A fast prime is well worth having, not just for better IQ, though you should see a difference in edge sharpness and distortion, but because it gives more opportunity for getting the shot you want. Pictures in low light without ramping up the ISO excessively, shallow DOF shots that you cannot get at f4, or when you need the fastest possible shutter speed.

It looks to be very similar to an Olympus XZ-2 without the hotshoe. Which is no bad thing as the Olympus has a lot going for it and the Pentax is £80 cheaper. I wonder how often the hotshoes on compacts get used. You have to get a very compact flash unit to avoid the camera feeling unbalanced and these usually cost well over £100. The kit is then no longer pocketable, which takes away one of the main reasons for having a compact. I have a Canon G12 with the appropriate Canon speedlight but the combination does not get used very often. I do not use the G12 viewfinder much either - mainly because it is not much cop.

Set against the G12 this Pentax has a faster lens and is more compact.

Indoors or out the focussing on this lens can be a pig, usually at the long end. Which is a great shame, as when it does lock on the results are very good indeed. Because of this I generally end up using a Sigma 17-70 if I want this range even though the IQ is not as good. The only suggestion I can make is to clean the contacts frequently - it does seem to help.

The only times I have wished for a larger sensor was when I was taking shots of large groups...of over 100 people on a couple of occasions. The first thing the girls tend to do when they view the image on the screen is to zoom in on themselves to check if their eyebrows and lashes look good - we are talking enormous magnification here! Maybe MF would be the solution under such circumstances

All good but no.13 is my favourite. The combination of a strict military pose with 'come dancing' legs makes for a memorable image.

My 'best buy' would have to be the Mk 2 18-55 kit lens. When I bought my K5 the difference in the cashback offer between 'with lens' and 'body only' meant that I got the kit lens for FREE I'd not been impressed with the Mk 1 kit lens but the Mk 2 seems pretty decent. I use it with my old K10d body for potentially risky locations. The combination gives good results yet has very little value should I lose or damage it.

Ffordes are always worth a look for used Gitzo. I've been happy with the couple I have bought from them but I do not want to sell, I'm afraid. You don't specify what series or height you are looking for but they do have this series 3 listed
http://www.ffordes.com/product/11121612484481

I had never previously felt the need but the previous threads on AF adjustment prompted me to give it a go. So last week I tested my DA 21mm using 3 of the recommended methods and taking a degree of care - mirror up, remote release etc. Try as I might I could see no discernable difference between the results even at the extremes +10, -10 however much I enlarged the image. Perhaps the adjustments are more noticeable on tele lenses?

Well it seems about half my lenses are FF compatable:

FA 31
FA 43
FA 50
DA 70 (maybe?)
DFA 100 macro
M 50
A 35-105
Sigma 24-70
Sigma 150-500
Samyang 8
Samyang 85

-so if I buy a Sigma or Tamron 70-200 I would have pretty much all I would need. Just a matter of waiting to see how affordable (or not) the FF body is.

http://harrowtechnical.co.uk/

Looks worth a try