Definitely the build quality of the Taks and K and M lenses beat what is available today. Also not forgetting the FA Limiteds. If only Pentax would fix the crippled the mount, these would be very handy lenses indeed. Until then I suggest trying them on an Olympus PEN body, stabilised and with auto-exposure. Fun!

MTF curves tell a lot, plus there are other metrics. Then problem is that Pentax does not provide these and no-one out there (as far as I know) has consistently made independent measurements.

It seems to me these older lenses, like some Leica glass I've looked at, have significantly lower microcontrast than contemporary lenses. This smooths out fine detail, an effect that especially suits portraiture (and vegetation).

Others may have a different opinion. In any case, nice shots!

I don't need to do anything to prove to myself what is blindingly obvious to me and every other user of MFT. The camera meters, accurately. And this is true whether statements are made on Pentax sites or anywhere else. Facts are like that.

You imply, however, that either I am lying deliberately or in possession of false data. If you wish, I will test it for you, at my usual rate. Work for you for free? No.

I must disagree with those who dismiss this as an unnecessary frill, for the simple reason that the lack of this simple feature helps make Pentax uncompetitive in today's camera world. There are an awful lot of photo aficionados out there, young as well as old, who love fooling around with old lenses and finding bargains hidden in the haystack that is the internet -- or at their local second-hand shop. Now more than ever, people are into "retro".

My Olympus PEN meters with any lens I put on it, respecting the aperture ring. It also meters accurately. My Pentax meters only when I press the green button, and this is notoriously inaccurate. My k-mount lenses are a pleasure to use... on the MFT format camera.

This is stupid.

I have had no problem getting decent shots with that lens even wide open. Have fun!

I have a Metz which is feature rich. But I have noted their cheap build quality. And no support, as your unfortunate experience makes clear.

We need a water-sealed flash with tilt & swivel plus accurate metering. I wonder will Pentax ever provide?

I do not consider those first lenses particularly fast. A lens f/2 or greater will allow you greater control over depth of field, but of course it depends on focal length and distance to subject. So you need to figure out which parameters you want to fix, and which you are happy to vary; otherwise no sane comparison can be made.

Certain lenses have particular aberrations that some shooters like. These lenses are deliberately used to "paint" the frame with "swirly bokeh" or some other effect.

Lenses not only render the in-focus and out-of-focus regions differently, but also render the changes between these regions in distinctive ways. The FA Limiteds spring to mind as examples.

Of course there are enormous differences in acuity from different lenses.

There are literally thousands of comparisons on the internet thingy that demonstrate these three factors... among others. (Even I have some on my blog). All lenses are certainly not made equal, even at the same focal length and aperture. But the only way to approach the problem is to first specify the goal you are trying to attain.

P.S. The DA 12-24mm is a fine lens that should suit this application well.

The acceptable amount of noise varies a great deal depending on the type of shot you are doing and the exposure. One quick rule of thumb: if you nail the exposure you can use a higher ISO so long as you don't have big expanses of solid colour that will highlight the noise.

I am happy going to ISO 800 on the K20D without using PP noise reduction. Beyond that I use Noise Ninja, but many other packages now do a good job.

My experience with the K-5 is that you get an extra two stops for your money.

But like I say it is all contingent on the type of shooting.

The IIs is definitely the one to get. I have long called for a small sensor camera with no AA filter, given that the 645D and similar don't have them to begin with. It took Nikon to do it, but at least Pentax are copying the right thing!