Macro The best macro lens for pentax

ghiaauto · 09-29-2014, 07:04 AM

What is the best macro lens for pentax k3? if budget is not a problem?

the best that has autofocus and the best that doesn't have autofocus.

a really stupid question but I don't really.

HYS · 09-29-2014, 07:12 AM - **1 Like**

I am very satisfied with my D-FA 50/2.8 Macro and with D-FA 100/2.8 Macro WR. Excellent lenses.

**eminker** · 09-29-2014, 07:22 AM

I've recently been using a Sigma 70mm F2.8 Macro and a Sigma 105mm F2.8 Macro.Images have been very sharp and pricing was right.
Note though neither one of these is WR and it takes a bit of practice to get used to the Sigma 105mm. Once you do, you wont be disappointed.
Check out the reviews on Pentax Forums for both these lenses.

JinDesu · 09-29-2014, 07:31 AM

The best Pentax macro lens without a budget is the FA*200 F4 macro lens.
Follow that by either the D-FA 100 F2.8 WR or the Sigma 180mm F3.5 or the Sigma 70mm F2.8.

Stavri · 09-29-2014, 07:44 AM

Originally posted by JinDesu

The best Pentax macro lens without a budget is the FA*200 F4 macro lens.
Follow that by either the D-FA 100 F2.8 WR or the Sigma 180mm F3.5 or the Sigma 70mm F2.8.

The cream of the crop, top of the line, would be the FA* 200mm f4 Macro (or A* 200mm f4) which would set you back at least a couple of grand. The Sigma Ex 180mm f3.5 is the poor man's alternative of the FA* 200 f4. On the 90-105mm range the D-FA 100mm f2.8 WR is excellent. On the 25-90mm range the Sigma EX 70mm f2.8 is the top performer in term of absolute sharpness.

Unless someone drops heir FA 200 Macro unadvertedly (or 3 grand) I'm not getting rid of my siggy 180mm f3.5

8stripe · 09-29-2014, 08:11 AM

One of the best manual macro lens I have used is the Vivitar Series 1 "Bokina" (tokina) 90mm F2.5.

btnapa · 09-29-2014, 09:06 AM

Originally posted by ghiaauto

What is the best macro lens for pentax k3? if budget is not a problem?

the best that has autofocus and the best that doesn't have autofocus.

a really stupid question but I don't really.

I have the Pentax-F 50mm f2.8 macro which is very sharp and the contrast is the best of my lenses including all my Limited lenses. The other macro that I actually used on a K5IIs for an assignment, is a manual 120mm f4 from the 645 line up which is also very sharp and contrasty. This combo is on the longer end of the lens line up.

If you want something shorter try the DA 35mm f2.8 Limited Macro. I do not own the lens but tried it at a trade show. It was very sharp and contrasty. It is on my wish list to get.

**jatrax** · 09-29-2014, 09:49 AM - **1 Like**

I think the best I have is the Pentax F 50mm f/2.8 but the DFA 100mm WR is close.

As noted above if you simply want the "best" without qualifications then the FA*200 f/4 macro is what to get. But the last one I saw went for about $3k. I thought about it for a bit before sanity returned

Hogdriver · 09-29-2014, 10:45 AM

I am very happy with the D-FA 100/2.8 Macro WR (autofocus) and my SMC Pentax-A 35-70mm F4 (non autofocus)...Enjoy!!!

Zav · 09-29-2014, 11:57 AM

Best with AF is the FA*200 Macro and the best with manual focus is the Voigtlander 125

**Rondec** · 09-29-2014, 12:20 PM

Best would be either the FA *200 f4 macro/A* 200 f4 macro.

That said, I really like the DFA 100 macro WR. Only down side to me, is the lack of a focus limiter.

Bob from Aus · 09-29-2014, 01:44 PM

Originally posted by Stavri

The cream o fthe crop, top of the line, would be the FA* 200mm f4 Macro (or A* 200mm f4) which would set you back at least a couple of grand. The Sigma Ex 180mm f3.5 is the poor man's alternative of the FA* 200 f4. On the 90-105mm range the D-FA 100mm f2.8 WR is excellent. On the 25-90mm range the Sigma EX 70mm f2.8 is the top performer in term of absolute sharpness.

