[asahi]

I just got one of the 18-55 WRs, and have not had the chance (or the inclination!) to soak it and/or my K20D...But i will say that the Pentax box has a dingbat showing a camera and water drops that says "SEALED" in no uncertain way...and that the page distinguishing the DA* from these new lenses mentions that "each part is individually sealed" for the DA*, versus "simplified weather resistant construction by using DA* lens sealing technology" for the WR lens. The final analysis for each lens is: DA* sealing "makes it difficult for dust and water to enter the lens"; WR sealing "makes it difficult for water to enter the lens".
Does it look like WR uses DA* technology to seal against water, but maybe is less resistant to dust than DA*????
It is a nice little lens, very light, very tight. I will be glad to have it around when rain threatens! It also makes me feel good to have a lens that lets me take advantage of the K20D's sealing. But my 16-45, 50 1.4 and 55-300 will continue to handle all the non-wet shooting!

As one of the strengths of Pentax has recently been the weather resistance of its digital bodies (K10D, K200D, K20D, K-7, any other?), I wonder why has no third party lens maker made any WR lenses in K mount? Considering that until the new WR kit zooms came, the only WR option were the significantly more expensive DA stars. I'd think that cheaper WR lenses would have sold pretty well if they had been OK otherwise and cheaper than DA stars.