Weather and lenses

How important is weather sealing/resistance on lenses, assuming a weather sealed body? I've been under the impression that, so long as the lens is properly dried out afterwards (ie not put in a sealed plastic box for the moisture to linger ) there is no immense hazard to most weather. Is this true?

PS: Any suggestion that this has anything to do with the DA17-70 being the latest on my 'maybe list' is just a vicious lie

My Sigma 18-200 got soaked in March, something to do with heavy snow in Spain, and seems to have dried out OK.

I left it out in a warm room for a week or so without any problems, it's still as sharp now as it was before the soaking.

Just dry a wet lens slowly and it seems to be OK.

I just leave them in a warm, dry room for a few days if I've used them in a damp environment. Don't zip them up in a case or bag, let the air circulate around them and they should be fine.

just buy the kit lenses job done.

The WR is liberating and enables photography in dreadful weather. The photo possibilities of bad weather are very exciting, full of potential.

Water inside lenses can cause corrosion, can cause misting of elements and certainly is not a great idea. Water is very invasive.

Like many things, just because we can get away with something it doesn't mean it's a good idea. Not with £500 of lens especially.

Hmm maybe I should buy some of those daft Optech Rainsleeves, but cut the camera body section off so it's just a lens cover. Suppose they're probably made of more water-resistant plastic than a carrier bag, and the lack of zoomring accessibility gives me an excuse to stick to primes

EDIT: Or maybe not. Any suggestions for a suitable material? Really don't want to have Tesco logos wrapped round my DFA100

I've used lenses a lot more expensive than anything Pentax makes in pretty dreadful conditions but generally have tried to keep the stuff as dry as possible. Just an umbrella and a loose vinyl cover. Whilst shooting the most annoying thing is rain on the front element which doesn't do any harm to the lens but mucks up your pictures.

Common sense should prevail and obviously modern lenses with electronics inside will be more susceptible to water ingress than older manual ones.

Trying to take building shots with the Sigma 10-20 and its baby lens hood in the rain. One of life's great adventures

Getting rain in the eyepiece is most annoying I have found...

Just for the benefit of anyone else reading this in future, I think I might have found the answer:

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/rain-covers-stormjackets/b3023-m362

A bit pricey, but less pricey than screwing up a nice lens I guess!