D FA 100mm WR Macro $359

D FA 100mm WR Macro $350 · **1 Like**

Is this a good deal from B&H??

Pentax smc Pentax-D FA 100mm f/2.8 WR Macro Lens 21910 B&H Photo

esmith904 · 01-18-2016, 12:44 PM

Just bought one this morning. Been trying hold back the LBA urge, but can't resist at this price.

**Rondec** · 01-18-2016, 02:24 PM

Originally posted by BrianR

Thank you

Mine is the older non-WR version of the DFA100mm, but I think most of this will still apply.

I found the AF was dependent on the body. It was close to useless on my k100d - it would go off hunting and with the long focus throw it's an extended trip. With my k5iis, hunting is pretty rare and the AF is great at normal distances and somewhat useful at closeup distances, though I still prefer manual focus when close-up. It does have quick shift to let you override the AF. The focusing ring is great, large and the action is smooth (the cosmetic design on the WR is a little different from mine though).

Before I purchased my macro I spent hours (ok days, maybe weeks

) looking at samples from the dfa100mm, the Tamron 90mm, and the sigma 105mm.. My conclusion was that optically there's not much to choose from between them and I could be happy with any of them and not look back.

Otherwise, the dfa100mm is a little smaller than the tamron (and takes 49mm filters), WR, and cosmetically quite beautiful (imo). If you can do without the aperture ring and the focus limiter, I'd be tempted to upgrade, but frankly I don't think there's a big rush as you've already got an excellent lens. Even calling it an 'upgrade' feels a little wrong when your tamron is pretty awesome

.

For me personally, I make use of the aperture ring on my non-WR dfa100mm, have found it pretty capable of handling light rain and assorted swamp goo. My main motivation to upgrade to the new version would be the more solid build, but this is minor and I expect to continue being thrilled with what I have for many years.

Hope this is some help and good luck with your sale if that's the way you try to go

When I'm using the 100 macro WR for non-macro things, I get in the habit of turning the focus ring back to infinity. This makes a huge difference in focus speed. If it misses focus and racks from end to end, there is trouble, but often it just has a little distance to travel if pre focused to infinity.

**jerryleejr** · 01-19-2016, 01:13 AM

Originally posted by Rondec

When I'm using the 100 macro WR for non-macro things, I get in the habit of turning the focus ring back to infinity. This makes a huge difference in focus speed. If it misses focus and racks from end to end, there is trouble, but often it just has a little distance to travel if pre focused to infinity.

Good tip, this will be my first macro...$342 from B&H!

JJ

arkav · 01-19-2016, 06:10 AM

Originally posted by shardulm

@350 I am thinking I should hoard on to another copy.

Yeah. If I didn't live in Canada, I'd be tempted to buy a second one in case I break the one I own. But I've already fallen on mine a number of times and it's still intact. It's a tough lens. For about 6 months of the year, it rarely comes
off my camera body.

If you've got a use for a macro lens, it's a gem. I'm not sure it's the best for subjects at a distance/infinity. It seems to be a bit soft/hazy when focusing at longer distances ( saw that mentioned in a review somewhere, so it's not just my copy )

The hunting can be annoying sometimes. Back button focusing makes a HUGE difference with this lens. I use BB focus to get a first approximation, then I let my body movement and/or light touch on the focus ring ( QS ! ) to nail the focus.

**Larrymc** · 01-19-2016, 07:27 AM

Bought mine from B&H for $350 last Friday plus an APE Case lens case.......its out for delivery today!

BrianR · 01-19-2016, 07:31 AM

Great tips on manually turning the ring to infinity and back button focus, I do both. The quick-shift on these little lenses is grand.

Originally posted by arkav

Yeah. If I didn't live in Canada, I'd be tempted to buy a second one in case I break the one I own.

It's showing $391.34 shipped to Ontario

, or $567 of our Canadian Loonies (probably a little more after the banks conversion). This is a few bucks below what I paid for the non-WR version in 2009. If I had the spare funds I'd be tempted to hoard a few of these for personal use

.

Originally posted by arkav

It seems to be a bit soft/hazy when focusing at longer distances ( saw that mentioned in a review somewhere, so it's not just my copy )

I would say mine is pretty darn sharp at all distances.

arkav · 01-19-2016, 08:26 AM

Originally posted by BrianR

It's showing $391.34 shipped to Ontario, or $567 of our Canadian Loonies (probably a little more after the banks conversion).

Does that include all duties/taxes/brokerage fees ? If even a few extra fees get tacked on along the way, I could see the exchange bringing the price up to almost par with what it sells for in Canada. And if you get a bad copy, returning it would
likely involve some hassle. Plus, you only get 1 year of warranty vs 2 for one purchased in Canada.

