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02-24-2009, 01:19 PM   #1
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what tubes to get

Hey all,

I'm very happy, I just picked up an smc PENTAX DA 35mm F2.8 Macro Limited at a great price, now I'm just waiting for it to come! The 35mm will be great for flowers and textures, but might scare away the bugs I so love taking pictures of.

With money being tight all around, rather then buying a second macro lens (50mm or larger), I'd like to just get some extension tubes, taht way, I can keep it at 35mm, or give myself some extra play depending on what I'm shooting (plus when I eventually get a longer macro, I can just use them on that too).

So my question:

With my K200D, what tubes should I get, how many, and how much should I expect to spend?

Thanks

02-24-2009, 01:39 PM   #2
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I don't think the tubes will give you any greater distance between the lens and the bugs.

I think a longer macro lens is unavoidable, and not even a 50mm if you want to photo bugs. At 1:1 magnification, the front of a 50mm lens is to be about 2" from the bugs. At the same magnification, a 100mm lens will give you about 10".

Back to extension tubes - Pentax does not make any tube that supports PKa mount. I think Kenko does. I have not seen any tube that support auto focus. Some of the tubes don't even have the aperture linkage so you have to use stop-down metering (yike!).

One way to get extension tubes is to use teleconverters with the optics removed. Many TCs supports PKa mount.

Note that you lose a lot of light with extension tubes. Focusing becomes difficult, and a flash is necessary to get decent DOF.

I recommend saving up for a real macro lens. If you are lucky, you can find a Vivitar 135mm f/2.8 close focusing that can give you 1:2 magnification. It runs about $150. Meanwhile, get a Raynox 250.

I'm selling a Pentax extension tube set K on FleaBay.
02-24-2009, 01:44 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by oatman911 Quote
Hey all,

I'm very happy, I just picked up an smc PENTAX DA 35mm F2.8 Macro Limited at a great price, now I'm just waiting for it to come! The 35mm will be great for flowers and textures, but might scare away the bugs I so love taking pictures of.

With money being tight all around, rather then buying a second macro lens (50mm or larger), I'd like to just get some extension tubes, taht way, I can keep it at 35mm, or give myself some extra play depending on what I'm shooting (plus when I eventually get a longer macro, I can just use them on that too).

So my question:

With my K200D, what tubes should I get, how many, and how much should I expect to spend?

Thanks
Each time you add 35mm of tube, you increase the magnification by 1.

Tubes with electrical contacts might be nice but probably aren't necessary if your lens has aperture & focusing rings. You'll be manually focusing & stopping way down I expect.

Dave

Edit: you might consider getting a a good teleconverter too; that'll give you more working distance for a given magnification. A 1.5X teleconverter will give you 1.5 times the working distance at the same mag - this might be useful for bees & wasps, etc.
02-24-2009, 01:52 PM   #4
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That lens has no aperture ring. Tubes that don't have electrical contacts mean shooting at f22 only. Unfortunately those tubes are somewhat expensive for something with no glass in them, and not easy to find either. It would be cheaper to get tubes that pass nothing through or only the aperture lever, plus a Pentax-M 50mm f4 macro.

02-24-2009, 02:46 PM   #5
Igilligan
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Get a raynox 150 for the 18-250 of yours and you can shoot all the bugs you want for about 50bucks
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