With regard to eBay, it's very easy to get carried away and not end up with quite the bargain you'd hoped for - it's all part of the auction experience but you really need to know where to draw the line!

The majority of my purchases have been perfectly satisfactory but I've cocked up a couple of times. I've just bought a used lens that I'm very happy with, it was still quite a lot of money but I figured it was a decent buy.......and then I was stung for nearly £18 customs charge, which more or less cancelled out the savings.

I've learned my lesson - be aware of import duty when purchasing goods from non-ec countries!

I was going to say the same, George!

I bought mine brand new (something like fifteen years ago) for £80 and I imagine the price was considerably higher than that a few years later.
I don't know if it's still in production but £20 sounds like a real bargain and as with most Pentax glass, it is very good indeed.

You can experiment by using a small (watchmaker's type) screwdriver to adjust the AF coupler in the adapter before mounting it onto the camera.

The suitable lenses are those with a maximum aperture of F2.8 or larger (if using an AF body) although you can get away with smaller apertures providing the subject is bright enough.

I assume you intend to use the adapter on your DS, if so then I can't really advise you because I've never used one but I suspect that your lenses may not be usable and you should be wary of any lens whose rear element projects significantly - could come into contact with the element in the converter.
As with all converters, the best lenses are fast prime's and moderate zooms.

As for functions, the adapter has lens information contacts thus allowing full auto operation with A series and later lenses but you'll have to set the aperture manually with M lenses.

Hope that helps, don't be afraid to experiment - you never know!

Hello Pip,

Optically there's no real difference between them - both are superb!
The 1.7 lens is slightly 'faster' and therefore more usable, particularly in low-light situations.
The A series lenses were developed for program cameras such the P50 and Super A, whereas the M series were the current models for the ME, MG and MV etc.

If I had to choose between the two, I'd keep the A lens and you'd be able to take advantage of the extra auto-aperture feature (A position on the aperture ring) should you upgrade to a program or AF camera body in the future.
For now, the A lens will behave exactly as if it were an M series 1:1.7 lens on your ME.

Yes, I'm afraid it's a shutter fault
https://www.pentaxuser.com/faq/pentaxerrorcodes.html

Apart from changing the battery and hoping that the camera somehow resets itself, I think you'll either have to have it serviced or look for a replacement - eBay perhaps!

OMG

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7504284665&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

made of money sp?

doh.........that was me btw

Quite right John, we're talking extreme close-up here so as smaller aperture as possible is a must.

There is less light hitting the film/sensors, so you need to increase the exposure by a) wider aperture, b) slower (longer) shutter speed, c) combination of a) and b) or d) by altering the sensitivity of the film or CCD.

Therefore, to shoot at the same speed you need a wide aperture and/or high ISO speed (or of course a brighter subject!).