[davros73]

Hi,

We own a K200D since 2009. We have a 18-55 II and a 50-200. It does pretty nice pics if we consider that we aren't professionnnals. It does great landscpaes and portraits.

A few months ago, I've restarted to go outside and do photography. I really like to do Macro. I would like to have a macro lens, but I don't know if it would be a great idea because we have only 10.2 megapixels. Our pictures are only for us and we don't print them a lot. We put them on our PC as a background or on our TV.

Our budget is limited for passtimes. We also own a Canon EOS 90D. So... if I could continue with the Pentax and do better pics, I would like it! We do some hiking and we often go outside together my husband and I... so we really like to have two camera.

Can you give me some options or advices? Is there a good macro lens for my Pentax that won't cost an arm or a leg? Or.. if my Pentax is too old to be upgraded, can you give me a few options of camera that aren't too expensive and that will give me nice thrills? I don't want a professionnal camera.

Thanks and hope to have some interresting comments ! Have a nice day !

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[reduno]

I would say the 10.2 MP should be sufficient unless you are doing a lot of cropping. If you are displaying the photos on a TV or PC monitor, you will have less resolution unless you start pixel peeping anyway. In terms of lens recommendations, I think the first question is are these static objects, and then can you deal with a manual focus lens. The later may be more tricky on a K200D, as you don't have the option to switch to live-view with a magnified display (a magnifying eyepiece will help).

Depending on how small an object you want to photograph an how large you want it to be on the final picture, you may be able to utilize the macro function on an older zoom. That will at least enable you to gain some more macro experience at minimal cost, and find out what capabilities you really need in a lens going forward.

[boriscleto]

You could use a Raynox with one of your kit lenses

Raynox DCR-250 reviews - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database

Raynox DCR-150 reviews - Pentax Camera Accessory Review Database

Or use a cheap manual focus lens reversed, or several stacked, or extension tubes...

CHEAP MACRO -- Buying or exploiting a lens for ultraclose work - PentaxForums.com

[robiles]

A posibility would be the Cosina 100mm F 3.5 Macro. It is only 1:2 macro, but at this price it is not a deal breaker. Can be had in Europe for aprox 100€ and the reviews are also favorable:

Cosina ( Vivitar etc) 100mm F3.5 MC Makro Lens Reviews - Cosina Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database

I do or did not own said lens, but there are sone reviews that can help you make up yoir mind.

[boriscleto]

A posibility would be the Cosina 100mm F 3.5 Macro. It is only 1:2 macro, but at this price it is not a deal breaker. Can be had in Europe for aprox 100€ and the reviews are also favorable:

Cosina ( Vivitar etc) 100mm F3.5 MC Makro Lens Reviews - Cosina Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database

I do or did not own said lens, but there are sone reviews that can help you make up yoir mind.

I own the AF version branded as a Phoenix. It's the same lens as the FA 100/3.5 Macro. If you buy one make sure it comes with the 1:1 diopter.

Another excellent 1:2 macro is the Tamron SP Adaptall-2 90/2.5 52BB.

Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 90mm f/2.5 (52B/52BB) Lens Reviews - Tamron Adaptall Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database

KM adapters are cheap, KA adapters less so.

[steephill]

There are several older manual macro lenses from Pentax in 50 and 100mm focal lengths as well as several auto focus options. There is a Pentax branded version of the Cosina lens already mentioned. Tamron also made excellent 90mm macro lenses in both mf and af versions. All of these lenses are good enough for use on the latest high resolution cameras so will be fine on your K200D and any future Pentax you upgrade to.

[UncleVanya]

I’m going to ask a couple of questions and offer advice.

1) do you like the Canon or the Pentax better?

2) I understand you are limited in budget, can you quantify it a bit more?

3) with Macro, there’s a lot of confusion about what people mean, are you looking for 1:1 images or something less than that? Are your subjects mainly sitting still or moving?

4) do you have and use an external flash?

The reason for question 1 is that if you both use the same camera brand and lens mount you can share equipment taking either a wider variety of lenses with you or a lighter weight without duplication.

Question 2 is obviously to help us avoid giving you answers that are way outside your planned budget, plenty of options are cheap, but some are perhaps better than others depending on the limits of your budget.

