[jimhi]

Okay I have settled my first question and decided that my venerable (and much loved) SF1n.s will continue to be my primary camera's. The second part of that question involved acquiring a Super Program and a manual focus lens for situations where quieter operation was desired. My question now is the Super Program the only required body in this category or would there be a possible option in the P5/P50 and certain other 3rd party offerings. My big thing in this regard was the 1/2000 top shutter speed vs. the 1/1000 top shutter speed. Just how important should I see this or is it not that big an issue?

[FozzFoster]

Max shutter speed issues can only really be determined by yourself and your own shooting preferences/style.

What do you like to shoot? Portraits? Landscapes? etc
What film stock are you using?

For instance, if I was shooting portrait outdoors, I would want a fast lens shooting as wide open as possible.
But having a fast lens may increase my shutter speed too high for the shutter speed of the camera.
Fortunately though, film stock at very low ISO are available that would help reduce the shutter (RPX 25).

[Eyewanders]

Okay I have settled my first question and decided that my venerable (and much loved) SF1n.s will continue to be my primary camera's. The second part of that question involved acquiring a Super Program and a manual focus lens for situations where quieter operation was desired. My question now is the Super Program the only required body in this category or would there be a possible option in the P5/P50 and certain other 3rd party offerings. My big thing in this regard was the 1/2000 top shutter speed vs. the 1/1000 top shutter speed. Just how important should I see this or is it not that big an issue?

Having 1/2000 is nice. So is having 1/4000 but if I'm very honest, it is rare that I'm in conditions that it becomes an issue at all.
Specifically, if you need/want to shoot at large apertures in bright sun with fast films (above ISO 400 generally), then it could bother you.
A wedding photographer on a nice summer day can run into this, where you often want that super shallow portrait look with a bright and airy feel in the sun, but you're shooting 800 ISO film so you can immediately duck into the church and take a shot indoors.

An ND filter will be your friend in these instances... But again, I've used my ND for those reasons maybe twice in the past year or two.

TL-DR It's not a big deal... unless its a big deal to you.

EDIT: All that said above... The viewfinder on a Super Program is a thing of beauty in comparison with that on an SF1n. It's one of the brightest Pentax ever made for 35mm and is a joy to manually focus with. I keep a SuperProgram on my shelf for that reason alone, even though i don't particularly like the manual operation at all. But in program mode it makes a fantastic point-(and focus)-and-shoot camera.

[jimhi]

Actually I did manage to use the 1/4000 shutter speed of my SF1n this spring. My granddaughter is into soccer now and cranking down the aperture to get shutter speed up to 1/4000 froze the action making her look like she is headed for the women's soccer league at 8 years old.