Originally posted by womble I never regret buying mine and it is one of the lenses I have with me on my travels. I sometimes use liveview to get the levels on the screen and handhold shots, but it is a bit of a palaver. Much better on a tripod, of course. One temptation of the K-1 is being able to use this lens more often.
My plan is to use it for a while just to see what it can do and then sell it on, but seeing it on the MX looking brand new certainly makes me want to keep it. I think I'll need to make a trip up to the four big skyscrapers in the north of Madrid to see what it can do, but I suspect it won't be wide enough (I've previously photographed them up close with my K2DMD and Cosina 19-35mm).
The shift function of the lens would make it ideal for travel with a FF or 35mm film camera, except that it's big and heavy and my wife would never have the patience for the time it would take to set up the tripod, focus, shift the lens and take the picture. This lens would very much be one to use when I'm on my own, which is rare when travelling.
It's likely I'll use it for a while and then sell it or trade it for something nice that I would use more.
I wonder if it's possible to use the serial number to identify the year of production? I checked the years of production and it was made for almost 30 years (1975 to 2004), presumably because it's the only shift lens Pentax have ever made.