D-FA 100/2.8 Macro vs other macro lenses?

jankok · 10-24-2007, 04:29 AM

Hi all!

I used to do quite a lot of close-up and macro work back in my film days (LX + rings/bellows and/or Zeiss Tessar 50/Sonnar 135) and with my former digicam (Fuji FP 602z + close-up lens).

At the moment I have an opportunity to acquire a (very slightly) used SMC Pentax-FA 100/2.8 Macro for approx. 320 Euro. It is quite heavy and feels very stable and solid. Mechanically it seems a high quality product, but I haven´t tried it on my camera (K10D) yet.

As the search function didn´t yield much, I would much appreciate if you can share your experience with the lens. I´m especially interested in the optical quality of the lens. I have read the test reports at PhotoZone, and I would like to read an opinion from someone who actually used the lens.

Maybe someone can point me to a comparison with the current version (SMC Pentax D-FA 100/2.8 Macro) or the Tamron 90/2,8 or the Voigtländer Apo Lanthar 125/2,4 or some other known macro lens.

Thanks and

regards

Janko

and · 10-24-2007, 04:32 AM

The FA is bigger and heavier, it has focus clamp and focus limiter. The focusing ring on the DFA seems nicer, although I have not tried it. Optically they should be more or less the same. The tamron I consider to be in the same league as those.

The FA 100 macro is a fine lens, very sharp straight from f2.8. Nothing really bad to say about it apart from size and weight. Oh, the focusing ring is a bit sluggish, but if you apply the focus clamp its quite good.

The voigtlander on the other hand

oh yea gimme one of those....

jankok · 10-24-2007, 04:38 AM

Thank you for your reply!
Why do you think the Voigtländer is so much better? Have you taken pictures with it, or seen any comparisons? Maybe you can provide a link or two?

Regards

Janko

jankok · 10-24-2007, 04:40 AM

I also wanted to add that I like a heavier lens for macro work - it seems to be so much more stable when hand-holding.

Regards

Janko

**tranq78** · 10-24-2007, 07:22 AM

All macro lenses are good. You can't really go wrong with any of them. The FA100/2.8 is bigger and heavier than the D-FA100/2.8 or the Tamron 90/2.8.

There are some people think the FA100 is better than the D-FA100, saying they prefer the colours of the FA. I don't have an opinion on this since I've never used the D-FA. But I have the Tammy 90 and the FA 100 and they are both great; I actually use the Tammy more since it's smaller and lighter.

m8o · 10-24-2007, 07:25 AM

Originally posted by jankok

Thank you for your reply!
Why do you think the Voigtländer is so much better? Have you taken pictures with it, or seen any comparisons? Maybe you can provide a link or two?
Regards
Janko

As being a new convert to the Voigtländer 'religion'

I'll comment on the 125mm. There are a few other macro lenses in the lineup that are discussed in the links I'll provide as well.

It's a great focal length @ 125mm, w/ 1:1 macro, all metal design and extremely solid. It has an utter lack of CA or purple fringing, and extreme sharpness right off wide open @ f/2.5, and are the most fantastic characteristics about the lens. The super long throw of the focus ring (almost 2 turns) makes it quite easy to use and manually focus on subjects (first time I've ever had consistent success manual focus'ing). And the bokeh is nothing less then spectacular (the best of all my lenses; well ok, the Sigma 300mm f/2.8 is real close, but @ 4x the $!). The lens does great at infinite focus as well (with a possible issue that many [most?] owners have to turn the focus ring back a tick from infinity to observe the best sharpness). Having to dial back infinite focus is no problem, and can be adjusted out. Only downside is the ultra-high resolution degrades from around f/8, and falls off a good deal above f/11. That's ok with me tho. (you can follow the link to the review in the 2nd link below)

I've only owned it a few days. Here's a thread covering my first few 'moments' [hours

] with it. Nothing spectacular, but I like the results a lot:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/13603-first-mo...o-lanthar.html

Here's a recent thread on it that was the main contributor in prompting me to buy the lens:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/13248-voigtlae...-thoughts.html
there are many links in this thread above to other discussions on it, as well as to a detailed technical review on the lens.

