Interesting review! It's hard to make a really meaningful comparison, owing to the slightly different shooting conditions and perhaps not the best lens choices to expose the resolution which the sensor is capable of! But I can see differences -

[IMG]http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy148/willdb_photo/comparison-2_zpsa11e3693.jpg[/IMG]

I found the comparison between the 18-55 / 18-135 / 18-270 lenses at 18mm interesting! The 18-55 (bottom images in the crops below) is really bad, which matches my own experience, the 18-135 is a little better (middle image), but the 18-270 (top) is much better, with acceptable edge sharpness at 18mm - something the other two lenses can't deliver. Now, that is a surprise to me!

[IMG]http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy148/willdb_photo/flatten_zpsb206a5bc.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy148/willdb_photo/flatten2_zps1d8c980b.jpg[/IMG]

Sounds fantastic. I presume they don't stop at any stations South of the border, other than London.

Ah, I see. Well it's a bit too linear for my taste!

I agree with Ted. Everything's a bit grey in no. 1 but no. 2 is burned out. In fact if you overlay no. 1 over no. 2 at 50% opacity, it looks pretty good to me. I don't like that dark line across the bottom though, what happened there?

Comparing a thirty quid MF zoom with the DA50-135 is a bit unfair! Considering the price, the 75-150 is a remarkable lens, IMHO. It seems to be a class above any other legacy zooms I have tried out - nice contrast and colour, and more than acceptable wide open.

Here it is compared to the K135/2.5 (both wide open):

[IMG]http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy148/willdb_photo/8007550.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy148/willdb_photo/8008007550-6.jpg[/IMG]

I agree. The P30 and P30n are actually great to use. I have the MX which is a jewel. But the shutter speed dial is not as easy to operate. I have the SuperA. Nice to have Tv mode, but those tiny buttons are of the devil. Another point in favour of the P series cameras is they don't suffer from gummy light seals.

I managed with a non-sealed DSLR and lens for years, taken it down caves, up snow capped mountains, onto beaches, and subjected it to (light) rain, with no problems at all. That's not to say I didn't appreciate the extra peace of mind offered by WR kit when I upgraded (even then I tended to use a non WR lens that was much better optically than the kit lens). But unless you're Bear Grylls you can easily get by so long as you use common sense.

Why not wait until a used one comes up on the classifieds? You shouldn't be any hurry - really I doubt you truly need a WR lens right now unless you are planning going out in truly extreme dusty or wet conditions (from the nature of your posts, I strongly doubt this!)

Hint: The sort of place you bought your K30, they also sell lenses!

But don't worry about taking your K30 to the beach just because the lens isn't sealed. Just be sensible and keep waves / sand off it.

It's a shame all the 'contaminated' burgers were taken off the shelves, presumably to landfill. I'm sure there are a lot of hungry people who would have appreciate them, horse or not.