Something I always forget is that M lenses will work in Av mode at their max. aperture. So if you buy a lens to use wide open, for minimal DOF effects or low light work, life is a lot easier!

I remember reading something Justin Serpico wrote about his K-7 metering much better with M lenses, he reckoned it was the new focussing screen.

Even if it broke you've only lost £130.

K-7 owners may have seen their cameras reduce in value by £500-600 since they bought them last year. Still feel dumb?

Could be dust which you can't quite see. That doesn't look problematic to me, the spots are tiny and not patterned. Looking at thread on the other forum, Falk Lumo checked his K-7 and found a couple of suspect marks apparently under the AA filter - he had presumably not noticed them until this issue became prominent with K-5s.

You have to make a disinction between the occasional spot which might inevitably appear as part of the manufacturing process, and which will not affect images in any meaningful way, and the patterns and clusters of spots K-5 owners are seeing.

(Whoosh!)

I'll just turn up the 'brightness' knob on my monitor at home!

Dunno about that Algernon. I bought my K200D 2nd hand for £280, still working perfectly when I sold it for £90 less almost 2 years later. I'm sure it'll go on for another 2 years at least, judging by the istD's still in circulation.

That said, I went for a new K-7. As a higher cost camera, I felt there was more at stake. I was also influenced by K20 owners being given K-7s as replacements under warranty - in the unlikely event of my K-7 going kaput, I can look forward to a K-5 (or K-3!)

I thought of the same joke yesterday, but thought it would be thoroughly insensitive right now!

Hmm on this (Mac) screen both images seem a lot lighter

To be honest I don't find the green-button metering of M-lenses that unreliable. My 135mm and 50mm seem spot on on my K-7. The most unreliable part is me - forgetting to press the green button when I move from one lighting situation to another!

He says it's the DAL 18-55mm, in the title.