Here's a discussion on the infinite focus issue, with some fantastic infinite focus shots:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/13072-voigtlan...-question.html

Here's an enormous collection of photos taken with it using various camera bodies, just keep clicking "more" in the header of "Random Voigtlander 125mm f/2.5 SL Macro APO-Lanthar Samples from 171 available Photos more"
Voigtlander 125mm f/2.5 SL Macro APO-Lanthar Lens Sample Photos and Specifications

edit: Oh, and how could I forget. I stumbled onto this link with almost 90 pages [!] of posts, with the majority of posts having one or more pictures included taken with the lens:
http://forum.xitek.com/showthread.php?threadid=405533
first page isn't too spectacular but it gets really good. (it's really slow in loading)

and · 10-24-2007, 08:06 AM

... What m8o said

jankok · 10-25-2007, 01:07 AM

Thank you for the extensive information!
I just quickly looked at some of them - I don´t have the time right now, but I will go through the links thoroughly in the evening.
Congratulations on your new lens.
According to some information (without samples) on the web, the lens exhibits some flare in back light situations. Could you please comment on that - from practical experience with the lens?
Thanks!

Regards

Janko

jankok · 10-25-2007, 01:17 AM

Thank you!

A friend of mine has a Tamron on Canon EOS350D, so this is a known reference for me.
Since you have both lenses, could you please comment on the differences between the Tamron 90 and the Pentax FA 100. Are there any optical differences? Flare? Chromatic aberrations?
How much do you turn the focusing ring on the Pentax from infinity to 1:1?
Maybe you have a picture somewhere on the web. I would appreciate a link.

Thanks!

Regards
Janko

m8o · 10-25-2007, 07:48 AM

Originally posted by jankok

Thank you for the extensive information!
According to some information (without samples) on the web, the lens exhibits some flare in back light situations. Could you please comment on that - from practical experience with the lens?

I haven't had it long so my practical experience is limited. But on my 2nd day of shooting, the sun was just up off the horizon about 1/2 to 1 hour before sunset. I shot at the tree on the hillside behind my house, directly at the sun with the sun mostly but not completely masked behind a small tree trunk....just to see what I could get. I expected flare but did not see any in that shot. (I'm not sure if that's the worst angle to produce flare, or say at 10 or 20 degrees off in the direction of the sun?) So, I haven't experienced it yet.

I've read the lens hood should always be used with digital to reduce the potential of the problem. Otherwise, I also read from an owner of the lens in another thread, answering a person who was concerned they'd have to purchase the hood (it's included w/the 125mm), that he never uses the hood and has never had a problem.

The only time I ever experienced flare was in early morning shooting, with the 12-24mm wide angle, using a UV filter; flare produced due to the filter.

and · 10-25-2007, 08:21 AM

m8o, you keep writing 135mm when you mean 125mm

m8o · 10-25-2007, 09:00 AM

how 'bout that... it's even correct in my own sig! I wonder where that mix-up in my head came from?!

Yes, sorry all. I'll edit and correct the posts.

roentarre · 10-25-2007, 09:01 AM

Seriously, all these 3 macros are fine lenses. It is a matter of personal preferences.

I tend to use DFA version a lot because it is compact, light and autofocuses relatively fast. (well probably the slowest autofocus macro ever used against sigma 150mm f2.8 macro, canon 100mm f2.8 - lightening speed, canon 180mm macro - not too bad)

You would not go wrong using any of them though DFA version is not as sharp wide open til f4.5 or so.

Voigtlander brings you to another universe where bokeh and sharpness are just ..... different.