If I was travelling to the states and could bring one back with me tax exempt, that would certainly make it more attractive.

wibbly · 01-19-2016, 08:31 AM

i just bought one, i couldn't pass it up at 342.82

using b&h's free shipping and paying for border fees ahead of time the total was 372.18

i had a balance of US funds in my paypal so i used those, however, if you were to pay with paypal right now from a canadian account, with paypal's rate you'd pay 524.75

too bad the dollar isn't at par anymore...

BrianR · 01-19-2016, 08:48 AM

Originally posted by arkav

Does that include all duties/taxes/brokerage fees ?

Yes

. They've had "all in" cross border shipping options for a few years now.

I agree that potential returns and the 1 vs 2 year warranty can be factor. For this reason most of my new camera bodies and lenses have been from Canadian dealers, even if they may have been a few bucks less from the States. I did get an FA50/1.4 from adorama (seemed unlikely to need warranty work, and was about 60% of the Canadian price at the time) and I've ordered tons of lighting stand type things from BandH (also seemed unlikely to be faulty).

This is about a hundred Canadian bucks cheaper than the lowest Canadian dealers, so well worth considering for us northern folk: Pentax smc D FA 100mm F2.8 WR - Canada and Cross-Border Price Comparison - photoprice.ca.

Lev · 01-19-2016, 09:01 AM

Originally posted by wibbly

using b&h's free shipping and paying for border fees ahead of time the total was 372.18

lucky you, congrats! I had to pay twice as much as you payed for border fees but in total this is much less than its original price

hinman · 01-19-2016, 03:51 PM

Originally posted by Doundounba

One thing to be aware of regarding the lack of aperture ring is an unfortunate bug in the K-3 firmware that can be very annoying. If you shoot using manual flash and liveview, the K-3 attempts to "preview" the exposure you'll get on the LCD display. When you're shooting manual flash, the body can't know the flash's power, so it ignores the flash and (mistakenly) thinks the shot will be underexposed. It "previews" this by artificially dimming the display by up to -2 eV. This inappropriate exposure "preview" is exceedingly annoying: in marginal light, it's already quite hard to focus macro shots without the camera making it worse by dimming the LCD even more! The only way to disable this behavior is to use the aperture ring instead of setting aperture from the camera body. For this reason, even though I'd like to have a WR macro myself, I just won't buy a macro lens without an aperture ring unless and until this FW bug is fixed. (Note that the K-01 and K-5 II(s) don't behave this way, not sure about other models.)

Thanks for the valuable pointers. I am currently using K-5 and it is nice to know about the limitation with liveview and manual flash on K-3. Hope the problem is less when you shoot manual flash with the optical view finder.

For those who have owned the WR lens from Pentax, would you discuss more comparing the lens to other non-pentax alternatives such as the Tamron and Sigma macro.

The concerns that I have are on two fronts:

No focus limiter
Absence of aperture ring

For focus limiter, will the quick shift focusing in the WR lens helps somewhat and do you find yourself missing the focus limiter when you use the Pentax macro for non-macro usage? It is nice to know before making my decision and possible purchase.

Thanks!
Hin

Zephos · 01-19-2016, 04:46 PM

Originally posted by a5m

Just noticed that it no longer says 'Offer Ends Dec. 31st 11:59 EST' but is still at $359.57. Hope this deal is here to stay and I can buy it when I have the funds

Just asked them. Deal ends after January.

wibbly · 01-19-2016, 05:12 PM

wow, glad I decided to get one when I did then!

after two reductions I figured it'd be pushing my luck to wait any longer. figured they'd run out of stock

arkav · 01-19-2016, 07:26 PM

Originally posted by hinman

For those who have owned the WR lens from Pentax, would you discuss more comparing the lens to other non-pentax alternatives such as the Tamron and Sigma macro.

Sorry, have never tried those lenses. I went from an M series 100mm F4 macro to the WR. I prefer the WR. A focus limiter might have been nice, but I've never used one.

Zephos · 01-21-2016, 10:29 PM

Okay... I have wanted this lens for along time now. But... I just can't buy it right now even at that price. I mean, technically I COULD but I really can't... because of priorities. I promised my wife I wouldn't obsess over it... at least not to her. So I guess I will obsess over it to you guys and gals. Please tell me why I don't want to buy this lens. C'mon, knock some sense into me! Tell me how selfish I am, especially because it's my wife's birthday next week and all I can think about is this lens haha!

