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11-30-2006, 12:17 PM   #1
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Help finding a good Macro Lens

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I am a newbie here, and also a newbie to buying lenses although I understand it can become addictive

I have a K100d, would this lens fit?

Sigma 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 II aspherical mini zoom macro for Pentax.

Here is the link on e-bay
eBay: Sigma 28-80mm for Pentax ZX-L ZX-60 *ist D DS D2 DL NEW (item 160056332277 end time Dec-02-06 14:45:59 PST)


Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

11-30-2006, 01:19 PM   #2
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Hi Jennifer and welcome to the wonderful world of creative photography
That lens would work fine on your camera.
What kind of photography do you plan to try?
That lens is an economical all around lens for things like landscape,
portrait, travel kind of stuff. The macro feature allows you to do extreme
close ups of things like flowers, bugs.
11-30-2006, 02:01 PM   #3
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Thanks, I find myself mostly wanting to get close ups in nature and portraits of my kiddo and from what I have read, the Macro lens should get me there. I know that Sigma is pretty low on the cost scale, but I just barley got my husband to understand why I needed $800 to get started, I don't think he would go for another $400-500 for a good Pentax macro at this point .

What should I look for to make sure that the lens will fit, it is the mount type?

Thanks again Leaton, looks like we are both in the same state!
11-30-2006, 02:19 PM   #4
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Did you know that an excellent DA18-55 lens usually shipped with Pentax DSLR cameras has very good close-up capability?

With minimum focusing distance of 0.25m (0.82ft) and at 55mm setting you could have a subject as small as 1.5x2.5" fill the frame? Perhaps DA18-55 is all you need? (And with camera it costs around $80.)

P.S. I see now that you have both DA18-55 and DA50-200. Consider then getting 52mm +1/2/4 close-up lens set for DA50-200. I am currently experimenting with that setup and at 200mm with +1 CU and 1.1m focus you can have 1.25x2" subject fill the frame.

But keep in mind the following:

1) Once mounted as filters close-up lenses prevent your lens from focusing beyond filter focal length, so you get macro-only and loose infinity until you remove close-up lens.

2) Dedicated close-up lenses (such as D-FA 100mm Macro) provide better quality, but at much higher price.

3) To avoid lens aberrations (especially CA) it is recommended to use f/8 or smaller apertures (f/11 or f/16). That may require flash or studio lighting.

Search eBay and on-line stores for "52mm close-up" for more details and prices.


Last edited by Ivan Glisin; 11-30-2006 at 02:42 PM.
11-30-2006, 02:21 PM   #5
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And of course, if you need real 1:1 macro consider D-FA 100mm Macro, but it comes with a price tag I understand you are not ready to pay right now.
11-30-2006, 02:36 PM   #6
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The kit lens - the 18-55 that was mentioned, I'm sure can be had used
very cheap as a lot of people that bought the camera with it upgraded and
want to sell. As a matter of fact I think there's one on the trade board on
this forum.
11-30-2006, 04:18 PM   #7
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Another option to close up lenses are extension tubes (similar to converters but no internal glass) that allow closer focusing distances.

You can also reverse mount another lens (usually 50mm) on the front side of your kit lens and do macro that way with magnification.

You can combine these two methods also. The upside to this is cost savings, the downside is image quality. I have seen beautiful macros with tubes and reversed lens, but I have yet to produce results anywhere close with my equipment. Still working on it!

Tim

11-30-2006, 05:29 PM   #8
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Hi Jennifer and welcome to the forum. I find the Tamron 90mm f2.8 to be one of the best macros on the market. It is readily available second hand from places like KEH. Probably eekbay too. It is both a very good macro and a decent short tele and also a pretty good portrait lens. It is one of my most favorite lenses.
By the way. Pentax cameras are backwards compatible with almost all lenses made for the "K" mount and most screw mount lenses can fit on your camera with a relatively cheap adapter. I would stay away from Ricoh lenses as they have an extra pin that gets stuck on the digital bodies, but most any other lenses will fit

NaCl(according to some there are nearly 24 million lenses available that will fit your camera)H2O
11-30-2006, 09:16 PM   #9
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I second Tamron

Hi Jennifer,
Welcome on board. I too would suggest a Tamron 90mm F/2.8. It is very sharp, has creamy bokeh and cheaper used. You can find them regularly on keh. It is excellent for portraits too. Sharp even wide open unlike Pentax DFA 100mm macro. Please note some women may not like their portraits with Tamron as it is sooo sharp it brings out details of the skin.
11-30-2006, 09:46 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by skamaraju Quote
Hi Jennifer,
Welcome on board. I too would suggest a Tamron 90mm F/2.8. It is very sharp, has creamy bokeh and cheaper used. You can find them regularly on keh. It is excellent for portraits too. Sharp even wide open unlike Pentax DFA 100mm macro. Please note some women may not like their portraits with Tamron as it is sooo sharp it brings out details of the skin.
I second the tamron 90mm..... I want one but it is just to big of an investment yet. It is definately the next glass I buy,.
If you can convince your hubby you really need one (tell him he can get that big screen tv, too ) it is a really good investment.
good luck
my other choice if you stick with the kit lens is to buy the extension tubes like others have mentioned.
randy
12-01-2006, 10:36 AM   #11
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Hi Slipchuck, You can usually find the Tamron 90 for a pretty good price used at KEH. There are two versions of this lens, the Tamron 90 and the Tamron 90 DI. The second has coatings optimized for digital. I have the non digital one and I paid less than $270 USD for it at KEH with an EX- rating. KEH is very conservative about their ratings the lens looks perfect to me. And works perfectly.

NaCl(KEH is a good place for LBA's on a buget)H2O
12-01-2006, 07:46 PM   #12
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consider for a 1:1 macro the kiron, vivitar series1,lester dine, 105mm f2.8. they are all the same lens and are dedigated macro lenses. manual focus but you don't need that for macros. actually AF is a disadvantage with macros,IMHO. these sell for under 200usd on eekbay all the time..
12-01-2006, 08:41 PM   #13
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Tamron

I have the SP AF90/f2.8 and is a very good lens. As has been stated it is available used at a modest price by comaprison.
12-01-2006, 10:10 PM   #14
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D FA 100mm f2.8 macro is a great lens. I am waiting for it to arrive



I had seen the great images from Lance's recent shots and lack of availability of Fa* 200mm f4

Sticking to this DFA100mm f2.8 would be great. The centre sharpness is so amazing.

Refer to this pentax imaging for details.

Pentax Imaging: smc P-D FA 100mm F2.8 - DFA - Macro - Digital & 35mm - Lenses - Cameras by Pentax

Lance's shots are posted here

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/1102-my-first-sr-pics-k10d.html

Last edited by roentarre; 12-01-2006 at 10:18 PM.
12-02-2006, 07:08 AM   #15
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roentarre-

Is this the 200mm lens you are referring to?:

Pentax Imaging: smc P-FA 200mm F4.0 ED (1:1 magnf) - FA - Macro - Digital & 35mm - Lenses - Cameras by Pentax
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