[sculptor666]

focus sound/speed the same? bokeh looks a bit better.

[LennyBloke]

focus sound/speed the same? bokeh looks a bit better.

I don't notice any difference in focus speed or sound but I would say the newer coatings probably do help to handle strong backlighting slightly better. Bokeh - I'm not sure if there is much difference but one thing that is slightly disappointing is the circular aperture blades only have an effect up to f5.6, after that the shape of highlights changes back to octagonal. It's a shame they couldn't have kept the rounded shape for another stop or two

One other thing I've noticed (but it may not be accurate) is that the manual focus "damping" seems better - less "loose" than the previous version. It would be good if someone who still has both versions (Calling Wheatfiled, Calling Wheatfield ) could do a comparison to confirm if I'm talking rubbish or not

[house]

I don't notice any difference in focus speed or sound

It would be interesting to know how well the focus limiter software functions. For non macro work reduced hunting would certainly make the lens better for more scenarios.

[Wheatfield]

I
One other thing I've noticed (but it may not be accurate) is that the manual focus "damping" seems better - less "loose" than the previous version. It would be good if someone who still has both versions (Calling Wheatfiled, Calling Wheatfield ) could do a comparison to confirm if I'm talking rubbish or not

Message received.
It will have to wait until tomorrow though.

i have the new hd dfa 100mm 2.8 macro for around 1 month
now some other pictures.

2 times the ring, white backround is a stack of 21 pictures at f5.6, the gray backround is a stack of 31 pictures at f5.6
2 figures are at f11, this is for the CA´s, there are in the raws a tine green edge but with lightroom no problems.

i like the new one

[crussellsprout]

Some nice sample photos with the lens shown here:

http://photo.yodobashi.com/pentax/lens/dfa_mac100_f28_edaw/

[LennyBloke]

...it's pretty good at handling flare too!



...and not bad at macro...

---

Last edited by LennyBloke; 12-16-2022 at 08:51 AM. Reason: Added another sample

[mtngal]

It would be interesting to know how well the focus limiter software functions. For non macro work reduced hunting would certainly make the lens better for more scenarios.

I’ve played around with the focus limiter a bit, though I haven’t really tried everything about it.

The first thing I noticed is that the camera reverts to no focus limiter whenever it is turned off.

As far as using it, the camera doesn’t go through the whole cycle when it is looking for focus. I tried having it set to the far side and then trying to focus on something that was close - it went through a short cycle and stopped, indicating it could not achieve focus. I can definitely see myself using it.

I can see the advantages and disadvantages for having the camera revert to limiter off whenever the camera is turned off - too many times I’ve turned on the camera and started shooting without checking the settings. On the other hand, if I’m shooting macro stuff I will often turn off the camera when I’m adjusting things, which would mean that I would have to go into the menu to turn it back on each time. I don’t see that as a big deal - if I’m shooting true macros, I’m most likely focusing manually. I think I’d use it more for far subjects.

[Rondec]

I’ve played around with the focus limiter a bit, though I haven’t really tried everything about it.

The first thing I noticed is that the camera reverts to no focus limiter whenever it is turned off.

As far as using it, the camera doesn’t go through the whole cycle when it is looking for focus. I tried having it set to the far side and then trying to focus on something that was close - it went through a short cycle and stopped, indicating it could not achieve focus. I can definitely see myself using it.

I can see the advantages and disadvantages for having the camera revert to limiter off whenever the camera is turned off - too many times I’ve turned on the camera and started shooting without checking the settings. On the other hand, if I’m shooting macro stuff I will often turn off the camera when I’m adjusting things, which would mean that I would have to go into the menu to turn it back on each time. I don’t see that as a big deal - if I’m shooting true macros, I’m most likely focusing manually. I think I’d use it more for far subjects.

I think (if I owned this lens) I would create a user mode with the limiter set to on and just flip to that when I mounted the lens and needed that limiter function. That would make it an easy switch to and from the limiter function with the turn of a dial.

[biz-engineer]

The new lens is better optically, so it would be nice to have. However, I can't justify to buy the new version of the lens, because.... I tried to make my D-FA 100 macro (original) to fringe, but it was quite hard to see a little bit of purple fringing (I had to find harsh backlight) and fringing was almost completely gone after I enabled in camera lens fringe correction. So, I think I'll stay with the original 100 macro and save money. If I didn't have my DFA 100 macro WR already, yes I would buy the new one, of course.
I also compared my original D-FA 100 macro with my D-FA 70-210 (new lens) at 100mm, and my 100 macro easily beat the zoom for sharpness and CA at any aperture, although the 100 macro is a much old optical design than the zoom.
Looks like the new 100 macro lens is nearly perfect.

[jslifoaw]

The first thing I noticed is that the camera reverts to no focus limiter whenever it is turned off.

You can add the limiter to "memory" in the camera settings so that it remembers the limiter choice. By default, it unchecked and so will reset to no limit each time you turn the camera on.

[Smolk]

How good is the new version at infinity focus (I know, not its primary objective, but still) ?

[mtngal]

Infinity focus looks good on my K1.

Here's a jpg that is straight out of camera, no edits. Link: Superstitions

Here's an edited version taken from the raw file and processed the way I like:



On another topic, there's been discussion about fringing and CA. The lens does have a bit of CA wide open, though not much. I think I can get CA from just about any lens with this scene. Link to full sized SOOC jpg: Fridge



If anyone is curious, I took the same scene two years ago when I first got a lens that is something like 3 times the cost of the macro (DFA 85): DFA*85 f1.4 When I uploaded the two SOOC jpgs for the macro, I noticed the earlier photos and thought the comparison interesting. I know, the two lenses are designed for entirely different purposes. I don't think I should embed the DFA 85 photo here, since it's really off-topic, but if you are interested, follow the link and you can see/perhaps appreciate how nice the macro is.

There's still no differentiation between the AW and WR versions of the lens. I noticed that SmugMug has it identified as the WR version, like LR does with the raw files. It doesn't make much difference to me now as I no longer own the WR one, but it would be nice.

[Wiltshireborn]

Latest leaks concerning the 100mm f/2.8 macro briefly shown on 31 July during the videoconference dedicated to the Pentax Clubhouse and later added to the roadmap:

• Name is HD Pentax‐D FA Macro 100mm f/2.8 ED AW
• Latest optical design significantly improves descriptive performance
• First Pentax macro lens with dustproof and drip-proof construction (AW instead of WR)
• Scheduled for release on 18 November 2022.

「HD PENTAX‐D FA MACRO 100mmF2.8ED AW」の発売日は11月18日？ - デジカメinfo

The original source is the person who used to manage Nokishita Camera.

There was no ED lens element in the smc Pentax-D FA Macro 100mm f/2.8 WR, therefore the optical scheme is indeed new.

I have the Schneider-Kreuznach Samsung D-Xenon Macro 100mm F2.8 which I got real cheap, it is not WR but it is a great lens

[pblogic]

Sorry if this was already answered, but how do we differentiate between the new and old lens to make sure we are getting the new one?