+1

I've got a Pentax 18-250 and never fail to be impressed by it - it has better IQ than it has any right to have given the size and zoom range. As others have said, it's not very fast and a tiny bit soft at the long end and there is some barrel distortion at the wide end but it's always in my camera bag when I'm travelling. In my view, it's hard to beat as a combination of size, weight, focal length and IQ.

As others have said, it sounds like it has either been taken apart or the focus ring has slipped.

There are three screws that clamp the focus ring to the focus mechanism and it is possible that these are slightly loose. It is not too difficult to fix if you're comfortable wielding a screwdriver (and if it doesn't go well, replacement M50/1.7 lenses are comparatively readily available!)

To adjust the focus ring, you need to do the following:

- Set the focus ring to the infinity mark.
- Unscrew the name ring from around the edge of the front element (a suitable sized rubber sink plug or an M42 rear lens cap and some double sided adhesive work well)
- Loosen the three screws behind the name ring (don't remove them completely, they're a pain to get back in)
- Move the focus ring away a few degrees away from infinity.
- Tighten the three screws.
- Mount the lens on a camera and see if you can now focus to infinity.
- If you still can't get to infinity, repeat the above steps and try again.
- If you've gone too far and can now focus past infininty, focus to infinity, loosen the screws again and move the focus ring to the infinity stop before tightening the screws again.
- Replace the name ring.
- Hopefully you should now be able to focus to infinity...

Sorry to hear that, I've largely given up buying from eBay now, as an increasing number of my recent purchases have had similar, undisclosed issues and it ends up being more hassle than it's worth.

I think that, as others have suggested, if you paid a 'superb' price, then you should get a superb lens, I'd definitely try to get a refund and find a better copy of the lens.

However, on a more practical level, I really like my M85 and none of the issues with yours sound serious. I'm sure it will work fine as it is, but if you ever want/need to sell it, it would be much easier to sell a superb lens.

Do you mean the Meyer 100/2.8? If so, the optical block actually needs to move backwards in the mount to accommodate the difference in registration distance. I did this by removing the name ring around the front element using a rubber sink plug and:

I haven't plucked up the courage to have a go at a Canon 85/1.2 conversion yet. I've been temporarily waylaid by an FA77 and Pancolar 80/1.8... I have to say that in view of the amount of engineering likely to be needed to adapt an FD mount lens, I'd be tempted to get a Sony NEX mirrorless body or similar and an FD/FL adapter if I ever got into using old Canon glass.

That sounds like a T2 mount to me:

There's more info here

You can get a T2 to PK adapter that screws on your lens and has a K mount bayonet that fits straight on to your camera.

+1, even if it means waiting until you can find one in your price range. I paid just under £200 for mine on eBay nearly 2 years ago.

However, after several years of collecting lenses, I can vouch for the fact that the kit lens is really quite good and, particularly if your budget is tight, it's probably worth studying some samples from the 16-45/Tamron 17-50 to check that you will be happy with the improvements in IQ/functionality that you can expect.

It may be better, as others have suggested, to stick with your kit lens for a bit and save up for an ultrawide such as the Sigma 10-20, which will let you go really wide!

Good points of the Tamron:
- Excellent IQ
- A bit wider than the kit lens
- Still quite small and light
- Fast aperture (good for portraits/low light shooting)

Good points of the 16-45:
- Built better than the Tamron
- Slightly wider
- The deal you've been offered isn't a bad one and will save you trawling eBay.

Good points of the kit lens:
- You already have one
- It's pretty good, particularly in version 2 form (which I suspect yours is, if it was bundled with your K-x)

PM sent

I think that they're fair game. I like to do my bit to make scams like these less successful.

One such outfit phoned my wife and she had the presence of mind to get a number for me to call them back later.

I called them back (on a local rate UK number), feigned ignorance, followed the instructions to the letter and listened to the guy the other end getting quite irate when I repeatedly held down the Windows key + R and nothing happened.

It turns out that they aren't yet set up to scam Linux users (or Mac users, or Windows 3.1 users, as I found out on later calls). After trying a range of different approaches, including seeing if their instructions worked on my mobile phone and various household appliances including the dishwasher (the Windows button? I don't thin I've got one of those) before eventually graduating to inanimate objects including a length of 4x2, they haven't phoned me back.

There's a useful review section on the 'other forum' here.

It looks OK, but not as good as the constant aperture SMC-A zooms.

Sorry I didn't come to this thread earlier today - I've got the EBC version and did a similar thing to that to shim the pin that actuates the diaphragm (I couldn't find a simpler way to do it, if that's any consolation!)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. I really like mine, it gives the Takumar 55/1.8 a run for its money. It's razor sharp although the colours are slightly cooler than Pentax lenses, but the bokeh is smoother.