Film and processing costs for my grandfather's Kodak postcard camera quickly got excessive, particularly considering the results I was getting at 9 or10 years old.

The Brownie Hawkeye was used for 3 or 4 years, but once I began to understand the process, its limitations became plain. The Bolsey Jubilee (I still have it) was my camera from about 1955 to 1976 when I bought an Olympus OM-1N on a trip to Japan.

For flash photos, the Bolsey had a cam that locked the aperture and focus rings together. Thus, flash exposure was always correct, since when the subject was at greater distance where the light was less, the aperture was opened to compensate. It worked perfectly, even if the subject wasn't centered in the frame.

That lens will work on the K-S2 exactly as it did on the ME Super - Pentax has been very good about that - but since the K-S2 is a crop-sensor camera, visually it will appear on the K-S2 the way an 80mm lens worked on the ME Super.

However, as others have commented here, I doubt you would want to save $100 by buying the K-S2 without a lens. The included 18-50mm lens appears to be very good. Under most circumstances, you'll be glad to have the auto-focus, and having the entire system being naturally weather resistant is a serious bonus.

I keep a Pentax K-5 in my rental inventory. Its amazing how many customers rent it just so they can compare the Pentax with their Nikons and Canons. Lens selection is the greatest roadblock they have to increasing sales in my opinion. They use the same Sony sensors as Nikon does and are consistently rated higher in image quality and low light shooting than any comparable Canon. The in-camera stabilization is less effective than in-lens systems, but it does get the job done. Mine has an angled split prism viewfinder to make focusing K-mount MF lenses easier, which is really handy with that in-camera stabilization. I would really kind of like to have a K-3 but I will not be spending the money for one anytime soon, Pentax's financial difficulties have me quite worried over their long-term survivability.

I didn't do my homework and ordered the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D that everyone raves about. Trouble is that I only have a Nikon D5100 camera and it doesn't auto focus with this camera. It does on the D7100. Did someone say this on UHH? I'm sure they did. I just didn't pay attention. Can I use it anyway? I'm spoiled using AF and don't really want a prime lens that doesn't have it.
So, the bottom line is...
Now, I'm having an attack of GAS because I want a D7100 anyway. and this little "nifty fifty" will AF on the 7100. What's a woman to do? :roll:

Thanks - to all of you for your responses & insights. In the meantime (since I posted) I've been checking out the EOS D70, the nifty 50 lens & the TAM 70-200... all this from reading your blogs on this sight. This is way out of what I was anticipating paying! But I'm thinking it might be worth it - to borrow a bit for now and really open up an exciting new hobby for me. Am I going off a little crazy here or should I take the plunge - with the idea of working hard at doing this the "right" way? My eventual goal is to invest in the Canon 100-400 IS STM (maybe next year??). Help me... I'm on the verge of my usual OCS breakdowns. Thanks. Al