Originally posted by ruoyun.huang
very good lens, solid build and good optics but I still think it is a bit over-priced
I've heard this a lot but I don't really understand the logic.
The weather sealing itself is worth a $100-$200. So from an optical perspective alone, any WR lens is overpriced.
Pentax 18-55 WR - $229
Pentax DA 18-135 WR- $599
Pentax DA* 50-135 2.8 $1,199 and DA* 16-50 $1099. Combined $2300 to cover the same range.
The 18-135 is designed to be in between the kit lenses and the DA*s. Even though at some FLs lengths it's better than the 16-50. I've seen them on Prodigal2000 for as low as $400. SO while a person could reasonably conclude it is in some way overpriced. One could equally conclude, that given it's IQ centre and edge in it's low end and centre sharpness through it's whole range, that at $600 with WR it's underpriced. How that plays out is a matter of personal usage. But you don't see many people who use the lens who think it's overpriced. That tends to be the opinion of those who've never had it out in the field taking pictures.
I get really tired of people who don't own the lens bad mouthing it. If you owned it and sold it because it wasn't good enough, that's useful information. Everyone wants to know what you think is better, and what you use now. For me it's exactly what I wanted. WR. A lens I can put on the camera and just leave there. And a lens capable of producing top IQ images. If you think it's too slow for the money, don't even go there. UNless you're thinking Tamron 17-50, 28-75 and 70-200 2.8s which is a fantasitc set of quality zooms for very good prices. But, not WR and you have to buy all three to cover the range of the 18-135, and still pay close to $2000.