Thanks for the suggestions. I did check SRS (usually my first choice) but they have now sold the last of theirs.

Very true George... but I might be able to sell the 35 and buy the Limited in a year or so when I hope to have a decent job. The rational side of my brain wins for now and the irrational side can continue to dream

Thanks for the reply George. I do tend to check eBay and classifieds regularly for top Pentax glass. Unfortunately I very rarely see the 35mm f/2. I will certainly continue to look for 31s at a good price. Thanks again.

Hello again!

For several reasons, I am now giving serious though to cancelling my order of a Sigma 70-200mm. I am thinking of instead putting the money towards a "normal" lens for digital - wider than the 50mm - and which will also be around 35mm on film. I haven't yet given up on film, which is one reason I'm considering these over the new 16-50mm (the other reason simply being I expect either prime to be better optically than the zoom, especially wide-open).

The specific lenses I'm considering are the 35mm f/2 FA, and the 31mm f/1.8 Limited. The Limited would cost me about the same as the Sigma would have; the FA lens would save me nearly £400.

The FA lens obviously has the advantage of being much cheaper. The 31mm of course I expect to be better in every way, but I am not sure how much. The build quality and feel of the Limited is clearly going to be better, and it will surely hold its value better, but I am mainly interested in the optical qualities. 31mm is admittedly wider than 35mm but not by that much. F/1.8 is faster than f/2, but again not by that much. The little information I can find on the 35mm FA (and not on Photozone where they say they have a bad copy) suggests that it's very sharp wide-open, sharper than most if not all 50mm primes. The bokeh is also said to be very good. So can anyone from experience agree or disagree with these claims? Obviously I'd love to own a Limited lens but realistically I know that £400 difference could be put towards filling other needs.

So my main questions are, has anyone used the 35mm FA on digital? Is it really that sharp even wide-open, and in general would you say it is a good "standard" lens? And for anyone who's used both lenses, would you say the Limited is better enough optically (ignoring the obviously better construction) to justify the extra cost?

Thanks in advance, and sorry for posting yet another "which lens" type post

The saga of my wait for a 70-200 has developed further... I have been told that there may be a further delay since Sigma's HQ in Welwyn Garden City has recently been burgled. The only news I can find is here...
url]http://www.ephotozine.com/article/45-Stolen-Lenses[/url]
... which refers to a burglary in February. This presumably means that either Sigma has been robbed again and needs better security, or that a burglary four months ago is still causing problems... but if the former it might go part of the way to explaining why you're having trouble finding the 50-500.

Edit: I was wrong. Here's the news:
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Delays_after_thieves_raid_Sigma_news_125367.html

So Sigma was burgled again. They say their supply chain has been "temporarily disrupted"... the optimist in me wants to believe that Sigma were working their socks off to get me my lens and if not for these burglars it would be on its way to me now. A bit unlikely though At this rate it looks like the only way we will get our hands on some Sigma glass involves balaclavas. Would you mind supplying the van?

I have mixed feelings about Jessops. On the one hand I tend to dread going into them, most like someone said are the photographic equivalent of PC World, at least in terms of staff knowledge and customer service. On the other hand I went into one yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the helpfulness of the staff, and even more surprised by the fact that they actually appeared to be interested in photography. Strangely I felt sorry for them working in Jessops. I don't have a personal problem with less knowledgeable staff working there, we all need to work, but I do think there's something wrong with the company's policies that cause me to see knowledgeable and helpful staff as the exception to the rule.

Of course the main problem I have with Jessops is the lack of anything Pentax. This doesn't only apply to Jessops. I foolishly thought that if I checked out all the camera shops around Holborn I would be able to find a single Pentax lens - no luck. Admittedly I could order from Jessops and other companies but I do like to get my hands on a lens first. They can allocate all that shelf space to Canon and Nikon, why not Pentax? Yes of course the big two sell far more... but often their shelves aren't even packed that tight, they could easily make space for more.

To be honest I'm also still annoyed that they completely dumped all film-related products and all used equipment. I know film gear new or used is not what the vast majority of consumers are looking for, but still it turned me against Jessops.

On the other hand maybe I'm just being nostalgic but I do seem to remember Jessops, at least some branches, being not all that bad, so I wouldn't be dancing with joy if they disappeared and got replaced by more phone shops. I hope they can sort themselves out, partly by trying to overcome the perception that their staff know nothing about photography, but one thing that would really persuade me to shop with them again is if they offered more choice instead of simply appealing to the lowest Canon demoninator

They may not be in whatever game we're talking about here, but a huge number of Mamiya and Chinon cameras continue to work. If the implication here is that Pentax will continue be around in the camera business for longer than Samsung then I think that's optimistic.

I assume the issue is that you now won't get customer service or repairs for those Chinons etc... certainly in as many years Samsung won't offer support for today's flashes. But by then do you really think it'll be compatible with any modern bodies anyway? In the meantime it will be covered by a warranty.

Why certainly?

Look I appreciate everyone likes Pentax and knows they make great stuff. Me too. But why keep assuming that anything with the Pentax name on is automatically better than a virtually identical product with a different name? Why continue to take it as a certainty that the Pentax is better made and/or with better components, with no evidence to support this except faith in the brand?

I see your point that there's no way to know. Would I be wrong in assuming that you think the Pentax is the safer choice, a guarantee of quality? Personally I am naturally suspicious, and I wonder if the flashes are identical bar the name and that Pentax knows that there are many Pentax users who assume the name guarantees a higher quality, therefore they feel they can get away with charging so much extra

Don I'd like to believe you're right, but I can't just take it for granted that the Pentax is better built; just like I can't automatically take it for granted that Pentax lenses offer enough of an improvement over their optically equivalent Tokinas for the price difference. I'd need to know that it was the case before I accept having to pay a not insubstantial amount of money.

Oh and roast roadkill porcupine sounds tasty

They're identical? In that case, and if the Samsung on that Amazon link is the same as the AF-540, then is Pentax asking £150 more for nothing more than the name "Pentax"? That does not seem smart to me, though it does remind me of my criticisms over their pricing of Tokina/Pentax lenses. One of my favourite things about Pentax was the value for money I felt you got with their equipment. This is certainly still the case with camera bodies, but it seems less so many lenses and flashes

If it is the case that the flashes are operationally identical then I really think Pentax needs to rethink their prices.