[Pentakun]

I am a newbie and interested in this lens because I want a prime in this focal length and plan to do macro shots (flowers, watches, nature, maybe bugs), so it seems a perfect for many reasons (IQ, features, price, etc). I also plan to get a longer focal lenth macro too.....

However, before I buy, I have some questions I was wondering if you could answer to help this newbie out.

1) The pics in macro mode I have seen here have really shallow depth of field. It is possible to get macro shots with a little more depth of field with this lens? (Examples would be appreciated)

2) Is a focal length of 35mm best for taking macro shots of watches?

3) (Please bear with me on this one) The DA35 shots among the examples in the following thread look the least attractive to me. They are dark, don't seem sharp, etc.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/218664-post59.html

While the M40@f/2.8 shots looks the best in my eyes, they were rated "worst". I'm not sure why or what I am supposed to be looking at. But if my eyes are telling me this, I am wondering if I should foget this lens and find a simple prime around 35mm without macro.

Anyway, thanks for any thoughts on this.

[k100d]

welcome to the forum!

1. this macro will have the most depth of field out of any macro you can buy because of its short focal length. just need to increase the aperture a bit.
2. may not be that great for watches because the working distance is extremely close making lighting very difficult
3. i think in that example, the details are very close

take a look at Benjikan's album that he linked to in here for more DA35 samples
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/25506-can-anyo...o-limited.html

i think if you want to take pictures of bugs and watches, you might as well skip this and go to a longer focal length

[aegisphan]

1) To get a good DOF, you need to use higher aperture, i.e. f/8 or f/11. The difficulty for using such aperture all the time is because of the slow shutterspeed, which would result in blurry picture if you can't keep it steady. Well, the 35 might solve this in a way, since it's quite a short FL, so with SR on, you can still shoot at around 1/8s or 1/4s.

2) Watch is a stationary subject so you can shoot with the DA 35 easily.

3) Since all of them were taken at the same subject distance, the 40/2.8 has the advantage of having more "reach"; thus, higher resolution for a given brick. The 40 shot acutally shows that it has less contrast compared to the other 3; the picture is "washed out". Also, if you look at the lower left corner, you will notice the softness right there. Furthermore, we need 100% crop to see the real performance. Some lenses may look soft with that resolution, but when you crop in, it's a different story.

I don't know how Marc did this test, but his 31LTD seems to perform poorly, especially at wide open. Here is my 31LTD wide open shot and 100% crop:

[jake123]

welcome to the forum!

1. this macro will have the most depth of field out of any macro you can buy because of its short focal length. just need to increase the aperture a bit.
2. may not be that great for watches because the working distance is extremely close making lighting very difficult
3. i think in that example, the details are very close

take a look at Benjikan's album that he linked to in here for more DA35 samples
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/25506-can-anyo...o-limited.html

i think if you want to take pictures of bugs and watches, you might as well skip this and go to a longer focal length

I believe that depth of field only depends on magnification and aperture. So at 1:1, a 90mm and a 35mm will not have a different depth of field.

[Levi]

I Took my new DA35 to work last night, and just started playing around. the attached picture is of an interapid test indicator, it has a 1.5 inch dial. It was shot hand held under bright flourescent shop lighting. so yeah, I think you could shoot watches ok.
Levi

[Pentakun]

I appreciate the feedback. It sounds like this lens is a go with me. After all, LBA is just starting, so why not get it, right?

I plan to study lenses in the range of about 100mm or so with macro function. That will be my next area to cover.