Originally posted by normhead Have you done blind tests? How about a blind forum poll?
I always wonder, is what I see what others see?
Looking a my 6 image polls, even lenses I think are my worst lenses have some followers, and I've never had even 30% of the people who answered the polls vote one lens the best. My guess is even even if your GR were voted the most popular, there would be more people who voted against it than voted for it.
I know what I see is not necessarily what others see, but if I'm buying gear for me, what I see is what matters. The democratic approach is not the approach I would use here, especially when I review things like what images get the most votes in our regular contests.
The GR lens has a distinctive rendering. So does the 31mm limited. Not everyone in a particular poll (especially if it's a controlled test-shot comparison, which may not highlight the lens's strengths or how they might apply to the user's intended real-world subjects) is going to select the 31mm as providing the best images, as it does have its technical flaws. Not all users are looking for or even sensitive to those differences in rendering, and those differences aren't relevant or even beneficial for every shooting situation. I'd value one thorough review by a perceptive observer (like this one:
Guest Review: Pentax SMC FA 31mm f1.8 Limited - phillipreeve.net) over a hundred blind polls.