Certainly not SRS specific - you can see from the graph here that the average price has gone up:

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/Pentax/Pentax-Digital-SLRs/Pentax-K-5-II-Body

And its the same story with the other k5 bundles. Possibly a move to make the step up to the k-3 price look less steep and so more attractive?

Pentax pricing always seems fairly erratic to me - last year we had the k-30 an absolute bargain in the run up to Christmas, only to then jump in price shortly after.

In short if you want to buy now, find a retailer that hasn't upped its price yet and act fast, otherwise get ready to wait it out.

To be fair Mike, isn't it true that the AF did get faster between all of those cameras and appears to be better still with the K-3?

For me, focus speed and functionality was 'good enough' with the K-5 (mk1) and that's what I continue to use.

The increased number of presumably smaller AF points with the K-3 seems to be a major attraction and an encouraging move given how long we have been stuck on 11 points. It hardly seems fair that we judge it because of a somewhat vague and difficult to compare 'tracking ability' which it may or may not be lacking, and which is something that could be improved with firmware upgrades over the lifecycle of the camera.

Anyhow, you can add me to the list of people that can't justify the K-3s expense, and I will be steering well clear of SRS so as to avoid the risk of temptation for the next few months!

I suppose it remains to be seen how well they implement it, but not impressed with the AF mode lever being replaced with a superfluous video/stills mode switch, and af Mode moving to a button on the front.

Who actually finds themselves needing to switch to video on such short notice? Seems like they're trying to copy what is on Nikon/Canon system rather than considering what actually makes sense from a usability point of view.

Metering system move also seems ill advised - how many people actually struggled with the button lock mode knob? And now spot mode exposure metering is that much harder to access when you need it...

Feature set looks amazing but from a usability standpoint rather disappointed with the changes.

F1.4 would be a bit special in a zoom - I think you mean F2.8!

Go on then, I'll have it. Hopefully my K-5's are unaffected!

Hi George

If the lens is in good working condition, with no damage and no obvious defects then it is safe to say that I would buy the lens - my history as a buyer and seller is clear to see here and I've never wasted anyone's time.

If you'd prefer to arrange payment in advance etc I'm afraid it's all getting a bit complicated and risky for me - I wish you good luck with the sale.

Thanks
Tim

Hi George
Hopefully you understand but I'd much rather do some kind of cash trade in person rather than payment in advance due to your being a new seller.

If you would be willing for your friend to act as a middleman and receive payment then that would also be fine with me.

Thanks
Tim

I live in London and could certainly be tempted - I imagine you'd want to meet up and do the trade in person?

Do you have any sample shots taken with the lens?

The £5 is a deposit, you can return the Oyster and get your deposit back when you leave.

Obviously this depends on you having a manned ticket office at the end of your trip, so it might be worth spending the extra few pennies to just get paper travelcards.

So just to be clear, is this a manual focus lens?