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04-10-2020, 05:08 AM   #1
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Pentax K1 Mk2 and lenses

Hi there,

Have been looking into buying a K1 Mk2 and a new macro lens as I do a lot of macro photography and ready for something better. I currently have a K3 and Tamron 90mm macro which I'm pretty happy with. When I purchase the K1, I was thinking of upgrading my Tamron to a better macro to go with it. I have researched a few macros within my price range

(> $800 aud) and haven't come up with anything decent. Have read plenty of reviews of the Pentax D FA 100mm f/2.8 but they all agree on CA issues with this lens. And due to a lack of K mount third party lenses, thinking I'll stick with the Tamron. Any ideas or suggestions appreciated.

Would also appreciate any advice/known issues with the KI Mk2.
Thanks


04-10-2020, 05:19 AM   #2
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which Tamron 90mm do you have now?

there's also the Irix 150/2.8 macro to consider...
04-10-2020, 05:22 AM   #3
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The Irix 150mm definitely has some good reviews and is well-priced. If you absolutely need af look for a used sigma 180mm lens -- you wont be disappointed with it.
04-10-2020, 05:59 AM   #4
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I have the TAMRON 90MM F/2.8 MACRO DI SP 1:1 (272E), works just as great on a full frame or apsc camera.

04-10-2020, 06:03 AM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by geoffb Quote
Have been looking into buying a K1 Mk2
15% off sale at Pentax.com.au over Easter!
04-10-2020, 06:34 AM - 2 Likes   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by geoffb Quote
Hi there,

Have been looking into buying a K1 Mk2 and a new macro lens as I do a lot of macro photography and ready for something better. I currently have a K3 and Tamron 90mm macro which I'm pretty happy with. When I purchase the K1, I was thinking of upgrading my Tamron to a better macro to go with it. I have researched a few macros within my price range

(> $800 aud) and haven't come up with anything decent. Have read plenty of reviews of the Pentax D FA 100mm f/2.8 but they all agree on CA issues with this lens. And due to a lack of K mount third party lenses, thinking I'll stick with the Tamron. Any ideas or suggestions appreciated.

Would also appreciate any advice/known issues with the KI Mk2.
Thanks
A couple things:

The DFA 100mm WR macro is a truly astonishing lens. It really should be a limited lens simply because of its incredible edge-edge sharpness and the way it renders colours. It also seems rather diffraction-proof haha.
The CA will not be an issue at all. You’ll only see that being an issue with a bit of sun in your sight and shooting below f3.5. Otherwise, especially when shooting at f11 onwards for macro, it’s simply not there. I haven’t done any CA corrections for the photos I’ve posted here. Also it only costs about £400 brand new. My only wish would be for a focus limiter as the autofocus can definitely hunt a bit, being screwdrive. Then again I’m in MF most times anyhow so not such a problem. The MF is excellent. Really good at allowing fine adjustments.
Also the lens is absolutely wonderful for portraiture and funny enough, having used it at 2.8 for portraits, I can definitely speak for it’s insane sharpness and lack of CA, but as I say perhaps you’ll get a bit of that shooting wide open to 3.5 outdoors on a very sunny day.

As for the K1 Mark II, to be honest I’ve actually got both the K1 and K1 Mark II and I enjoy my K1 more because it lasts at extra 100 shots (I’ve tested this thoroughly, believe me) and I also enjoy the fact that pulling up exposure and shadows by a good 3 stops or more gives me zero purple artefacts. It’s incredible how much deeper the blacks are on the K1. And the noise reduction in K1 Mark II RAW files...why did they bother? The difference is insignificant and you actually lose a tiny bit of fine detail. I’m more than happy to post extensive proof of this. Autofocus is ever-so slightly better on the Mark II and tracking is more confident for BIF and sports but that’s about it. In all honesty that’s just comparing it to the K1...for sports I actually prefer to use my KP because the tracking definitely outperforms both FF cameras, and the frame-rate helps too.

Excuse the fruit and vegetable one. It was one of 20 focus-adjusted shots for a focus-stack
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04-10-2020, 06:57 AM   #7
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In our house we have the FA 50 macro, Sigma 70 macro, Tamron 90 macro, and DFA 100 macro WR.

My wife uses the Tamron 50% of the time when she goes out. It's a great lens, looking places like Optical limits and DXO who test the same lens on different formats, it's excellent on every format it's been tested on. You're dreaming if you think you're going to get much better optically, unless your copy is on the low end of sample variation.

I usually take the 100 macro....I like the WR, and more rugged smoother feel.

I don't remember having a problem with the 100 macro for CA, I don't know what you're talking about.

My favourite of the bunch is probably the Sigma 70macro....but it's big and heavy.

But bottom line for me, the DFA 100 is the lightest of the group for carrying in your bag and WR.
The bottom line for Tess is the Tamron 90.
For studio work, I'd pick the Sigma 70.
I use the FA 50 macro for when I want edge to edge sharpness in a 50mm lens, and don't care much about out of focus rendering.

I can only rate the four I own.

04-10-2020, 07:17 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by geoffb Quote
]Would also appreciate any advice/known issues with the KI Mk2.
One issue with the K1 (or any full frame camera) compared to APS-C for macro is the issue of required optical magnification. You'll find that a full frame camera needs 1.5X more optical magnification than an APS-C to create a given final magnification of the image. The "reach advantage" of APS-C affects macro, too.

If you seldom shoot at magnifications above 1:1.5 on APS-C (i.e., no subjects smaller than 24x36mm or 1 x 1.5 inches), you'll be fine with any macro lens that goes to 1:1.

