I found the Adorama ad from March 1978. Looking at the prices, I can see why I was not in the market. Cameras were expensive!
-- Pentax K2 with f/1.7* = $321.00
-- Pentax ME with f/1.7 = $260.00
-- Pentax KX with f/1.7 = $224.00
-- Pentax MX with f/1.7 = $249.50
-- Canon AE-1 with f/1.8 = $269.95
-- Canon AT-1 with f/1.8 = $220.00
-- Canon FTb-N with f/1.8 = $219.00
-- Olympus OM2 with f/1.8 = $336.75
I threw in the manual exposure models and the Olympus for comparison and figure I would probably have bought a KX (or maybe an OM1 at $235) if I had been in the market.
All sizes | Adorama (March 1978) price list | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Steve
* The ad says f/1.7, but more likely the lens would have been the Pentax-K 55/1.8 for the K-series bodies.