Amazon have the K10D body in stock at £589.59 with free delivery to a UK address. The price is already starting to fall . . .

I would go for the FA 80-320mm as I have had some excellent results with mine. I think you would be disappointed, as I was, with the build quality of the cheaper FAJ 75-300mm.

Even if you did get the FA 80-320mm, don't get rid of your excellent 300mm unless you can replace it with an SMCP-A version.

I have no knowledge of the 100-300mm.

It is however possible to achieve this 'look' with the AF140C because you can choose which of the 2 pairs of flash tubes to use.

There is a switch on the back of the ringflash to choose left, right, or both pairs of tubes. If one chooses to use only the left pair, shadows appear on the right of the subject. Ditto the other way round.

That device looks suspiciously like a rebadged Vivitar 6000AF.

There were a couple on ebay in recent months but when I enquired of the seller as to their completeness . . . they weren't. All he had was 2 X flash ring + 2 X flash module.

The box is not really important, but the lens adapter rings are very important, and he didn't have them. Three rings for fitting to different filter thread sizes are included with the AF140C ring flash. Without them, or at least one of them, you can't fit the flash ring to the camera because it clips/locates onto a groove on the outside of the adapter.

If you can find an AF140C in reasonable condition, its well worth it in my opinion. I don't know that I would pay the £350 for it though. The Vivitar 6000AF is a useful alternative but not as powerful as the AF140C which also includes modelling lamps and the ability to fire either or both pair(s) of flash tubes to get some 'spacial' impression rather than the flat look from your images.

Personally, I like the flat look.

Don't worry, he'll come round with a drop of Bowmore . . .

That may well be the case if they have only one lens as it's never removed from the body.

So I have a suggestion:- Buy a K10D body for each lens in your collection, then you'll not get dust.

IMHO cameras are not so much designed, but more evolved, and I for one happen to like the 'black plastic blob'.

Consider the main criteria for a human to be able to use a camera for a moment.

1: It needs an interface to the human eye. Adequately provided by the universal viewfinder and its accompanying dioptre adjusters, etc.
2: It needs (mostly) to be comfortable when hand held. The 'blob' is most definitely comfortable, especially with a grip.
3: The user needs to have immediate access to the main controls that determine the captured image, a) shutter speed, b)aperture, c) ISO setting, d) focus, e) zoom (if equipped), f) shutter release, and all this without having to take one's eye away from the viewfinder. All other controls are a convenience rather than a necessity.
4: It needs to be easily transportable. A modern SLR/DSLR satisfifes this and the preceding criteria.

Other criteria to be included would be operating temperature range, power source etc. etc.

Viewfinder, perhaps you would share your insight as to exactly how you would redesign a modern SLR/DSLR camera to improve its execution of the above criteria. And I mean you, not what you have read about Canons efforts.

If it's interchangeable bits 'n bobs you're after, don't buy a 35mm/APS-C SLR/DSLR, instead, spend lots more money on a hasselblad or similar system.

The modern (anything made in the last 30 years) 35mm SLR camera and it's APS-C digital succesors fulfils my photographic needs 100%, as I suspect it does for 99.999999999% of the rest of the worlds camera wielding population. Why are you less than impressed with it's evolution?

When fitted to my *istD my Bellows-A needs a short spacing extension tube to prevent the camera body fouling the bellows assembly.

This additional spacer is not required with the K10D. Well done Pentax, another problem fixed. Now if we could just have TTL flash control back I could use my ring flash with it.

The bundled software has Silkypix technologies built into it. From the users point of view it is as different to SP Developer Studio 3 as chalk is to cheese. They are not remotely similar.