Originally posted by ruemiser Also, what am I losing here without having the Quck Shift? What does that do in the DA version that the DAL does not?
I don't miss the lack of quick shift, because there's an easy cheat: Pressing the lens release button allows you to turn the focus ring. Unless your lens fits abnormally loose on the mount, you don't have to worry about the lens falling off or anything.
You can manually focus by switching the camera to MF or pressing the lens release button.
Other than the quick shift and plastic mount, the DA & DA-L are optically identical. The hood is available for less than $5 on eBay, and is identical to the original Pentax hood.
I think you're gonna like it! Congrats... :-)