Okay the 17-70 sounds like a good deal then.
Was a bit worried about rain and SDM motor...

The range is very suitable I often find the kit lens not long enough so 70mm should be perfect. 17mm for landscapes and 70mm for portrait what more do you need?

The price here is €509 link
£440
I think they are going over the top with the price raise in the UK now...
Time to find a shop in Ireland or the Netherlands seems like a good idea now.

mhmm you made a point there about the seals but then again such a motor will wear out over time so I hope they at least took that in consideration when designing them.

how long the lens will last... atleast more the 20 years i hope, if the motor fails then it's probable wear but still hoping it will last a lot longer. It's a quality item after all and if i fails after 2 years why should i buy Pentax... i would rather buy a sigma or tamron if they last twice as long. So i'm curious how much pride and confidence Pentax/Hoya has in their lenses and if they fix the SDM for free if it wasn't Kris faults. If they dont then yes I'll lose my confident in them

you can see it with the Ned Bunnels video, he was shooting with the DA*200 handheld at a honkball match for kids and it looked smooth.

Well I wasn't asking that, I asked for your opinion.
You probable tried it so do you like it and will you use it?

Danny thank you very much for all the time you're putting into answer our question and keep us informed about your findings.
You seem to be enjoying the K-7 an hell of a lot so I probable don't need to remind to enjoy it as well

have you already tried to video mode seriously, I'm curious what you think about that?

Yep also Benelux so probable UK and everywhere else as well, also the K10D btw but those on the KxxD was a bit bigger though the K-7 is in between them.

Just a thought but a DA* lens is a quality item so you should expect to last at least for a good while longer then 2 years.
Also it's not likely you brake the SDM by wrong use so it's a faulty item right from the start.
I know that the law is here so that you can get it repaired under there cost because of the reasons i told you maybe you can try to do the same, it isn't your fault it broke it but theirs.

You're very right Gwyn about the 17-70 and I like it overlaps the DA*50-135 and it's a very useful walk about lens.
Then again f/2.8 and weather sealing... the 17-70 seems to have also some minimal sealing if i'm correct. A seal around the lens mount?

Ain't sure if that really effects RAW though?
I can be very wrong about that