Originally posted by sjwaldron I was thinking of more like the 100mm WR Macro such that the lens is still screw-drive and pretty much the same as the existing FA* 85mm, but with a new solid black all metal casing, WR, and quick-shift. I don't think I could justify 1100+ for a used 85mm, especially when there is no warranty and have I have no way of knowing if it's a "good copy" or one the person is trying to get rid of because it isn't. I'm okay with buying a cheap used lens (got a DA14mm f2.8 for $300 a while back locally), but when it comes to higher end ones through the Internet...
I agree. Another thing I wonder about is how costly it is for Pentax to manufacture a lens that doesn't have big volume like kit lenses. It seems to me that they do the manufacturing of Limiteds in spurts throughout the month, so I'm guessing they have a pretty lean system set up. I wish that I could find information about the whole process to see what are the deciding factors for if they release a lens or not. If it were my business I'd really try to keep my lineup valid with special defining features (WR, quickshift, etc), which are enough to motivate people to buy that new lens even when they have the older model (How many bought a 100mm WR Macro when they already had an older version?).
Well that is quit simple. First of all you have your productioncosts, wich are very easy to calculate, this lens is likely being to assemble at the sime costs as a DA*200mm lens or alike.
Then you have your materials to buy or produce for the lens, not cheap aming at a top of the line lens, but then again maybe to be compare to a DA*300 or zo.
Then you have your designing costs. An almost fixed number, several month being busy with a number of engineers in R&D (designing, making samples and testing). These costs you have to make a return on in a given period (say 5 years) and an expected number of lenses to be sold.
Given the low numbers on this lens and quality demand of the glass you cannot expect it to be at the price for the DA*300, but it will be significantly more expencive.