Ok, I am aware that the *ist D is able to use the manual lenses with a metering mode (green button). Is the normal Film *ist not able to do the same?

Dont eat cake when handeling equipment.

But seriously, you should always carry a spare to a Major function like a Wedding and also why not get it serviced, After all it will pay for itself when you consider that you could get a bad reputation because of your equipment.

If you feel up to it then why not take it apart yourself and give the buttin a good hard clean. (I WOULDENT IF YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING).

Good Luck.

Does the camera have a data back?...........if not then ignore that bit. the data back is a device which replaces your currant back of the camera and will ad a date to the picture. the date can usually be seen in the bottom right hand corner of the picture. As for the panorama function. the camera should have a panorama switch which takes pictures in panorama format. what that means is that the camera puts up two pieces of metal between the film and the lens and therefore blocks the top and bottom parts of the picture. looks nice but does make the picture smaller. usually there are some guides in the view screen where the panorama function will crop the picture.
hope that was of help

John......... I just remembered i have a convertor that i bought off ebay by accident thinking that it was a k mount.............. its in good condition and the optic is clear.

price would be £6 including postage. ............... email me at [email protected] if you are interested. a cheap way of trying it out. the 105mm lens with f2.8 does sound great though.

I would highly recomend looking into the fuji line of Neopan films. they come in 100/400 and 1600 flavours................ I havent used the 400 but i was extreamly pleased with the lack of grain in the 1600 film...... i thought....... if this film is this good..... i wonder how much better the 400 will be. also therefore the 100 should be even better.
The whole range of films produce very nice and dark shadows which i like in moody portraits and on overcast days. just a suggestion really.

Try A National Geographic guide to photography. there is some invaluable advice on taking good pictures. Also go into charity shops and second hand book shops . there are always good photo books in there at great prices and although they might6 not be new, the fundamentals of photography will usually be in there. Also dont just depent on one book. read a few and back up what you have learned.

what kind of lenses aned what kind of circular polirizer?

Also the MZ 7 is good as well as the mz 5/mz 5n. Older models such as the z-20 are good. But i think that the MZ-6 is most definatley a good buy.....the price could be a bit lower but then again it will probably get a short turm warranty and also you get to test the product before you buy. Also now you are able to use older and cheaper pentax lenses. You can really dig up some great lenses that are perfectly capable at the fraction of the price of the AF equivalent. you won't have to cry any more because of the crippled mount of the MZ-60.............. I own an MZ-50 which is also cripple mounted and have found a new world in my PZ-1p (Great Camera) with out the crippled mount.

I think you may have answered your own question with the voltage issue. the camera is not made to excede its voltage (normally) When the camera was birthed in 1995 (or there abouts) it was not made with rechargable batteries in mind, especially ones with a 2+volts over the normal one.
I am guessing that when the camera is charging its flash that it´s internal channals, wires and workings are not made for the same kind of voltage you are providing. I have experience with overclocking CPU´s on computers and have blown one up because i was foolish enough to increase the voltage so much without proper cooling. Having a higher voltage running through the circitry of anything can cause the electricity to occasionaly jump gap here and there and not go where it is supposed to. when the internal flash pops up it will begin charging at the highest rate of knots the camera can. As is the same with the after exposure lockup. depending on how many operations the camera is performing at the time of exposure (including the fast jolt of electricity it is using to move the shutter and then imediately pull the roll of film along) then you can get an overload with this fashion aswell.
One thing to concider is that you could be damaging the Camera body with these batteries. any electricial will tell you that less juice is better for a longer life for anything electrical (e,g computer prossessors and graphical processors which so often burn out due to being overclocked and having higher than specified voltage running through their vains).

I would suggest that you stick with the normal lithiam batteries which you can get from www.7dayshop.com for very little.

depends on the bucks they want for it. I am assuming that you can use exposure compensation with the lens........i.e. 1stop less light=perfect exposure. take your camera and try it out at the shop there..............