Pentax 100mm Macro - Non WR vs. WR

I got one of the cheap plastic Vivitar 100mm macro lenses from eBay a while ago. Now I'm thinking about upgrading to a Pentax one.

The version which preceded the current WR model, though technically discontinued, is still available 'new' from various sources at a considerably lower price than the WR.

My question is, besides the obvious lack of weather sealing, is there any other significant disadvantage to the non-WR model as opposed to the WR? I'm trying to decide whether I should go for the non-WR version now or save up my pennies a bit longer for the WR.

Any suggestions appreciated!

Sue and I both have the non-WR version and it's a fine lens. The WR version also adds a more circular diaphragm, which in theory improves the out of focus bokeh, but I don't know how significant that is. The lenses we have look fine and perform as well as any other macro lens we have ever owned.

It's a personal decision. If funds were available we would buy the WR version, for the weather sealing. If funds were tighter the answer would be the non-WR.

I'm pretty certain that the aperture blades are round on the WR version (nicer Bokeh in some peoples opinion), and it does not have an aperture ring (a disadvantage for some).

I have owned both and in terms of image quality I could not say that one was better than the other. I kept the WR version purely so I could use it in variable weather conditions, having siad that it does have a nicer "feel" about it

They are indeed rounded, and I think do give a slightly better 'bokeh' as a result. Also, totally agree about the 'feel' of the lens. Excudes quality.

All that said, I found nothing wrong with the previous version; only changed to the WR version because I got a good deal on it.

Thanks for the responses. What I'd really like to know though is has anybody noticed any particular difference in AF performance, or ease of manual focusing? (I will use both AF for non-marco and MF for macro use.)

All of the 100mm Macro lenses are reasonably quick to focus, but all can suffer from hunting if the subject is of low contrast/dynamic range.

Given the increased travel of focussing a macro lens, this can be a real pain.

I also changed mine from the non to WR (Only because of a good deal) and have not noticed any difference in the focusing. The focus ring is smaller on the WR but not a problem for me.

You loose the aperture ring on the WR so not so useful for the film cameras. The feel of the lens is more solid but I was happy with the feel of the non-WR! The WR is a little slimmer but I notice it is also 5g lighter as well.

Not a lot in it really.