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01-18-2016, 02:24 PM	#47
Rondec Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Gladys, Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 27,663	Originally posted by BrianR Thank you Mine is the older non-WR version of the DFA100mm, but I think most of this will still apply. I found the AF was dependent on the body. It was close to useless on my k100d - it would go off hunting and with the long focus throw it's an extended trip. With my k5iis, hunting is pretty rare and the AF is great at normal distances and somewhat useful at closeup distances, though I still prefer manual focus when close-up. It does have quick shift to let you override the AF. The focusing ring is great, large and the action is smooth (the cosmetic design on the WR is a little different from mine though). Before I purchased my macro I spent hours (ok days, maybe weeks) looking at samples from the dfa100mm, the Tamron 90mm, and the sigma 105mm.. My conclusion was that optically there's not much to choose from between them and I could be happy with any of them and not look back. Otherwise, the dfa100mm is a little smaller than the tamron (and takes 49mm filters), WR, and cosmetically quite beautiful (imo). If you can do without the aperture ring and the focus limiter, I'd be tempted to upgrade, but frankly I don't think there's a big rush as you've already got an excellent lens. Even calling it an 'upgrade' feels a little wrong when your tamron is pretty awesome. For me personally, I make use of the aperture ring on my non-WR dfa100mm, have found it pretty capable of handling light rain and assorted swamp goo. My main motivation to upgrade to the new version would be the more solid build, but this is minor and I expect to continue being thrilled with what I have for many years. Hope this is some help and good luck with your sale if that's the way you try to go When I'm using the 100 macro WR for non-macro things, I get in the habit of turning the focus ring back to infinity. This makes a huge difference in focus speed. If it misses focus and racks from end to end, there is trouble, but often it just has a little distance to travel if pre focused to infinity.

01-19-2016, 07:31 AM	#51
BrianR Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ontario Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,332	Great tips on manually turning the ring to infinity and back button focus, I do both. The quick-shift on these little lenses is grand. Originally posted by arkav Yeah. If I didn't live in Canada, I'd be tempted to buy a second one in case I break the one I own. It's showing $391.34 shipped to Ontario, or $567 of our Canadian Loonies (probably a little more after the banks conversion). This is a few bucks below what I paid for the non-WR version in 2009. If I had the spare funds I'd be tempted to hoard a few of these for personal use. Originally posted by arkav It seems to be a bit soft/hazy when focusing at longer distances ( saw that mentioned in a review somewhere, so it's not just my copy ) I would say mine is pretty darn sharp at all distances.

01-19-2016, 08:48 AM	#54
BrianR Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ontario Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,332	Originally posted by arkav Does that include all duties/taxes/brokerage fees ? Yes. They've had "all in" cross border shipping options for a few years now. I agree that potential returns and the 1 vs 2 year warranty can be factor. For this reason most of my new camera bodies and lenses have been from Canadian dealers, even if they may have been a few bucks less from the States. I did get an FA50/1.4 from adorama (seemed unlikely to need warranty work, and was about 60% of the Canadian price at the time) and I've ordered tons of lighting stand type things from BandH (also seemed unlikely to be faulty). This is about a hundred Canadian bucks cheaper than the lowest Canadian dealers, so well worth considering for us northern folk: Pentax smc D FA 100mm F2.8 WR - Canada and Cross-Border Price Comparison - photoprice.ca.

01-19-2016, 03:51 PM	#56
hinman Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Fremont, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,473	Originally posted by Doundounba One thing to be aware of regarding the lack of aperture ring is an unfortunate bug in the K-3 firmware that can be very annoying. If you shoot using manual flash and liveview, the K-3 attempts to "preview" the exposure you'll get on the LCD display. When you're shooting manual flash, the body can't know the flash's power, so it ignores the flash and (mistakenly) thinks the shot will be underexposed. It "previews" this by artificially dimming the display by up to -2 eV. This inappropriate exposure "preview" is exceedingly annoying: in marginal light, it's already quite hard to focus macro shots without the camera making it worse by dimming the LCD even more! The only way to disable this behavior is to use the aperture ring instead of setting aperture from the camera body. For this reason, even though I'd like to have a WR macro myself, I just won't buy a macro lens without an aperture ring unless and until this FW bug is fixed. (Note that the K-01 and K-5 II(s) don't behave this way, not sure about other models.) Thanks for the valuable pointers. I am currently using K-5 and it is nice to know about the limitation with liveview and manual flash on K-3. Hope the problem is less when you shoot manual flash with the optical view finder. For those who have owned the WR lens from Pentax, would you discuss more comparing the lens to other non-pentax alternatives such as the Tamron and Sigma macro. The concerns that I have are on two fronts: No focus limiter Absence of aperture ring For focus limiter, will the quick shift focusing in the WR lens helps somewhat and do you find yourself missing the focus limiter when you use the Pentax macro for non-macro usage? It is nice to know before making my decision and possible purchase. Thanks! Hin Last edited by hinman; 01-21-2016 at 10:14 PM.

