I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Pentax user from the early 1970s. Finally managed to buy myself a Spotmatic (SP 1000) in 1975 when I had moved from the UK to Melbourne. Cost $65 second hand and came with a 28mm. Takumar lens. I was offered $100 for the lens the same day, but of course elected to keep it. I have 3 Spotmatics, a K1000 and an iST D. Lenses include the Takumar M42 28mm. mentioned above, Pentax 35mm. K mount (I've had the diaphragm lever arm cut off so I can use it better with the iST D), Takumar M42 50mm. f1.4, Takumar M42 85mm f1.8, Takumar M42 135 f2.5, Takumar, M42 200mm. f4.0 (some of these are SMC some are not). Also a Tamron 24mm. f2.5. All the previous were secondhand. After buying the iST D I also purchased a Sigma 12-24 and a Sigma 24-70 - both new. Oh, and a vintage Schneider 200mm. f5.5 which is the most solid lens I have ever held in my hand, though not without a bit of flair.
For some time I've been following the tortuous route of the Pentax full-frame digital camera which has yet to be introduced, including the hopes and doubts of dedicated Pentax users, and it's great to have finally found a website inhabited by Pentax fans with a similar interest. I log on every day hoping to see some news like that of today regarding some glimmer of hope from Japan. With Pentax's innovative history, one can't help thinking that sooner or later they will come up with something we can truly applaud, and which will put Pentax (with Ricoh) back in the spotlight.
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