[GUB]

I saw that lens, but decided I'd better not bid given I've already got the Tamron 90 2.8 and the D FA 100 2.8. I think my wife would want to check me in to an institution if I get any more macro lenses.
Personally, I think I like the Tamron better for portraits, as the extra 10mm on the D FA makes it a wee bit long in most situations, but for actual macro the quick shift focusing is much nicer to work with.

Yeah I thought I had better show restraint too

Attached Images

 

[NZ_Ross]

Yeah I thought I had better show restraint too

Thanks GUB, that level of 'restraint' is making me look really good - 'look GUB has 9 50's, and I only have 5'

[GUB]

Thanks GUB, that level of 'restraint' is making me look really good - 'look GUB has 9 50's, and I only have 5'

Ummm --- that is Macro 50s

[NZ_Ross]

Ummm --- that is Macro 50s

I hear you...

[Kiwizinho]

Yeah I thought I had better show restraint too

Hmm. When you need a spreadsheet just to track your 50mm lenses, that's getting pretty serious.
Still, I guess it could be worse.
If you get to the point you need a relational database to track your lenses because a spreadsheet is no longer efficient enough, now THAT would be severe.

I wonder whether you quite possibly have more inventory of Pentax gear than the NZ agent?

[GUB]

Annnd another one. I didn't bid till the last half hour so anyone that wanted it had heaps of opportunity. A reasonably scored lens in the reviews - 9.25.

[Kiwizinho]

Speaking of macro lenses, they're quite good to use as well as collect.
One thing I've learnt; always carry a flash, and preferably a remote trigger, even on a bright sunny day, as small things tend to lurk in shady places.

Image taken with D-FA 100 2.8 at F14. That whole moss spore thing was only about 1cm high.

[GUB]

Speaking of macro lenses, they're quite good to use as well as collect.

Yes and unfortunately you can only use one at a time!! And I have my favourites while others sadly sit on the shelf . My workhorse - the rikenon 105mm 2.8 got to do walkies last - I was surprised to find sundews out - I thought they died down for winter.

[NZ_Ross]

Yes and unfortunately you can only use one at a time!!

Aint that the truth!!

[Kiwizinho]

Yes and unfortunately you can only use one at a time!! And I have my favourites while others sadly sit on the shelf . My workhorse - the rikenon 105mm 2.8 got to do walkies last - I was surprised to find sundews out - I thought they died down for winter.

Nice image. I'm not sure if we have any of those down here.

I've been having quite a bit of fun with mosses lately. They're small, but just as diverse as flowering plants, and a lot of them have fruiting bodies at the moment.

One thing I find curious about macro lenses, is that they're all reasonably fast, and yet if you actually use them for macro, you're going to need to have them stopped down to get any depth of field at all.

It does mean they also make very nice portrait lenses.

Macro is probably one of the best use cases where older lenses can compete with newer ones, as manual focus is generally necessary, and if you're using flash, manual exposure works best too, so AF and auto aperture don't really provide any advantage.

[GUB]

Macro is probably one of the best use cases where older lenses can compete with newer ones, as manual focus is generally necessary, and if you're using flash, manual exposure works best too, so AF and auto aperture don't really provide any advantage.

Compete is probably not quite the term - rather "are as convenient and as easy to use". As far as IQ is concerned all old glass has its own qualities and can more than hold its own against new stuff.

[Kiwizinho]

I can finally boast something of my Pentax gear that I never thought I'd be able to claim. Collectively, between my lenses, I now have 50x zoom.

[GUB]

I can finally boast something of my Pentax gear that I never thought I'd be able to claim. Collectively, between my lenses, I now have 50x zoom.

What have you just bought?

[Kiwizinho]

What have you just bought?

A bazooka ... or maybe since it turned up from Oz (there was a bit of drama behind it, as that wasn't quite expected), perhaps I should call it a 'Crocodile Dundee lens' (something like "That's not a lens. THIS is a lens).

On the plus side, though my wife raised her eyebrows when yet another lens arrived (although I think it's been about a year since the last one), I think she'll stop trying to convince me to go to the gym now, as I have more than enough weight to get fit with.

It's an older example of one of the big Sigmas 150-500. I'd never considered I'd actually be able to afford something that long, as pretty much anything over 300mm seems to cost an arm and a leg. This just weighs an arm and a leg!

I haven't had a chance to put it through its paces yet, but will be sure to post an image or two once I do.

[richandfleur]

Yep, anything over 300mm seems to cost half a house in Pentax land.
Not sure what's on offer for other systems, but agree it's normally really costly.
Sounds like a good purchase to me.