One of the first things you'll need to learn is how to upgrade the firmware. Your camera will almost certainly have shipped with V1.00, V1.01 awaits.

If you want to produce the best possible images, the answer has to be yes.

If you want an easy home life however, lesser lenses can do an admirable job.

Personally, I doubt it. The DA* lenses also have an APS-C sized image circle so vignetting will occur on film bodies. The FA version can be used on FSLR & DSLR with no such problem.

Your lens is repairable. All you need is a few small tools, good light, a steady hand, good eyesight, plenty of time, and even more patience . . . but it can be done.

I fixed mine and it took only 3 days. 2.99 of those days was spent looking for the b***ard spring that popped out during disassembly.

When an A series lens (or newer) is attached to a Pentax DSLR, it never needs to be moved from it's A setting anyway. You simply set the aperture from the rear e-dial on the camera.

The majority of Pentax 50mm lenses are not macro lenses per se. But they do perform well as macro lenses when used with extension tubes, bellows, or a reversing adapter.

There are Pentax 50mm macro lenses however, but they tend to be no faster than 1:2.8.

The 1.7 is a very good performer but I prefer my SMCP-FA 50mm 1:1.4 for it's bokeh rendering.

Karlh, it's only January 1st, not April. It doesn't matter what mode the camera is set to if the flash is retracted, it will not fire.

Put very simply, if you don't want to use the onboard flash, make sure it's down.

The K10/20D bodies do not support TTL flash modes. You'll be able to use your flash's A and M modes though.

The NP-400 alternative was discovered some time ago, shortly after the K10D was released.

It remains to be seen whether or not the alternative batteries have a longer overall life than the Pentax badged ones.

The 18mm must be huge, it comes with its own "Lens shed".

There is actually a valid argument for 'exposing to the right' and that is to preserve as much shadow detail as is possible without blowing out whites/highlights. Exposure can always be reduced in post-processing to make the image look more like what was originally required.