[Richdog]

I love shooting macro shots of plants and animals etc and am looking to get a good quality 1:1 macro lens for that very purpose and am just wondering which ones you guys can reccommend.

I realise Pentax do a good 100m lens as seen here Pentax D FA-Macro 100mm f/2.8 Reviews - PopPhoto but have also heard good things about the Sigma 150mm... only problem is as far as I can tell it doesn't support Pentax... is this correct? Sigma Imaging (UK) Ltd

Are there any other good lenses I should be considering?

Regards

Rich.

[slip]

I love shooting macro shots of plants and animals etc and am looking to get a good quality 1:1 macro lens for that very purpose and am just wondering which ones you guys can reccommend.

I realise Pentax do a good 100m lens as seen here Pentax D FA-Macro 100mm f/2.8 Reviews - PopPhoto but have also heard good things about the Sigma 150mm... only problem is as far as I can tell it doesn't support Pentax... is this correct? Sigma Imaging (UK) Ltd

Are there any other good lenses I should be considering?

Regards

Rich.

sigma 70mm..... doubles as a portriat lens. said to be the sharpest lens sigma makes

sigma 105mm

tamron 90mm..... very popular lens, been quoted as the best you can get

hope this helps

randy

[-=JoN=-]

yeah the 150mm doesnt show up for Pentax in the US site..(tho it does say a four thirds mount will be available soon) my take....sigma is probably waiting until pentax releases the DA* and they will probably release their own USM KAF mount lenses....

again..thats just my guess..

i'm sold on the pentax 100mm..thats my next lens purchase =)

[trog100]

with macro lenses one thing gets played off against another.. in the field at 1:1 i think 150mm would be a sweet spot..

handheld i think 100mm at 1:1 is a sweet spot..

tabletop still life 50 or 70mm is okay..

200mm hand held at 1:1 is very difficult..

300mm at 1:2 works handheld

its pretty much all a trade off.. and a couple of macro lenses are probably needed to cover everybodies idea of an ideal macro lens..

of course 1:1 digital would be about 24mm frame fill.. one to one film would be 35mm frame fill..

trog

[Richdog]

tamron 90mm..... very popular lens, been quoted as the best you can get

Done some researching and that looks awesome... only bad comments about it seem to be AF speed/noise and minor build quality niggles. May well be a contender for me.

i'm sold on the pentax 100mm..thats my next lens purchase =)

Hmm I can't find many reviews of this lens... and the one I did find said performance wise open was dissappointing.

[NaClH2O]

I own the Tamron 90mm f2.8 and am very very happy with it. Not only a great macro, but also good short tele and excellent portrait lens. I also can be found second hand fairly regularily both on eekbay and KEH. I got mine thru KEH and saved myself about $100 altho it doesn't have the new digital coatings.
Short tele: shot thru a chain link fence


macro:


NaCl(I can't recommend this lens any higher)H2O

[trog100]

richdog.. u are talking mostly to US based dudes.. u live in the UK..

pentax seems to favour the US market and hand out rebates and such.. the price difference between pentax glass and sigma or tamron glass is far less than it is in the UK..

i came close to buying either the tamron 90mm macro or the sigma 105mm macro.. the ludicrous nearly 900 US dollar UK price of the pentax 100mm macro puts it totally out of the question..

sigma or tamon roughly £280-ish.. pentax 100mm £450-ish..

we live in a dfferent world richdog.. we should not be influenced too much by the much different dominant american viewpoint..

and please my comments are simply about life on the other side of the pond.. i am not being anti pentax.. simply realistic..

the pentax glass just dosnt justify the UK price premium in most cases.. in the US its different..

trog

ps.. its used to be two countries seperated by a common language.. now its seems to be two countries seperated by different pirces.. he he he

[joele]

Here in Australia I think most of us just buy from the US, as even Tamron is cheaper to import from the US than to buy locally.. Or as I did off ebay new from Hong Kong, saved about a 1/3 of the price compared to buying locally (Tamron 90)..