But if you want to replicate what APS-C sees at 1:1, then you'll need to go to 1.5:1 on full frame. That will typically require some combination of extension tubes, bellows, teleconverters, or add-on lenses. Longer focal length lenses will need more extension/bellows that short focal length lenses. A 50 mm macro lens set to 1:1, needs only 25mm of tubes to get to 1.5:1. A 150mm macro lens set to 1:1, needs a rather longer 75mm of tubes to get to 1.5:1.
04-10-2020, 07:22 AM - 1 Like   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by photoptimist Quote
But if you want to replicate what APS-C sees at 1:1, then you'll need to go to 1.5:1 on full frame.
Replication is futile, but in most circumstances, you can make up for the 1.5 factor by moving closer.
It's only the extreme magnification guys for whom, this would be an issue.
And if you're going extreme with bellows, extension tubes etc... you don't even need a macro lens for that.

As long as you respect that the field of view for 70 macro on FF is about the same as a 50 on APS-c.... which is why I went to the 100 macro, to replace the 70 when I went full frame. So I'd be working in a similar environment.

If I had access to the Tamron 90 without the wife taking it all the time, it would still be my only macro. I would have saved money buying his and hers Tamrons, as opposed to trying to find something a little different. The thing with macros is, if you own four, you can only put one of the camera at a time. I honestly don't think I suffer photographically regardless of choice. It's about other factors, weight , size, and which one you own and feel like using that day.

After the wife had her Tamron roll into a lake and I had my FA 50 macro take on water in a mishap in a canoe, WR all the way for me. Plus the DFA 100 is the most portable of the bunch. Looking at images, you're not going to see much difference.

DFA 100 macro


Sigma 70 macro

Last edited by normhead; 04-10-2020 at 08:20 AM.
04-10-2020, 07:30 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by DaveSimo Quote
The DFA 100mm WR macro
+1

This is my sharpest lens - on my K-1 (and K-3). Can you rent one to compare to your Tamron?
04-10-2020, 08:06 AM   #11
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if cost is an issue, remember that

QuoteQuote:
The optical design is the tried-and-proven formula of the previous generation D FA 100mm F2.8 Macro lens, which in turn had inherited the optical design from the well-respected FA 100mm F2.8 and F 100mm F2.8 macro lenses introduced in 1991 and 1987, respectively. None of these earlier lenses had rounded aperture blades.
Read more at: Pentax-D FA 100mm F2.8 WR Macro Review - Specifications | PentaxForums.com Reviews
04-10-2020, 08:27 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by geoffb Quote
(> $800 aud) and haven't come up with anything decent. Have read plenty of reviews of the Pentax D FA 100mm f/2.8 but they all agree on CA issues with this lens. And due to a lack of K mount third party lenses, thinking I'll stick with the Tamron. Any ideas or suggestions appreciated.
Your Tamron is a great lens. I own the manual focus (72B) version. The D FA 100/2.8 is also a great lens. Assuming you are interested in the WR version, the main advantages over the Tamron are metal build and the WR seals.

As for CA, most macro lenses may exhibit purple fringing (not quite the same as CA) for non-close-up subjects and sometimes even close-ups when provoked. The Tamron is prone, perhaps more-so than the Pentax.

There is a comparative detailed review of both lenses here on Pentax Forums.

Tamron 90mm Macro vs Pentax 100mm WR: Review - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews

FWIW, while I would love to have the Sigma 70/2.8 EX DG Macro mentioned above, the lens I prefer over my Tamron is the the Lester Dine 105/2.8 (Dental) macro. Yes, it will show purple fringing and is heavy, but otherwise simply rocks.


Steve
04-10-2020, 08:42 AM - 1 Like   #13
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These are all tried and true formula, the Sigma 70 macro is used by Imagine Resources to test all their camera bodies. The FA 50 macro has been around forever and is as tried and true as anything, that Tamron is one of the highest rated that' been tested on all formats.

I don't actually own nor have I heard of any bad macros. You can only learn so much on the forum especially with regards to 3rd party lenses. If you're talking about tried and true and excellent across all formats and manufacturers the Tamron 90 and Sigma 70 are probably tops in that department, in the the DFA 100 macro is only ever tested on Pentaxes.


Trust me, I once researched every word ever written about the 90 macro, you won't find anything better. Just different.

Last edited by Parallax; 04-10-2020 at 01:48 PM. Reason: Tone.
04-10-2020, 10:18 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by geoffb Quote
Hi there,

Have been looking into buying a K1 Mk2 and a new macro lens as I do a lot of macro photography and ready for something better. I currently have a K3 and Tamron 90mm macro which I'm pretty happy with. When I purchase the K1, I was thinking of upgrading my Tamron to a better macro to go with it. I have researched a few macros within my price range

(> $800 aud) and haven't come up with anything decent. Have read plenty of reviews of the Pentax D FA 100mm f/2.8 but they all agree on CA issues with this lens. And due to a lack of K mount third party lenses, thinking I'll stick with the Tamron. Any ideas or suggestions appreciated.

Would also appreciate any advice/known issues with the KI Mk2.
Thanks
Keep the Tamron, there is no need to "upgrade" it.
Instead get a cheap manual flash, a cheap hotshoe flash trigger and a flash arm.
04-10-2020, 10:19 AM   #15
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Yes, I already commented above, but figured that I might put my $0.02 worth in regards to magnification/field-of-view on the K-1 vs K-3. Yes, FOV is different. After all, the K-3 offers a crop relative to the K-1. Optical magnification, on the other hand, remains the same for a given focus distance regardless of format; 1:1 (1x) remains 1:1. The actual "reach" of the K-3 is exactly the same as the K-1, though to be complete it might be good to mention that the K-3 enjoys a pixel resolution advantage over the K-1 in crop mode, allowing for higher magnification for on-screen viewing (if one has a 6K or higher resolution monitor) or for printing.


Steve

Last edited by stevebrot; 04-10-2020 at 10:57 AM.
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