Captivating stuff!
Thank you for sharing
Matt

Still on the lookout for a broken FA80-320...

I find the ISO controls incredibly helpful on Pentax dSLRs.

By default, the ISO can be adjusted through the menu system or with the dedicated ISO button. However, if you customize the e-dial settings then extra facilities are offered.

For example, my day-to-day mode is Av, and I have set the ISO to be controlled by the spare e-dial. Once setup that way, the ISO is also displayed in the viewfinder, and can be controlled easily.

Pressing the Green button switches to Auto-ISO within the range you have set.
Use the e-dial to force the ISO for a particular situation - the ISO will be underlined in the viewfinder.

It took a little while to learn to see aperture, shutter speed, and ISO all at once. But now it's second nature! Having the choice of ISO (the "Slow" or "Fast" from the OP) means I can let the camera deal with Auto-ISO in a sensible way. But, easily overiding ISO is a great feature!

Matt

No, not at all.

Just watch out that you have all your eggs in one basket (e.g. if you drop the box then both could be affected badly).

As mentioned above, putting in some dry silica gel bags will help (you can dry them out in a very cool oven), and something to cushion them if they fall.

Matt

CCD sensors do.

CMOS sensors don't use static charge.

As said before, a rocket-blower has worked perfectly well for me since the K20D Wet swab wipes over sensors was common on *ist-D CCD etc, but no longer!

Matt

Having seen a friend's Sony entry level dSLR, I rather like that new look.
The mode dial around the four-way dial looks nice, I don't mind the extra LEDs, and I think it looks rather smart

Not for me though, but I can see a market for it.

Matt

S100-140 case received in super quick time.

Thumbs up for LennyBloke

Pentax dSLR flash trigger circuits are more rugged than some other marques.
Yes, you do need to check the voltage on the flash - ideally it should be low (e.g. 5V or 12V), and not in the hundreds of volts

Quick Google: http://www.wireheadarts.com/blog/vivitar_285hv_guide/
Should help

Matt

PM sent!

Quick Google: http://www.pentax-manuals.com/manuals/service/servicemanuals.htm


Not the same as the FAs, alas.