I wish

Pentax has two great macros the 35Ltd and the 100mm WR. The advantage of the Ltd is that it could easily be one of the best 35mm lenses. The 100mm is WR and is a good focal length for many of the subjects people like photographing in macro. The sigma 70mm is massive and unless you are really attracted to this focal length I think the two pentax lenses have much much better colour. The 70mm is very sharp, but I find I prefer the colours produced by my pentax lenses. I also have picked up an older copy of the sigma 50mm so I have a manual lens with a manual aperture. I find I am to close with the 50mm to use any kind of flash.

My 35Ltd is the most likely macro I will pack followed by my 100mm WR.

Bottom line is that probably any macro made in a pentax mount if not an excellent lens will be rather close to excellent. I think identifying your focal length, price you can affod and what you want out of the lens should be you guide rather than which is the best.

6BQ5 · 09-29-2014, 02:55 PM

I also really enjoy my D FA 50mm f/2.8 but my macro application is camera scanning film negatives. In a real world application of photographing bugs and other interesting objects I think the 50mm focal length requires too short of a working distance. You have to get right up to whatever you want to shoot and you can easily create shadows on your subject. If I were out in the field I would want a longer focal length. My gut feeling would be guiding me to something between 75mm and 100mm.

old4570 · 09-29-2014, 10:16 PM

Hmmmm ...

If you want one lens , it has to be 90-105 ... ( Many to chose from )
I really wish there was a 150mm Macro lens ( 1:1 ) , I have shot up to 250mm ( multipliers ) but ?? for really good results ..
I would love to see a 100mm to 200mm Zoom ( 1:1 or even 1:2 ) though a 150mm Prime would be superb ...

The other option , is get the best 50mm you can and add some multipliers to the collection ( 1.4x - 2x - 3x ) to get some options going ..

HYS · 09-30-2014, 12:04 AM

Originally posted by 6BQ5

I also really enjoy my D FA 50mm f/2.8 but my macro application is camera scanning film negatives. In a real world application of photographing bugs and other interesting objects I think the 50mm focal length requires too short of a working distance. You have to get right up to whatever you want to shoot and you can easily create shadows on your subject. If I were out in the field I would want a longer focal length. My gut feeling would be guiding me to something between 75mm and 100mm.

That's right. Personally I use it as a "standard" lens.

09-29-2014, 07:04 AM	#1
ghiaauto Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 42	The best macro lens for pentax What is the best macro lens for pentax k3? if budget is not a problem? the best that has autofocus and the best that doesn't have autofocus. a really stupid question but I don't really.

09-29-2014, 07:44 AM	#5
Stavri Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: at a Bean & Leaf Photos: Albums Posts: 1,832	Originally posted by JinDesu The best Pentax macro lens without a budget is the FA200 F4 macro lens. Follow that by either the D-FA 100 F2.8 WR or the Sigma 180mm F3.5 or the Sigma 70mm F2.8. The cream of the crop, top of the line, would be the FA 200mm f4 Macro (or A* 200mm f4) which would set you back at least a couple of grand. The Sigma Ex 180mm f3.5 is the poor man's alternative of the FA* 200 f4. On the 90-105mm range the D-FA 100mm f2.8 WR is excellent. On the 25-90mm range the Sigma EX 70mm f2.8 is the top performer in term of absolute sharpness. Unless someone drops heir FA 200 Macro unadvertedly (or 3 grand) I'm not getting rid of my siggy 180mm f3.5 Last edited by Stavri; 10-02-2014 at 08:35 PM.

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09-29-2014, 07:12 AM - 1 Like	#2
HYS Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Photos: Gallery Posts: 377	I am very satisfied with my D-FA 50/2.8 Macro and with D-FA 100/2.8 Macro WR. Excellent lenses.

09-29-2014, 07:22 AM	#3
eminker Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 150	I've recently been using a Sigma 70mm F2.8 Macro and a Sigma 105mm F2.8 Macro.Images have been very sharp and pricing was right. Note though neither one of these is WR and it takes a bit of practice to get used to the Sigma 105mm. Once you do, you wont be disappointed. Check out the reviews on Pentax Forums for both these lenses.

09-29-2014, 07:31 AM	#4
JinDesu Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: New York City Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,638	The best Pentax macro lens without a budget is the FA*200 F4 macro lens. Follow that by either the D-FA 100 F2.8 WR or the Sigma 180mm F3.5 or the Sigma 70mm F2.8.

09-29-2014, 08:11 AM	#6
8stripe Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Northeast USA Posts: 62	One of the best manual macro lens I have used is the Vivitar Series 1 "Bokina" (tokina) 90mm F2.5.