The question about Macro is to help understand the best fit. A Raynox add on lens attached to the front of your existing lens and with a zoom can be fairly flexible, but doesn’t give the same ease of use as a dedicated Macro lens. On the other hand the Raynox work work with either camera.

As for flash, macros can be hard to get adequate light for without an external flash, often used with a cord or wireless trigger. This can be a real game changer.

[35mmfilmfan]

A rough idea of your budget would help. I have a Sigma f2.8 105mm 1:1 a/f macro, that I have used on my K10, K20, and now my K3, for pretty much the same kind of output that you are considering.

[aslyfox]

Welcome to the forums

you will find friendly members and a lot of knowledge here

I am going to suggest you start by looking at this article -

The Advantages of a Dedicated Macro Lens
Achieving lift-size magnification
By PF Staff in Tutorial Videos on Apr 4, 2016

Read more at: The Advantages of a Dedicated Macro Lens - Tutorial Videos | PentaxForums.com

a good macro lens is helpful for photographic goals other than macro

___________________

also keep an eye open for lenses in the forums' marketplace - " buy/sell"

it can be sorted by country:

The Pentax Marketplace | Buy & Sell Pentax Cameras and Lenses (Canada) - PentaxForums.com

_____________________________

another thought, the Pentax 100mm Macro " family " can help save you money:

Pentax-D FA 100mm F2.8 WR Macro Review
Introduction
The SMC Pentax-D FA Macro 100mm F2.8 WR is a fixed focal length macro lens which can focus down to life-size magnification (1:1), and which doubles as a versatile short-telephoto lens. It features a weather-sealed metal lens barrel and top-notch optical quality in a small and light package, and as such is designed much like a DA Limited series lens ..

Pentax-D FA 100mm F2.8 WR Macro Review
Specifications
The lens covers the full 24x36mm format, not just APS-C. The aperture blades are rounded, delivering a smoother bokeh which is important for a macro lens. However, unlike its predecessor, it has no aperture ring.

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

____________________________________

finally this free class might be worth attending

Free Online Class presented on Macro: Up CLose With Fujifilm - Virtual Class May 27
Up CLose With Fujifilm - Virtual Class | Wolfe's Camera Shop | Topeka KS

May 27, 5:30 - 7:30 PM US Central Time

Wolfe's Camera proudly hosts Fujifilm's Matthew Weintritt for a 90-minute webinar on close-up and macro photography. This talk covers the various ways to achieve detailed images of your subjects. We will discuss the tools and methods available for close-up picture taking and will get you ready to look at your surroundings from a new perspective.

Matthew Weintritt is a FUJIFILM Product Technical Specialist and a passionate member of the photography community. With more than 15 years of multi-disciplinary experience, Matt has traveled throughout North America sharing his knowledge and technical expertise in classrooms and through hands-on workshops. Matt is eager to help his fellow image makers in the art of storytelling, and possess an innate ability to work with any photographer - regardless of their chosen discipline or experience level.

registration link:

https://fujifilm.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9I8FGYxkS2Srkbp_dm5HPQ



Read more at: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/38-photographic-technique/423678-macro-f...#ixzz6t46nskdf

[davros73]

I’m going to ask a couple of questions and offer advice.

1) do you like the Canon or the Pentax better?

2) I understand you are limited in budget, can you quantify it a bit more?

3) with Macro, there’s a lot of confusion about what people mean, are you looking for 1:1 images or something less than that? Are your subjects mainly sitting still or moving?

4) do you have and use an external flash?

The reason for question 1 is that if you both use the same camera brand and lens mount you can share equipment taking either a wider variety of lenses with you or a lighter weight without duplication.

Question 2 is obviously to help us avoid giving you answers that are way outside your planned budget, plenty of options are cheap, but some are perhaps better than others depending on the limits of your budget.

The question about Macro is to help understand the best fit. A Raynox add on lens attached to the front of your existing lens and with a zoom can be fairly flexible, but doesn’t give the same ease of use as a dedicated Macro lens. On the other hand the Raynox work work with either camera.

As for flash, macros can be hard to get adequate light for without an external flash, often used with a cord or wireless trigger. This can be a real game changer.

