Originally posted by frank The price doesn't really indicate its actual value due to how rare the lens is. You can buy a Canon/Nikon f2.0 version pretty much everywhere anytime you want, but you won't see this gem show up that often ...
I understand rarity and desirable items. But when you see this pricing and the way it bid up it's blatantly obvious Pentax is leaving money on the table. If there was a DA* variant of this same lens design on the market, AF weather sealed even at F2.0, the value on this lens would drop. Sure some of the people bidding are collectors and completists, but others are people just looking for the FL with fast F stop, who have the money to do so. The same thing happens every time you see a nice 85 come up, a 24...... there are gaps that need adressing, and the resale value on lenses 10-30 years old indicates the areas where there is a big gap.