10-24-2007, 04:29 AM	#1
jankok Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia Posts: 141	D-FA 100/2.8 Macro vs other macro lenses? Hi all! I used to do quite a lot of close-up and macro work back in my film days (LX + rings/bellows and/or Zeiss Tessar 50/Sonnar 135) and with my former digicam (Fuji FP 602z + close-up lens). At the moment I have an opportunity to acquire a (very slightly) used SMC Pentax-FA 100/2.8 Macro for approx. 320 Euro. It is quite heavy and feels very stable and solid. Mechanically it seems a high quality product, but I haven´t tried it on my camera (K10D) yet. As the search function didn´t yield much, I would much appreciate if you can share your experience with the lens. I´m especially interested in the optical quality of the lens. I have read the test reports at PhotoZone, and I would like to read an opinion from someone who actually used the lens. Maybe someone can point me to a comparison with the current version (SMC Pentax D-FA 100/2.8 Macro) or the Tamron 90/2,8 or the Voigtländer Apo Lanthar 125/2,4 or some other known macro lens. Thanks and regards Janko

10-24-2007, 07:25 AM	#6
m8o Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: 40°-55'-44" N / 73°-24'-07" W [on LI] Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,092	Originally posted by jankok Thank you for your reply! Why do you think the Voigtländer is so much better? Have you taken pictures with it, or seen any comparisons? Maybe you can provide a link or two? Regards Janko As being a new convert to the Voigtländer 'religion' I'll comment on the 125mm. There are a few other macro lenses in the lineup that are discussed in the links I'll provide as well. It's a great focal length @ 125mm, w/ 1:1 macro, all metal design and extremely solid. It has an utter lack of CA or purple fringing, and extreme sharpness right off wide open @ f/2.5, and are the most fantastic characteristics about the lens. The super long throw of the focus ring (almost 2 turns) makes it quite easy to use and manually focus on subjects (first time I've ever had consistent success manual focus'ing). And the bokeh is nothing less then spectacular (the best of all my lenses; well ok, the Sigma 300mm f/2.8 is real close, but @ 4x the $!). The lens does great at infinite focus as well (with a possible issue that many [most?] owners have to turn the focus ring back a tick from infinity to observe the best sharpness). Having to dial back infinite focus is no problem, and can be adjusted out. Only downside is the ultra-high resolution degrades from around f/8, and falls off a good deal above f/11. That's ok with me tho. (you can follow the link to the review in the 2nd link below) I've only owned it a few days. Here's a thread covering my first few 'moments' [hours ] with it. Nothing spectacular, but I like the results a lot: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/13603-first-mo...o-lanthar.html Here's a recent thread on it that was the main contributor in prompting me to buy the lens: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/13248-voigtlae...-thoughts.html there are many links in this thread above to other discussions on it, as well as to a detailed technical review on the lens. Here's a discussion on the infinite focus issue, with some fantastic infinite focus shots: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/13072-voigtlan...-question.html Here's an enormous collection of photos taken with it using various camera bodies, just keep clicking "more" in the header of "Random Voigtlander 125mm f/2.5 SL Macro APO-Lanthar Samples from 171 available Photos more" Voigtlander 125mm f/2.5 SL Macro APO-Lanthar Lens Sample Photos and Specifications edit: Oh, and how could I forget. I stumbled onto this link with almost 90 pages [!] of posts, with the majority of posts having one or more pictures included taken with the lens: http://forum.xitek.com/showthread.php?threadid=405533 first page isn't too spectacular but it gets really good. (it's really slow in loading) Last edited by m8o; 10-25-2007 at 09:06 AM.

10-25-2007, 07:48 AM	#10
m8o Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: 40°-55'-44" N / 73°-24'-07" W [on LI] Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,092	Originally posted by jankok Thank you for the extensive information! According to some information (without samples) on the web, the lens exhibits some flare in back light situations. Could you please comment on that - from practical experience with the lens? I haven't had it long so my practical experience is limited. But on my 2nd day of shooting, the sun was just up off the horizon about 1/2 to 1 hour before sunset. I shot at the tree on the hillside behind my house, directly at the sun with the sun mostly but not completely masked behind a small tree trunk....just to see what I could get. I expected flare but did not see any in that shot. (I'm not sure if that's the worst angle to produce flare, or say at 10 or 20 degrees off in the direction of the sun?) So, I haven't experienced it yet. I've read the lens hood should always be used with digital to reduce the potential of the problem. Otherwise, I also read from an owner of the lens in another thread, answering a person who was concerned they'd have to purchase the hood (it's included w/the 125mm), that he never uses the hood and has never had a problem. The only time I ever experienced flare was in early morning shooting, with the 12-24mm wide angle, using a UV filter; flare produced due to the filter. Last edited by m8o; 10-25-2007 at 09:01 AM.

