paul_mueller3

<p>Is that price at the top of the page ($448.50) the MSRP? My first 35mm camera was an ME. I bought mine brand new with a Pentax-M 50/1.7 for about $250 (US) in the summer of 1978. I certainly wouldn't have paid $450 for it. </p>

<p>I'm going to guess you actually got a K mount lens. The K mount is not compatible with any Minolta mount, as far as I know. Have you tried to remove the lens from the camera? If it comes off without a struggle, it's most likely a K mount lens, presumably shipped by mistake.</p>

<p>Uh, by your own account, you weren't stopped.</p>

<p>Think about riding the free ferry from Galveston's eastern tip to the western tip of the Bolivar Peninsula. Watch for dolphins during the crossing, which cuts across the entrance to Galveston Bay. There might also be some interesting ship traffic. There is EXCELLENT Victorian architecture in the East End Historic District, east of downtown, and the Strand commercial district downtown is also very nice. There is a railroad museum downtown that I have never visited, but it might be worth a look. The Lone Star Flight Museum is next to the airport west of town. It was impressive before Ike, but suffered some damage in the storm; call ahead to check on its current status.</p>

<p>I have bought "bargain" grade lenses from KEH and they have all been in what I considered really good condition. IIRC, my own 135/3.5 came from there. That's where I'd try first, if I were you, unless you find a really good deal on Craigslist.<br>

That said, I did manage to snare a nice ME Super with 50/2, flash and bag last summer for $25 on my local Craigslist. I still check it every day, just in case something cool turns up.</p>

<p>There are some nice mountain views from Table Mesa near Boulder, northwest of Denver. Probably from a lot of other places around Boulder too, including the road to Estes Park.</p>

<p>If your final route takes you through Amarillo, Texas, be sure to stop and see the Cadillac Ranch west of town.<br>

If I were you, I'd consider a larger vehicle and/or fewer passengers. But please, no Porsches.</p>

<p>Michael, the same thing happens with my ME Super using my Vivitar dedicated flash -- the flash sets the camera's electronic shutter to 1/125 and won't let me change it. It also gives me an in-viewfinder indication when the flash is sufficiently charged.<br>

Your Pentax flash is also the dedicated kind, but if you use a non-dedicated flash, i.e., one with only one contact on the bottom of the shoe, you'll be able to set slower shutter speeds manually and (I think) have the flash sync correctly at the slower speeds. Non-dedicated flashes are pretty cheap these days. I had a Vivitar 2800 that I liked a lot, but of course it too was stolen.</p>

<p>I bought an ME Super, a 50/2.0M, an AF200S flash with a busted door, and a bag to carry it all in for $25 last summer, via a Craigslist ad. A couple of new batteries and the camera was good to go. I was happy to have it, since the one I had owned for more than 20 years was stolen in 2003.<br>

The ME Super will fire a flash using a manually set speed of 1/60 or slower. Seems like that would provide proper flash sync, wouldn't it?<br>

By the way, a 28/2.8M is not chopped liver. I used to have one, but it was stolen along with my ME Super.</p>

<p>When I got my K200D last summer, the first batteries I tried in it were the NiMH AAs that I had been using with my Olympus P&S. I was surprised to find that they didn't work AT ALL. I got a set of Sanyo Eneloops and have been very pleased with them. They provide plenty of life. I'm still using the other rechargeables in my other camera, and they continue to work just fine in that camera.</p>

Another problem with these rebates is that Pentax has hired Continental Promotions Group to "handle" them. Google Continental and I think you'll agree that these people are unethical and dishonest at best. In previous dealings with them, I've had to fight tooth and nail to get rebates to which I was entitled. Their strategy is to outlast you until you give up and abandon your rebate entirely. Their unsavory reputation is well known, so I can't say much for Pentax's judgment in dealing with them. In my case, I sent in a request for a $100 rebate on a K200D three weeks ago today. Continental claims (through its "rebate status" search page) not to have any knowledge of this request. I have little doubt that I will have a long struggle on my hands to obtain this rebate.

In both the Operating Manual and the Quick Guide (both printed) that came with my K200D (bought from a major online retailer last week), the first item in the "Caution" box on the "Inserting the Batteries" page reads: "The use of Ni-MH batteries is not recommended as the batteries' voltage characteristics may cause a malfunction." Ni-MH, not Ni-MN. I found this confusing, as Ni-MH batteries are shown as acceptable just above the caution box. Apparently the warning contains a typo -- Ni-MH instead of Ni-MN. Duane is correct -- the PDF version of the manual, downloadable from the Pentax Web site, warns against the use of Ni-MN batteries. I'm using Eneloops, without any problems so far.