sharp stopped down a little but they lack the metal build quality and that extra bit of image quality that the Limited has.

Many film-era lenses are extremely good, as good as, or better, than many modern lenses. They can also be more enjoyable (or more frustrating) to use, especially if they're all-manual and may provide a different look to images.

I hesitate to post this as I really don't want to offend anyone, but I wasn't commenting on the equipment used to capture the images but rather the quality of the final image, and I don't mean the resolution and dynamic range. Tastes vary of course, but I'm aware that within the UK this is probably the most obvious face of the brand and it should represent the best that the brand can produce.

To mix my metaphors, I'm treading lightly here while trying not to beat around the bush.

I don't know if this is the right place for this and I hope I don't offend anyone, but I'd like to know how the photo of the week is chosen? Is it one person's choice? A panel of members? Some statistical calculation based on views or something?

It's just gotten to the point where I have to question where it comes from.

It sounds to me like, at best, the lenses are not communicating properly with the camera, but with so many functions affected it's likely a connection from the mount to the rest of the electronics. However, due to the breadth of the problems, I think it's more likely a failure of the electronics in general, which is unlikely to be economical to repair.

I ordered ten rolls of 120 format Fuji 400H which was at a very good price (ie. what would have been the normal price four years ago) on Amazon Spain. They don't expect to have the stock for another month but I'm in no hurry, I have plenty more 120 to get through, almost all of it expired.

I was thinking about taking a wander down the road tonight to have a look. It's not fully night until after 10 here so I prefer not to do it on a school night.

It's impossible to say how many have failed. People who have experienced the problem tend to make a lot of noise, understandably, while for those whose cameras simply work just get on with using them and many won't go anywhere near an internet photography forum to report their experience.

Pentax could give a minimum number, but not all cases would be reported. All we know, aperture block and SDM, is that the volume of anecdotal evidence indicates that there is a definite problem with the design of the camera or components.

A bigger OVF on an APS-C DSLR is a big thing. The main selling point of a DSLR over a mirrorless camera is it's optical viewfinder, but many suffer from being small and dim, especially APS-C. I think it could be a great way for Pentax to stand out from the other remaining DSLR manufacturers.

Other than that I don't expect too many major changes. A sensor upgrade is definitely due and will probably be to the 26MP one that's around, which I understand should give better high ISO results if not much else. The usual non-specific AF upgrades will be there.

Can you add a link? I found this but there's nothing for sale: https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/ffordes_photo_ltd