Looks like you've got a cracking lens there - congratulations!

Or have a look at the Lensbaby web site - lot's of good examples on there too!

I am tempted by a Lensbaby, but if money were no object (and I could find one) I'd still much rather have the Hartblei Super-Rotator over and above any of the other lenses we've mentioned thus far...

Some nice shots on there as ever Ben, a couple of them look familiar to me too but that may just be because they're in the "Benjamin Kanarek Style". Not that that's a bad thing; I wish I had a style that allowed me to get paid for taking shots of beautiful models all day long...

Yes! And I really like the look of it too!

Wasn't too keen on the earlier versions as they looked a little fiddly and imprecise, but the new Composer looks like it might force some pennies out of my wallet...

I like the idea of interchangeable optics on the new LB line too, although the "standard" 50mm doublet is probably the only one from the initial line up I'd want. Hopefully there'll be more announced in the near future though.

It certainly does, and I've also read that it can be twisted on the lens so that L/R can be up/down or any other angle you fancy - nice!

I concur. I don't think of mine as a "problem" lens (and your comparison to the Tamron's PF is very apt), in fact for the money I think it's remarkably good!

The reason I pointed out it was soft wide open is because we don't know how the OP likes to use his lenses - some like to shoot with their lenses at their widest aperture at all times and the 18-55 can be very unforgiving of that sort of behaviour, hence he came to the conclusion that it was soft.

Tilt/shift needn't be complicated; a set of bellows could be adapted to move up and down / left and right / skewed with a little ingenuity and some cogs / toothed rails. The problem is that the whole mechanism would move the lens further from the camera so you'd lose infinity focus - not a problem if you're doing close up product photography, but not much use if you were looking for a shift lens to cover architecture and landscapes.

I half agree and half disagree with Chris; my DA18-55 has never been prone to any really noticable PF (except when pushed to extremes), but it is noticably soft when used wide open. I get around this by making sure it's always stopped down by at least 1EV from the maximum aperture - then it sharpens up quite considerably.

Like all budget lenses, the trick is in finding where its strengths and weaknesses lay and then play up to the strengths.

Go to the Pentax Photo Gallery and navigate to Image Data > Lens - there are 9 shots in there taken with the A*300/4 and 6 shots taken with the M*300/4 - all look pretty good to me!

The Hartbleis have tilt as well as shift though, which makes them a far more interesting prospect than the Pentax with shift only. Supplies of their own Super-Rotators have been on the thin side lately (even their own web site shows them being out of stock) but you can still get 35mm & 85mm Arsat T&S lenses from them in Pentax mount for just $595 and $385 respectively. The Arsat lenses are a little more crude than the Hartblei ones and use the Canon-type T/S mechanism but they still get the job done if you're in the market for one.

Due to the smaller sensor on DSLRs (compared to 35mm) you'll find that shifting a lens will have much less of an effect on the final picture. Tilting, however, works just as well on DSLRs as it does on their larger format brethren so if you want funky DoF effects then I'd forget the Pentax (unless it's for film) and look to Ukraine instead.

Of course, if it's for artistic interpretations only, then you could save a lot of money and buy a Lensbaby - the new "Composer" they're showing at Photokina looks quite cool.