[trog100]

its customs and shipping with the UK.. the average shipping from hong kong to the UK is about £35 nearly 70 dollars then we have the legal liabilty with import duty at 17%..

it also isnt the bargain basement place it used to be..

without the import duty (there is a chance of getting away with it) there is a small saving but not worth buying a product from half way around the world and no recourse if it all fouls up..

if the product gets impounded by the customs and excise the product could end up dearer than buying locally and be a long time in the getting..

its all been thought of and most dont risk it.. no easy answer here except base what we buy on UK prices which however one looks at it dosnt favour any proprietory glass..

i bought a pentax body cos it was good value (compared with UK alternatives) and a good body.. but the glass or accessory situtation differs somewhat..

its just the way it is.. at nearly double US prices value for money starts to play a big part in any LBA activities i engage in.. it has to..

its sigma/tamron lenses and a sigma flash for me like it or not.. i dont overly mind cos they both make good products..

rip off britain is a term the brits commonly use about their own country..

hows about a Pentax AF-500 FTZa flash unit for £320 or nearly 640 US dollars.. i wonder how many US guys would pay that for one.. ???

one pentax 100mm macro plus one pentax flash unit at about the equivalent of 1500 US dollars.. hmmm.. in my dreams but thats about all.. he he he

trog

ps.. mind u if the US dollar dosnt stop tanking against other currencies the entire world might end up buying from the US.. its quite an amusing thought thinking about all those UK customs guys trying to stop the ever increasing flood of grey imports.. he he

[joele]

Ahh OK, we don't get any sales tax on camera gear through customs as long as it is under AUD$1,000, otherwise we pay 10%..

I paid AUD$470 for my Tamron 90 inclusive of shipping new from Hong Kong... Locally it was around AUD$630 after experiencing first hand how bad Tamron warranty service is here, I didn't really care about not having a local warranty. LOL

Re: "Rip-off Britain".. Yes my brother now lives there and buys new cameras etc when he comes here for holiday..

[Richdog]

richdog.. u are talking mostly to US based dudes.. u live in the UK..

pentax seems to favour the US market and hand out rebates and such.. the price difference between pentax glass and sigma or tamron glass is far less than it is in the UK..

i came close to buying either the tamron 90mm macro or the sigma 105mm macro.. the ludicrous nearly 900 US dollar UK price of the pentax 100mm macro puts it totally out of the question..

sigma or tamon roughly £280-ish.. pentax 100mm £450-ish..

we live in a dfferent world richdog.. we should not be influenced too much by the much different dominant american viewpoint..

and please my comments are simply about life on the other side of the pond.. i am not being anti pentax.. simply realistic..

the pentax glass just dosnt justify the UK price premium in most cases.. in the US its different..

trog

ps.. its used to be two countries seperated by a common language.. now its seems to be two countries seperated by different pirces.. he he he

Heh yeah i'm well aware of the US > UK 1:1 magic conversion ratio mate... i've been a computer hardware enthusiast for years and there is nowhere where the price-gap is more apparent and horrendous than in that field.

The tamron 90mm cheapest price in the UK seems to be around £260... so I guess Ebay will save you around £60 and they clearly advertise no VAT to UK, so if you do get charged I would imagine you can claim it back from them.

Regarding the Pentax, the more I read about it the more I see that it's not actually that great... the tamron seems a much more sensible purchase, although I would like to see the 150mm Sigma.

Tamron it is I guess...

[Richdog]

Ok done more researching and it seems this is also a strong contgender for 1:1 macro shots... FM Reviews - 105mm f2.8 EX Macro 1:1 Lens

user reviews are fantastoc, I think it's between this and the Tamron.

[Richdog]

Ok guys I need a final spot of help before I decide on a lens...

I can either get the Tamron 90mm 1:1 macro for £269 here... Tamron 90mm F2.8 DI 1:1 SP AF Macro for Canon discount

... or the Sigma 105mm 1:1 macro for £269 here Cheap Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG AF Macro sigma Lens For Pentax Digital Cameras

I've been reading reviews and both seem well-respected and are now both the same price so which would you guys reccommend and why?

Really want to order asap so the sooner I can get it sorted the better!

Rich.

EDIT - Ahh well too late I bought the Tamron 90mm.