Use an external mic if you have the facility. The internal one on my KX has a habit of picking up the sound of the autofocus motor on the lens.
My new K3 arrives on Tues (YAY!) so will be able to put a mic in that one if it has the same issue.

I know someone who has one of these on his Nikon and it makes a huge difference.

I bought one of these.

Heavy tripod, comes with a ball head which is fantastic and legs splay right out for getting low.. Great value at less than £60

I am massively lazy when it comes to batteries, I always buy Energizer Lithium's. It's probably the most expensive way of doing it but they last absolutely ages.
My first Pentax camera was the KX that took 4 AA's. I tried loads of different batteries but Energizer Lithium's blew everything away. Keep an eye out on ebay, buy in bulk and always make sure you get them for less than £1 each.
The last lot I bought cost £28 for 40.

I use on of these and absolutely love it.

Yep hot shoe broken -going to restart this thread in the troubleshooting section..

I have a voltage meter. Do I just touch the metal plate and the centre termilnal and take a photo?

Hi

I have a YN560-II which worked really well with my KX.

I then bought the off camera cord
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220934510740?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1...

When connected, the flash woked once then stopped. It works fine in slave mode or when you press the flash test button, but does no longer works when connected to the hot shoe; either directly or via the cord.

My question is how do I tell if it's the flash, the cameras hotshoe, or the cord at fault. I only have one camera, flash and cord so nothing to compare??

The flash and cord are both reletively new and can be returned if faulty.

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks Archie

They were very helpful, the part should arrive in two weeks... Perfect

Does anyone know where I can buy a new Bayonet ring assembly for a Pentax DAL 55-300.

Do pentax have a UK parts department or number you order from?