RWR. That's wonderful! I wish I heard more people who love their cameras with the old glass. That's as it should be! c:
I keep reading how Nikon and Canon users have to jump through hoops to use some of the best older glass. If you buy a Pentax DSLR, you should have no problem with old glass. My two Pentax cameras have in-camera sensor-shift image stabilization, so ALL lenses benefit. They have focus peaking and HDR. One adaptor--M42 to K mount--and every Pentax SLR lens will fit every modern Pentax DSLR.
If I'm worried about that rare lens that hits the mirror, I simply mount it on my K-01 mirrorless "brick"--no lens surgery or fiddling required! My "old" K-50 has a Prime M sensor, 100% frame coverage and 0.92x magnification, VERY bright pentaprism viewfinder, interchangeable screen, astrotracer mode, mirror lockup, high ISO, multiple exposure, auto bracketing, in-camera RAW processing, and a lot of other features not found on "entry level" DSLRs--plus weather proofing! The body presently goes for @ $300 at Amazon, not thousands! It's very user friendly for old glass. I fail to understand why Pentax doesn't get more praise from camera buffs, especially for the lower-end models like the K-50; to me it's a no-brainer.
So many of my old lenses have that special "painterly" quality that none of the modern lenses (that I've found) have. With a Pentax, they work wonderfully!
I have several new Pentax DSLRs and some fine new lenses, but, honestly, I LOVE my old glass. Some of my favorite lenses are over 50 years old and they are built like tanks--never fail. They have, ummm, character I guess you'd call it. They're tack sharp, with great color and the price is right. No problems with my new camera sensors. The biggest difference, I guess, is that new lenses are usually mostly plastic. Nevertheless, they're quite expensive. I have my doubts that they will hold up like the old lenses though. That old saying--they don't make them like that any more--is mostly right. Of course when you carry a lens made of metal, it will be heavier. I actually like that solid feel and the performance. I save my light weight lenses for travel and such but use the old glass for art photos mostly. Whatever camera you get, don't ignore the old, superb Pentax primes. They're about the best lenses out there unless you crave Leica quality for BIG BUCKS.