01-18-2016, 12:44 PM	#46
esmith904 New Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 11	Just bought one this morning. Been trying hold back the LBA urge, but can't resist at this price.

01-19-2016, 01:13 AM	#48
jerryleejr Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: TN Posts: 774	Originally posted by Rondec When I'm using the 100 macro WR for non-macro things, I get in the habit of turning the focus ring back to infinity. This makes a huge difference in focus speed. If it misses focus and racks from end to end, there is trouble, but often it just has a little distance to travel if pre focused to infinity. Good tip, this will be my first macro...$342 from B&H! JJ

01-19-2016, 06:10 AM	#49
arkav Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 366	Originally posted by shardulm @350 I am thinking I should hoard on to another copy. Yeah. If I didn't live in Canada, I'd be tempted to buy a second one in case I break the one I own. But I've already fallen on mine a number of times and it's still intact. It's a tough lens. For about 6 months of the year, it rarely comes off my camera body. If you've got a use for a macro lens, it's a gem. I'm not sure it's the best for subjects at a distance/infinity. It seems to be a bit soft/hazy when focusing at longer distances ( saw that mentioned in a review somewhere, so it's not just my copy ) The hunting can be annoying sometimes. Back button focusing makes a HUGE difference with this lens. I use BB focus to get a first approximation, then I let my body movement and/or light touch on the focus ring ( QS ! ) to nail the focus.

01-19-2016, 07:27 AM	#50
Larrymc Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Mississippi, USA Posts: 5,252	Bought mine from B&H for $350 last Friday plus an APE Case lens case.......its out for delivery today!

01-19-2016, 08:26 AM	#52
arkav Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 366	Originally posted by BrianR It's showing $391.34 shipped to Ontario, or $567 of our Canadian Loonies (probably a little more after the banks conversion). Does that include all duties/taxes/brokerage fees ? If even a few extra fees get tacked on along the way, I could see the exchange bringing the price up to almost par with what it sells for in Canada. And if you get a bad copy, returning it would likely involve some hassle. Plus, you only get 1 year of warranty vs 2 for one purchased in Canada. If I was travelling to the states and could bring one back with me tax exempt, that would certainly make it more attractive.

01-19-2016, 08:31 AM	#53
wibbly Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Edmonton Posts: 600	i just bought one, i couldn't pass it up at 342.82 using b&h's free shipping and paying for border fees ahead of time the total was 372.18 i had a balance of US funds in my paypal so i used those, however, if you were to pay with paypal right now from a canadian account, with paypal's rate you'd pay 524.75 too bad the dollar isn't at par anymore...

01-19-2016, 09:01 AM	#55
Lev Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia Posts: 1,197	Originally posted by wibbly using b&h's free shipping and paying for border fees ahead of time the total was 372.18 lucky you, congrats! I had to pay twice as much as you payed for border fees but in total this is much less than its original price

01-19-2016, 04:46 PM	#57
Zephos Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Photos: Albums Posts: 341	Originally posted by a5m Just noticed that it no longer says 'Offer Ends Dec. 31st 11:59 EST' but is still at $359.57. Hope this deal is here to stay and I can buy it when I have the funds Just asked them. Deal ends after January.

01-19-2016, 05:12 PM	#58
wibbly Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Edmonton Posts: 600	wow, glad I decided to get one when I did then! after two reductions I figured it'd be pushing my luck to wait any longer. figured they'd run out of stock

01-19-2016, 07:26 PM	#59
arkav Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 366	Originally posted by hinman For those who have owned the WR lens from Pentax, would you discuss more comparing the lens to other non-pentax alternatives such as the Tamron and Sigma macro. Sorry, have never tried those lenses. I went from an M series 100mm F4 macro to the WR. I prefer the WR. A focus limiter might have been nice, but I've never used one.

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01-21-2016, 10:29 PM	#60
Zephos Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Photos: Albums Posts: 341	Okay... I have wanted this lens for along time now. But... I just can't buy it right now even at that price. I mean, technically I COULD but I really can't... because of priorities. I promised my wife I wouldn't obsess over it... at least not to her. So I guess I will obsess over it to you guys and gals. Please tell me why I don't want to buy this lens. C'mon, knock some sense into me! Tell me how selfish I am, especially because it's my wife's birthday next week and all I can think about is this lens haha!