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35-80 Pentax-F front element removed macro hack testing
Lens: 35-80 Camera: K-x 
Posted By: markoneswift, 10-07-2015, 01:46 PM

I had a hacked ( front element removed ) Canon EF 35-80 a few years back and it gave interesting results and was CHEAP. As I cannot afford a 'proper' macro lens, I thought I would try the same hack with the humble Pentax-F 35-80. Here are some results :-














Not stellar IQ but in less 'contrasty' situations such as the watch face, it seems to do quite well.
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10-07-2015, 02:24 PM   #2
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heck and I thought gutting the A50/2 to make a TC was rad

Can you try it on a natural object like a flower part plz ?
10-07-2015, 02:34 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Transit Quote
heck and I thought gutting the A50/2 to make a TC was rad

Can you try it on a natural object like a flower part plz ?

Sure, I'll try something later today and post up. Flowers are tricky with it as the DoF is t-I-n-y lol. It seems to suit flat field subjects well like notes, coins, watches etc but I'll try some nature too.
10-07-2015, 02:50 PM   #4
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Thanks ! seems to be performing a bit like a reversed lens

10-07-2015, 02:59 PM   #5
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That's very interesting , what sort of aperture setting were you using ?
10-07-2015, 03:12 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by old4570 Quote
That's very interesting , what sort of aperture setting were you using ?

I'm around F/11 to F/18 here and quite high ISO - about 1600. These images needed some tweaking in CS5 too. The working distance is minimal at around 1 inch too so lighting is tricky as I don't have a flash bracket or diffuser snoot.
10-08-2015, 09:19 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Transit Quote
heck and I thought gutting the A50/2 to make a TC was rad

Can you try it on a natural object like a flower part plz ?

Here we go - hand held and a breezy day so less than perfect macro conditions !!







10-23-2015, 07:05 PM - 1 Like   #8
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Finally got out to do some more macro work with the 'hackro' :-)








10-25-2015, 05:26 AM   #9
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Pretty cool..... You are need to put together some type of instructional series on doing this mod...
10-25-2015, 06:00 AM   #10
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Holy!! Amazing shots!
10-25-2015, 06:19 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by forensicscientist Quote
You are need to put together some type of instructional series on doing this mod...
What he said. I have two Pentax 50s f2s, neither which will bring much on the market to sell. More macro lenses would be exceptional for me.

Nicely done on the flower shots.
10-25-2015, 05:40 PM   #12
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Thanks everyone - as far as instructions go, it's probably three steps. First, take your boring old 35-80 zoom that on-one wants and lever out the front cover that surrounds the element. Then, take a small screwdriver and remove the three retaining screws. Finally, pop out the front element and you are done - easy ! Working distance is minimal and if you zoom to the long end magnification is crazy but image quality SUCKS. The 35 to 50 range works best, also don't forget that with no front element you loose AF so you need to move closer physically to focus.
10-25-2015, 05:43 PM   #13
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Thanks for the instructions.

Do you know manual focus for macro IMO is the only way to go about it. AF changes perspective in Macro shooting.
10-25-2015, 10:58 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by photolady95 Quote
Thanks for the instructions.

Do you know manual focus for macro IMO is the only way to go about it. AF changes perspective in Macro shooting.

Yep, it's the only way to macro focus for me but you would be surprised how many people have attempted this lens 'hack' and said 'hey, I've lost AF.....' - heh heh, yeah that's because you just took out the focusing element hah hah lol
08-10-2017, 01:40 AM   #15
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I did this mod more than a year ago as well, just saw this and decided to take it out to play around. AF actually works with my K-01.

The scale on the ruler is CM.
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