[PenPusher]

For a person suffering from acute LBA the Pentax K mount has several disadvantages particularly when you have lenses from previously owned film cameras such as Exa/Exakta and Olympus OM, yes you can enter the field of miniature engineering and cobble up something that would make them fit and usable in manual mode but probably not if you want to continue using them with film, well not for a person used to using big hammers anyway.

I am not that fond of using m42 to k mount adapters on my K mount digital cameras just in case I can't get them back off and of course to glue a K adapter onto an m42 lens you would have to remove the spring catch just in case it jammed it permanently onto the camera, and then of course if the focussing ring was it stiff it could decide to come off altogether, after 50 something years in construction I believe in Murphy's law - if it can go wrong it will. (O'Toole's Law says Murphy was an optimist).

So after a lot of thought I decided to purchase (shock-horror) a mirrorless camera which, with adapters, opens up a whole new field of expenditure.

I went for the Fuji X mount and purchased an X-E1 from around 2012, It's an APS-C format to keep the view I was used to from my Pentax DSLR's, its quite nicely made actually and it seems that there isn't a lens mount out there that somebody hasn't made an adapter for it.

I noticed Pentax's film trailer some time ago for the prism in the new K3 III and thought it was rather over the top, now I'm not so sure, having played around with the finders in my film and digital cameras, the latest is the K70, for comparison, I find the electronic finder in the X-E1 rather difficult to use, granted it's 10 years old and they probably have advanced considerably since then and I do know it has all the aids for accurate focussing but to get a really sharp image I find you really need to use a tripod, something I hate, as the vibration of your hands becomes very noticeable, but you can really get nice images if you do and you can have tremendous fun with all those lenses you have to smuggle into the house.

I imagine if you used Fuji's own auto focusing lenses you would do a lot better hand held but they are in a different price range to me.

[Benz3ne]

I use an X-E2 quite a lot these days (it's a bit battered but goes in my bike bag when I don't want to carry around a Sony A7iii). I've found that setting the minimum shutter speed at something reasonable (I've mine at 1/125s) helps with reducing shutter shake.
The viewfinder, granted, isn't a nice (read: large) as DSLR's or other, larger mirrorless cameras but once I have the diopter dialed in enough, it's actually not bad to use.

Feel free to have a look at some of the photos I've taken with it. I think all of the photos I've taken have been straight out of camera JPEGs with minimal adjustments like straightening horizons.
X-E2 | Flickr

[womble]

I've used m42 to k mount adaptors for decades. Never a problem with the real ones, several problems with clones.

K.

[pepperberry farm]

I have two Fuji bodies for this purpose alone - adapting other mounts....

I tried the adaptist pk mount on a KS-1, but there were too many issues with it and eventually ended that project:

Adaptist PK+MM installation and usage - PentaxForums.com

[pschlute]

I've used m42 to k mount adaptors for decades. Never a problem with the real ones, several problems with clones.

K.

I am still on my first Pentax M42-K mount adapter. Still going strong after 40 years

[Snafu711]

Since you specifically mention Olympus OM: ever thought about LEITAX, which is a K-Mount to be installed permanently on OM (or many other) lenses? People who use it have reported that the swap was easy - YMMV if a hammer is your tool of choice.

Olympus OM lens for Pentax cameras

I have no personal experience since I had unfortunately already sold my OM lenses before hearing of this option.

[Ronald Oakes]

I also went the Fuji route with the X-T3. Got a screaming deal for a very nicely used one on Amazon. I'm really liking it almost the same as my KP.
However I have no issues at all using a M42 adapter on my KP or K-S2. Used the originals and aftermarket clones with no real issues.
Don't see any real problems other than sometimes my lens markings don't line up right at exact top when on the camera. No biggie.

[PenPusher]

After reviewing my thoughts on mirrorless cameras I have come to the following conclusion.

Using film cameras for years, with of course no built in image stabilisation, I assumed that I would have no problem in using the Fuji X-E1 which does not have any image stabilisation, I think I'm wrong, whether its old age or becoming too accustomed to the image stabilisation in our Pentax bodies I'm fairly sure that lack of image stabilisation for hand held photography could well be part of the cause of my problems in getting sharp images so I have ordered a body grip for the fuji, if that doesn't work back to the tripod.

So using m42 lenses on digital, well I have an elderly K7 which doesn't see the light of day that often so I'm thinking of permanently converting it to M42 by fitting a Kood adapter' which I have had for years, and which has a flange which takes care of the pin, so no more worries of taking the adapter off. I'll just bundle it up with my Takumar's and off I go.

Thanks for the input.