First of all, I would like to thank you all for your answers. I will look at all your recommandations

Here are my answers to these questions:

1) My husband bought the Canon mostly to thake birds shots. So he only bought a EF400 4.5 L IS (it is a used one). He haven't done microsettings yet and the image isn't clear as it.s supposed to be. I can't do Macro with that lens. We like to have two cameras because we can shoot together. I not attach to one or another brand. I could consider Nikon, Fuji or anyone else if it could do what I want to. Canon could be a good choice to be able to share the lenses. But I don't need a camera as expensive as the 90D. I would like to have more megapixels than 10. A good middle class Canon could make me happy.

2) My budget could be under 2 000 $ CAN. (2 000 if it is a camera with a lens.) I would have payed more if my husband wans't thinking to change his Canon lens because he think that it's broken.

3) Yes I would like to be able to do 1:1 images. I prefer static subjects, but I enjoy shooting small insects or flowers. In example, if you look at my picture in the original publication, I wasn't able to go closer than this. There's an insect on the flower. I would have loved to get closer than this, so it would have took almost the entire picture. I was approximatly 15-20 cm close to my subject.

4) I don't have an external flash. I know that light is very important. I could buy one if it could help me to do what I want.

Finally, I hope my english isn't too poor. I'm from Quebec and I don't speak english everyday

[Bertrand3000]

2) My budget could be under 2 000 $ CAN. (2 000 if it is a camera with a lens.) I would have payed more if my husband wans't thinking to change his Canon lens because he think that it's broken.

2000$? This is not what I call a "small budget". For that price you could get a K-70 or KP new with a DFA 100 WR new for excellent macro shot. That said, with such a budget, perhaps this is not the best use (you could pay less and get more gear).

I have no experience with magnifying filters or reversing ring, but I can tell a bit about the true (1:1) macro lenses. They are all of excellent image quality.

DFA 100 Macro WR can be bought new. It is WR like your K200D and gives you space. It is a bit costly though. No Clamp, though, preventing use of Catch-in focus.
DFA 100 Macro. The same optically, but not WR and not available new. It offers a "Clamp" switch which allows you "Catch-in focus". The WR version cannot. I find this feature very desirable

FA 100 Macro : The same optically.
F 100 Macro : The same optically.

DFA 50 Macro, can be bought new. Offers Camp. Allow Catch-in-focus, but working distance is tight.
FA 50 Macro : The same optically.

DA 35 Macro Limited : Can be bought new. Does not offer Clamp. Working distance is very tight, but this particular lens doubles as an excellent normal prime for APS-C.

Myself I got a DFA 50 Macro new because price was too low to choose anything else. But working distance is too tight for me. I need external lighting to avoid the subject being overshadowed by the lens. If you are in doubts, take one of the 100's. It's the safe bet.

[aslyfox]

the forums has a very useful side by side comparison tool:


Pentax K-3 II vs. Pentax KP vs. Pentax K-70 vs. Pentax K200D - Pentax Camera Comparison - PentaxForums.com

[bwgv001]

Your English is fine. With $ 2000, if interested in macro you definitely should consider a flash. Tripod. the lenses suggested by others, maybe also a good tripod. If you still have money left, then go for a more modern body.

[Wheatfield]

Any macro lens that will mount will be a good lens. It's really difficult to find a bad macro lens. Unless it's broken.
I like the working distance I get from the 100mm range on APS-C. It should be easy to find a good macro lens in the 90-100mm range, as they were almost the standard macro lens from as far back as the 1970s. It really won't matter what brand or age. Having AF isn't critical to macro, though I don't know how easy the K200D is to focus manually.
Leave money in your budget for a decent tripod if you don't have one already, and at some point, you might want to consider a focusing rail.

---------- Post added Apr 25th, 2021 at 03:05 PM ----------

2) My budget could be under 2 000 $ CAN. (2 000 if it is a camera with a lens.)

That's actually a nice budget. If you want a nice upgrade, consider a used K3 or K3II.
I've seen K3s for as little as US$450.00, and with the K3III here, I suspect there will be some K3 bodies coming onto the market.
I'm not sure what a used whatever brand of macro would cost, but a shiny new DFA100/2.8 macro will cost you Can$619.00 at The Camera Store. I expect the price is similar in your region.
This if used isn't your cup of tea.
That's a really nice macro setup, and leaves money left over for fleshing out a kit.

[DWS1]

For me, 100mm or thereabouts is best focal length. MF or AF doesn't really matter that much because even with autofocus I find I have to manually adjust to get focus spot on.