09-29-2014, 09:06 AM	#7
btnapa Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 1,616	Originally posted by ghiaauto What is the best macro lens for pentax k3? if budget is not a problem? the best that has autofocus and the best that doesn't have autofocus. a really stupid question but I don't really. I have the Pentax-F 50mm f2.8 macro which is very sharp and the contrast is the best of my lenses including all my Limited lenses. The other macro that I actually used on a K5IIs for an assignment, is a manual 120mm f4 from the 645 line up which is also very sharp and contrasty. This combo is on the longer end of the lens line up. If you want something shorter try the DA 35mm f2.8 Limited Macro. I do not own the lens but tried it at a trade show. It was very sharp and contrasty. It is on my wish list to get.

09-29-2014, 09:49 AM - 1 Like	#8
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	I think the best I have is the Pentax F 50mm f/2.8 but the DFA 100mm WR is close. As noted above if you simply want the "best" without qualifications then the FA*200 f/4 macro is what to get. But the last one I saw went for about $3k. I thought about it for a bit before sanity returned

09-29-2014, 10:45 AM	#9
Hogdriver Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: USA...Freedom Isn't Free Posts: 103	I am very happy with the D-FA 100/2.8 Macro WR (autofocus) and my SMC Pentax-A 35-70mm F4 (non autofocus)...Enjoy!!!

09-29-2014, 11:57 AM	#10
Zav Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,371	Best with AF is the FA*200 Macro and the best with manual focus is the Voigtlander 125

09-29-2014, 12:20 PM	#11
Rondec Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Gladys, Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 27,653	Best would be either the FA 200 f4 macro/A 200 f4 macro. That said, I really like the DFA 100 macro WR. Only down side to me, is the lack of a focus limiter.

09-29-2014, 01:44 PM	#12
Bob from Aus Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,094	Originally posted by Stavri The cream o fthe crop, top of the line, would be the FA* 200mm f4 Macro (or A* 200mm f4) which would set you back at least a couple of grand. The Sigma Ex 180mm f3.5 is the poor man's alternative of the FA* 200 f4. On the 90-105mm range the D-FA 100mm f2.8 WR is excellent. On the 25-90mm range the Sigma EX 70mm f2.8 is the top performer in term of absolute sharpness. I wish Pentax has two great macros the 35Ltd and the 100mm WR. The advantage of the Ltd is that it could easily be one of the best 35mm lenses. The 100mm is WR and is a good focal length for many of the subjects people like photographing in macro. The sigma 70mm is massive and unless you are really attracted to this focal length I think the two pentax lenses have much much better colour. The 70mm is very sharp, but I find I prefer the colours produced by my pentax lenses. I also have picked up an older copy of the sigma 50mm so I have a manual lens with a manual aperture. I find I am to close with the 50mm to use any kind of flash. My 35Ltd is the most likely macro I will pack followed by my 100mm WR. Bottom line is that probably any macro made in a pentax mount if not an excellent lens will be rather close to excellent. I think identifying your focal length, price you can affod and what you want out of the lens should be you guide rather than which is the best.

09-29-2014, 02:55 PM	#13
6BQ5 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Nevada, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,348	I also really enjoy my D FA 50mm f/2.8 but my macro application is camera scanning film negatives. In a real world application of photographing bugs and other interesting objects I think the 50mm focal length requires too short of a working distance. You have to get right up to whatever you want to shoot and you can easily create shadows on your subject. If I were out in the field I would want a longer focal length. My gut feeling would be guiding me to something between 75mm and 100mm.

09-29-2014, 10:16 PM	#14
old4570 Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 2,551	Hmmmm ... If you want one lens , it has to be 90-105 ... ( Many to chose from ) I really wish there was a 150mm Macro lens ( 1:1 ) , I have shot up to 250mm ( multipliers ) but ?? for really good results .. I would love to see a 100mm to 200mm Zoom ( 1:1 or even 1:2 ) though a 150mm Prime would be superb ... The other option , is get the best 50mm you can and add some multipliers to the collection ( 1.4x - 2x - 3x ) to get some options going ..

09-30-2014, 12:04 AM	#15
HYS Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Photos: Gallery Posts: 377	Originally posted by 6BQ5 I also really enjoy my D FA 50mm f/2.8 but my macro application is camera scanning film negatives. In a real world application of photographing bugs and other interesting objects I think the 50mm focal length requires too short of a working distance. You have to get right up to whatever you want to shoot and you can easily create shadows on your subject. If I were out in the field I would want a longer focal length. My gut feeling would be guiding me to something between 75mm and 100mm. That's right. Personally I use it as a "standard" lens.