[privateryan]

You can't just quote focus trap as an all purpose solution as it doesn't work when your'e using like f8 and up...

[Canada_Rockies]

You can't just quote focus trap as an all purpose solution as it doesn't work when your'e using like f8 and up...

That's a downside to the M42 lenses, agreed. Focus trap can be problematic at f/5.6 in some lighting situations.

[JohnBee]

With a manual lens is it all just eyeballing it? Is there anything in the pentax dslr that will let you know when you are in focus even though it doesn't focus automatically? I ask because my vision may not be good enough. Thanks.

Try the combined approach(its what most of use do). Beep confirmation(set in menu), Focus indicator(hexagon symbol in lower viewfinder), and finally... the visual queue.

Luckily, there is still room for improvements as you can invest in a good split screen(split prism) which will allow you to gauge and adjust focus through the viewfinder(shown bellow):



And finally, you can upgrade the viewer with a magnifier, to help enlarge things for easier viewing.
For this I prefer the KPS 1.3x magnifier, which also comes with an eyecup(can be used with or without glasses) to further enhance visibility.

[rkt]

look out for the green hexagon confirmation ... I notice that on the K200D the focus point also lights up red ...

[Arjay Bee]

I notice that on the K200D the focus point also lights up red ...

Please read all the responses before adding your own wisdom...