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10-24-2007, 04:32 AM	#2
and Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,476	The FA is bigger and heavier, it has focus clamp and focus limiter. The focusing ring on the DFA seems nicer, although I have not tried it. Optically they should be more or less the same. The tamron I consider to be in the same league as those. The FA 100 macro is a fine lens, very sharp straight from f2.8. Nothing really bad to say about it apart from size and weight. Oh, the focusing ring is a bit sluggish, but if you apply the focus clamp its quite good. The voigtlander on the other hand oh yea gimme one of those....

10-24-2007, 04:38 AM	#3
jankok Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia Posts: 141 Original Poster	Thank you for your reply! Why do you think the Voigtländer is so much better? Have you taken pictures with it, or seen any comparisons? Maybe you can provide a link or two? Regards Janko

10-24-2007, 04:40 AM	#4
jankok Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia Posts: 141 Original Poster	I also wanted to add that I like a heavier lens for macro work - it seems to be so much more stable when hand-holding. Regards Janko

10-24-2007, 07:22 AM	#5
tranq78 Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,005	All macro lenses are good. You can't really go wrong with any of them. The FA100/2.8 is bigger and heavier than the D-FA100/2.8 or the Tamron 90/2.8. There are some people think the FA100 is better than the D-FA100, saying they prefer the colours of the FA. I don't have an opinion on this since I've never used the D-FA. But I have the Tammy 90 and the FA 100 and they are both great; I actually use the Tammy more since it's smaller and lighter.

10-24-2007, 08:06 AM	#7
and Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,476	... What m8o said

10-25-2007, 01:07 AM	#8
jankok Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia Posts: 141 Original Poster	Thank you for the extensive information! I just quickly looked at some of them - I don´t have the time right now, but I will go through the links thoroughly in the evening. Congratulations on your new lens. According to some information (without samples) on the web, the lens exhibits some flare in back light situations. Could you please comment on that - from practical experience with the lens? Thanks! Regards Janko

10-25-2007, 01:17 AM	#9
jankok Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia Posts: 141 Original Poster	Thank you! A friend of mine has a Tamron on Canon EOS350D, so this is a known reference for me. Since you have both lenses, could you please comment on the differences between the Tamron 90 and the Pentax FA 100. Are there any optical differences? Flare? Chromatic aberrations? How much do you turn the focusing ring on the Pentax from infinity to 1:1? Maybe you have a picture somewhere on the web. I would appreciate a link. Thanks! Regards Janko

10-25-2007, 08:21 AM	#11
and Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,476	m8o, you keep writing 135mm when you mean 125mm

10-25-2007, 09:00 AM	#12
m8o Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: 40°-55'-44" N / 73°-24'-07" W [on LI] Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,092	how 'bout that... it's even correct in my own sig! I wonder where that mix-up in my head came from?! Yes, sorry all. I'll edit and correct the posts.

10-25-2007, 09:01 AM	#13
roentarre Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 11,783	Seriously, all these 3 macros are fine lenses. It is a matter of personal preferences. I tend to use DFA version a lot because it is compact, light and autofocuses relatively fast. (well probably the slowest autofocus macro ever used against sigma 150mm f2.8 macro, canon 100mm f2.8 - lightening speed, canon 180mm macro - not too bad) You would not go wrong using any of them though DFA version is not as sharp wide open til f4.5 or so. Voigtlander brings you to another universe where bokeh and sharpness are just ..... different.