[Na Horuk]

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Pentax Forums should do a comparison of Venus 15mm macro, DA 35mm macro, DFA 50mm macro, and DFA 100mm macro, all at the same aperture and magnification

Then give the lenses away to loyal forum users

Regarding the cost.. the Pentax macro lenses are very fairly priced, I think. They are optically magnificent, they are compact, and some are even WR.
And I think there was recently a sale on the DFA 100mm macro with a really great price, if you happen to be in the US.

[bertwert]

Then give the lenses away to loyal forum users

Me for giving the idea...

he Pentax macro lenses are very fairly priced

I think they are but still out of my budget...

and some are even WR.

one != some

And I think there was recently a sale on the DFA 100mm macro with a really great price,

350 USD I believe

[jup]

One advantage of 35mm that hasn't been mentioned is that it's theoretically easier to hand hold at the same magnification - DoF being larger and focal length being smaller you can get away with hand held shots sometimes. I say in theory, because in practice it's also subject movement (wind etc.) and ultimately for macro you'll want tripod anyway. I have both, and like 35 mm as a universal tiny lens with macro capabilities as a bonus, but when I know I will want to shoot macro, it's 100 mm I take.

[wissink]

If you're getting the 35mm for true macro, expect to need a ring flash sooner or later.

Would something like this work on a standard flash do you think?

Ring Flash O Flash FOR Canon 550EX 580EX 5D Mark II | eBay

[Na Horuk]

DoF gets tricky, most of the online calculators will ignore factors that get important at macro magnifications (changing focal length at close distances, pupil magnification, and other things specific to a given lens design). For example, see Depth of field and read down into the next section (the bit about pupil magnification).

This is a really interesting point. I think this depends on each lens design, so its not the same for all lenses labelled as "100mm macro." Would be great if we could find out these things, but I doubt there is anyone doing this systematically

[robthebloke]

And I think there was recently a sale on the DFA 100mm macro with a really great price, if you happen to be in the US.

The UK had a similar deal - I picked up the DFA100 WR for £249.99. I still prefer the 35mm f2.8 ltd (which I foolishly gave away to my sister), but the 100mm is a cracking little lens...

[tryphon4]

The bokeh will be way better using the 100mm than the 35mm, take a look at these photos I took using a 90mm (at F/10) and a 20mm (at F/10):


As you can see the bokeh is smoother using the 90mm, the perspective is better too (geometric deformations).

[x-country]

With the 35 macro limited you get quite close to the object. I like the FOV and DOF at minimum focus distance.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/x-country/5595701035/

[mole]

Bert -

I've got way too many macro lenses
Here's a quick comparison (subject Hawk feather, background Nalgene bottles):

DA 35 macro, FA 50 macro, FA 100 macro, Sigma 105 macro, and finally "180 macro" - Tamron adaptall 90 plus 2X flat field TC. Hope this helps!!

[bertwert]

Thanks!