I was expecting to get some hands on with the D-FA's and was surprised that there didn't seem to be an opportunity to try them out.
Prior to attending last night I'd decided to buy a K-1 directly from Digidirect and when I saw the 24-70 and 70-200 on their shelves in the King St store I never thought to ask whether they'd have them there to try; I just assumed they would be. Something to consider though is when you check the CRK page for Pentax D-FA lenses there are a few out of stock. I know this wasn't the case last week.
https://pentax.com.au/categories/lenses/series/d-fa and not relevant for all the D-FA's. I'd also have expected there to be a good range of the FA LTD and DA's to allow people to see for themselves how they would work.
Maybe better planning would have ensured at least one copy of each would be available, if a lack of supply was the issue. The comments about the camera's popularity meaining demand has outstripped the supply might also apply to lenses too. A question to CRK directly should yield an answer. If nothing else you are providing feedback to improve the next launch.
Anyhoo, they seemed an approachable lot last night, and they bought the beer, so whilst I'm disappointed not to be able to try these lenses in person, I'm not losing any sleep. I will be expecting however that Pentax is better represented in stores so we can actually take our cameras in and try them ourselves. I'd prefer to do this anyway. Maybe what we need to do is go to CRK (via Farcebook etc) and petition for better presence in stores. More people get to try them this way, and maybe they'd have more of my money.
I need to save some pennies to get some D-FA's, but for now I will be content with what I have. A full frame camera and some excellent glass to use with it.
Tas