Kodak Ektar 100 is lovely stuff with quite punchy saturated colours which aren't always to taste. It is, however, a bit fussy about good development and cheapo drug store type labs tend to mess the colours up. As a result, I use a "pro" lab which is pricey, but I get good consistent results. If you look at my Flickr photostream you'll find lots of images shot on Ektar, as well as a few other types of colour film. If you are photographing people Kodak Portra is a better choice as it renders skin tones nicely.

If you are just beginning I'd use one of the "consumer" films like Gold and use a cheapo lab until you're sure the camera is working fine (the gritty ASA dial is a worry as the electronics under it are known to fail) and you are happy you can get the exposure right.

The ME Super has centre weighted metering with a bias to the lower half of the image. I found when using slide film (very unforgiving of exposure errors) that if bright sky were included in the image it tended to under-expose. I often used to meter off some grass or such like and set the exposure in manual. For print film, a touch of under-exposure is not so bad and can help with the saturation of the skies.

Best wishes, Kris.

As John says, they should last quite a while (in the region of 50-60 films I believe). Some models, mainly the MX I think, do develop a battery drain problem which is a simple fix.

K.

As John says, it is most likely a problem with the contacts around the ISO dial, a known weak point with older M series cameras.

If you have had it serviced recently it should come with a warranty (probably six months) and it is probably worth returning to get sorted.

Intermittent faults such as this are hard/impossible to detect and it may be simply that it was working fine when it was serviced.

K.

Have fun, the ME Super is a lovely camera.

BTW, £200 for the KX is way, way over priced. It is a great camera, built like a tank and many nice features but not in that price bracket.

K.

Could you try the same sort of test on an infinity view? The difference between the M100 and the DAL18-135 seems extreme even allowing for inaccurate focal length marks on the zoom. My best guess is, as Algi says, that the reported focal length is when the lens is set to infinity and thus the differences in angle of view is related to how the lens focuses.

Thanks, Kris.

"Must have upgrades" are a marketing gimmick. Does the K-5 (or anything else for that matter photographic or non-photographic) do something useful that would really help you (rather than something which sounds fun but you'll hardly ever need)? If the answer is yes, then get one. If no, then don't. You've already said you don't need the high ISO or the improved video capability.

I still use a K20D. Since being in the US I have shot about 30 frames on it, but about three rolls of film on my ES/ESII combo!

K.

If it doesn't have an A setting on the aperture ring (a) you have to set "allow use of aperture ring" in one of the menus (b) use it in manual mode and (c) you won't see the f/stop on the screen etc. because the camera body has no way of knowing what f/stop you have set.

Cheers, Kris.

One of the rarer Pentaxes and looks in super condition. Have fun with it.

I think you'll find that getting original 46mm lens caps about as easy as finding rocking horse poo.

Best, Kris.

I almost never push my K20D beyond 400. After that the noise is just too horrible for my taste. If I need anything faster I load some Fuji Neopan 1600 into my LX!

One day I'll get a K-5, but probably when everyone else is using whatever comes next.

K.

My first ever lens from 1982! Well worth the fiver you paid. In fact, out of sentiment, I paid considerably more than that to have mine serviced. It had beer poured over it in about 1986 and was never quite the same since.

Enjoy. It's a good lens, especially stopped down a little.

K.