Thanks Matt.

Just goes to show that I hadn't tried every combination

Barry I have tried all sorts of combinations with my K5iis to achieve what you suggest and it isn't possible as far as I can see. So, if you're missing something, then so am I.

For bracketed shots I tend to allow 2 seconds between each one. Normally you would only bracket a still item anyway (or at least I do) so it shouldn't be much of a problem.

If 'rapid firing' is required then you just have to suffer the potentail of mirror movement

Oh no! Please don't tell me that I have to get that repaired as well

I doubt the insurance will cover that!

Just checked and the house insurance covers both the camera and lens and they have approved me sending it to Johnsons for an estimate.

Although the 12-24 seems to be undamaged they have agreed to get it checked in case there is something wrong internally.

I just wonder what I will do for the next couple of weeks without my camera fix?

John, you're absolutely right. Unfortunately the broken camera was meant to be my backup and a nice shiney K3 was to be my main camera.

I just haven't quite got the funds yet

Well, it's not good news.

I took it to ACS yesterday and it needs a new mirror box and mount. The threads are stripped and the mount is buckled.

Unfortunately they do not have the equipment to set up a pentax mirror box. Canon or Nikon would not be a problem but they don't see many pentaxs. There are 2 ways of looking at that; either there aren't many pentaxs out there or there are loads around but they don't break!

Anyhow, I shall now contact Johnsons and get it sent off to them. As I have to send it away I might as well send it to the Ricoh recommended repairer. It may cost a bit more but at least I know the warranty for the repair will be good and the remainder of the 2 years should not be affected.

I shall also contact my home insurance, which has a £50 excess, and see what they say.

In the meantime some flash gels, diffusers and deflectors I ordered have just arrived in the post and, because I can't play with them, I'm feeling pretty down

Gary, just as a matter of interest, have you worked out what the focal length equivalent would be for your cropped shot?

Thanks for the idea. I found the "9 o'clock" and "6 o'clock" screws were loose and the metal ring had sprung away at the bottom.

I slackened the others and gently tightened them all equally. This straightened up the metal ring but the terminals were still not protruding through. Also the "9 o'clock" screw wouldn't tighten, which meant that the thread must be stripped.

Obviously, when it hit the floor, the lens must have 'levered' the mounting plate away from the body.

So I will definitely head off to the repair shop in the next few days.

I really hope not. There's nothing else visible so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

John and Stuart. Thanks for the suggestions but I have now done some further research and am feeling comfortable with ACS. So I will knock off a bit early tomorrow and take the 1 hour drive to leave my baby in their capable hands.

Thanks Ken.
It turns out that Wex only do warranty repairs so I will try dpm's idea with the mount. If that doesn't work then I shall take a drive over to Watton in Norfolk and see what ACS are like. They don't charge for estimates and will inspect the camera and lens and get back to me within a couple of days.
They mainly deal with CanNikon (surprise, surprise) and will have to get a list of spares and prices from Pentax which may add a bit of a delay.
The other option is to post it off to Johnsons Photopia.
Any advice on other repair centres would be appreciated.