[chaddy7604]

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Thanks Adam


I have a ATamron 90mm f 2.8 macro.. When pixel peaking it is the sharpest lens I have.

I purchased mine in January, it's quickly become my favourite lens

[jmerchant]

I purchased mine in January, it's quickly become my favourite lens

Mine too!

[jb0501]

I picked up the Sigma 105 2.8 EX DG Macro a couple of months ago and am just now learning how to use it. This lens is super sharp when I nail the focus.

I see that I need to change the camera banner. I am using a K-30 now.

[chardie]

hello the group
i have a canon 60d i use it with 3 takumars and a katz eye micro prism focusing screen there's a f4 200mm smc in the mail as well they are all m42 screw mount . i really like these lenses. i read the draft article on Cheap Macro so i ordered a bellows some tube extensions and a 105/f4.5 enlarger lens. had a bellows turn up in the mail today the other items arrived earlier pretty happy with everything except the bellows. both the camera mounting point and lens mount have play or slop in them none of my other eos to m42 adapters have any play in them. not quite sure what i am able to do about it yet.the real question i have is will a 24mm mount onto a bellows and focus ? . the enlarger lens and a standard canon 18-55 lens work fine on the bellows but the 24mm tak doesn't. i am a complete newbie when it comes to macro so maybe i am expecting too much from it perhaps ?

[baro-nite]

both the camera mounting point and lens mount have play or slop in them none of my other eos to m42 adapters have any play in them. not quite sure what i am able to do about it yet.the real question i have is will a 24mm mount onto a bellows and focus ? . the enlarger lens and a standard canon 18-55 lens work fine on the bellows but the 24mm tak doesn't. i am a complete newbie when it comes to macro so maybe i am expecting too much from it perhaps ?

A short focal mounted normally can't take much extension before the focus point moves to inside the lens itself. But short focals are great for mounting in reverse to get extreme magnifications.

There's a rule of thumb that says mount the lens in the normal orientation for 1:1 magnification and below, reversed for higher magnifications. That's even true for macro lenses (and some enlarging lenses). Dedicated bellows lenses, though, are of course designed to be used mounted normally.

Sorry about the play in the bellows mounts. Maybe there are some set screws that aren't fully tightened? Otherwise, M42 bellows are cheap and easy to find.

[Pirate]

Ahoy!

I'm unable to post on what might be considered 'more suitable' threads (I'm assuming from my low thread posts), though having owned several Cosina and Vivitar model of the lens, the 'plastic fantastic' deserves its nickname as it really is, though I digress. For USA members, have a look at evilBay item: 252667851649 (it isn't mine nor do I have anything to do with the vendor) and it also has the matched 1:1 macro adapter.

It appears to be an earlier version compared to those I've owned (I currently have a mint Vivitar version boxed complete - lucky me), but for the price, surely it's a 'no brainer' . . . isn't it? Well, I think it is. Do a search for the Pentax brand of the same lens and you'll likely see the ridiculous prices being asked for it compared to the Cosina or any of its rebranded versions of which Vivitar is one. OK, so it says 'for parts not working', but as the item description doesn't state what issue(s) it has, I'm guessing that it's a selling ploy in order to negate the item being returned due to the listing condition type. Even if the AF didn't work, for macro shooting it's normally done in MF anyway, but that aside, it's all about the optics as this lens can produce results you could easily think was taken with a Tamron 272EP which is widely accepted as being one of the best dedicated 1:1 macro lenses.

In summary, the AF 100mm F/3.5 1:2 MC Macro is likely to be the best 'bang for buck' lenses bar none based on the optics alone, though the body is made from entry-level plastic and has a course and slightly noisy AF motor. I love mine and I have several images posted online taken with it, so maybe someone will ask the seller a question to establish the real condition status of the lens, and with that, I'll leave it to you on the other side of the pond to follow-up on.

Have a good weekend.