2nd hand Macro Lens for K100d

Hi first post ..

I have always been in to Photography and have always had basic cameras , but now im slowly moving up in my needs ..

I recently Purchased a K100d Super to be my new best camera replacing my Fuji Finepix s5500 although im keeping that little gem ..

Ah oh yeah im wandering .. Im looking to buy myself a lens that is cheap / Cheapish which will enable me to do Macro Insect photography ..

Now I really am a newbie to the Slr world and Im really confused with the different lenses that are available on Ebay etc ..

Now I have purchased two 2nd lenses already and Im very happy with them as they cost peanuts and give good results ..

I got a Super Paragon PMC II 35-70mm 1:3.5~4.5 which goes from 3.5 -22 on the Ap ring .. it doesn't get nowhere as close as I want to ..

My 2nd lens I got was a Pentax - A zoom 1:4 70~200mm and that is 4-22 Ap ring..

Both were really cheap and seem to do ok so im happy but still no really macro power yet ..

Oh and my K100d came with the SMC Pentax DA 18-55 ..

I dont know what all the numbers mean but I want to get close can anyone help me ?

and sorry for the long post but Im well lost ,Regards Dave

Here are some pointers:

1 Forget zooms. The best lenses for macro are primes (lenses whose angle of view is fixed).

2 Forget auto-focus - it's not necessary. This means you can happily use lots of older lenses.

3 If you can't afford a proper macro lens (like the Pentax D-FA 100mm macro, or the old Pentax-M 100mm macro), buy one or both of the following:

3a Extension tubes - these sit between the camera body and the lens and enable the lens to focus closer.

3b A reversing ring. This enables you to reverse the lens (usually a 50mm lens), which strangely enough gives excellent results.

Apart from the Pentax 50mm and 100mm macro lenses (any variety - M, A, F, FA, D-FA) you will also see third party macro lenses of which the most famous (and deservedly so) is the Tamron 90mm, which also comes in various flavours - all good.

You can get extension tubes, old 50mm lenses, and reversing rings on Ebay for not too much money.

50mm lenses made by Cosina and Ricoh are pretty good, very cheap, and will happily mount in reverse using a reversing ring. But any 50mm lens by any manufacturer will do since you are mounting it by its filter ring, not by its bayonet.

Good luck.

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Keywords: Charming, polite, and generally agreeable.

Wow thanks George what a load of info to help me out ..

I shall take my time to find the ultimate bargin now I have some Ammo .

Ill look for Tubes and reversing ring because I would like to have a play with them whilst Im trying to secure a lens..

I also have some bits I was using on my S5500 I have a Hoya Zoom Close Up Lens which goes from 0.1 to 0.49m and of corse I have some Macro filers old -vivtars 1 2 and 4..

Im gonna search my herat out now , can anyone recommend a few older 35m lenses that would be worth keeping a eye out..

Thanks again George

You might also want to look for lenses that have a 1:1 macro focus. This basically means that at the closest focusing distance the size of the image will match that of the object. Otherwise, extension tubes or reversing rings. You could also look at something like the Raynox DCR-250 which some people get excellent results from.

BTW, don't confuse 1:1 with the similar nomenclature of, e.g. 1:2.8 which signifies the minimum f-stop rather than the magnification ratio.

I started off with a 50mm Sigma 1:1 macro lens. Although rather short for a macro lens, it does do the job well if you don't mind getting very close to things.

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Jonathan

Macro & Wildlife Photography

Ok im on a mission now Ill report back with my purchases as they happen.. Thanks Jonathan

I have a few macro lenses that I will be selling in the near future.

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. My Flickr

A further option is a bellows unit - you can get new ones for about £25 including postage on ebay if you don't mind ordering them from China - combine that with say a Pentax 50mm SMC M 1.7 or 2.0 (which you can pick up for less than £20 including postage if you try - avoid the 1.4 - it is more expensive and less good for macro) and you have a very capable macro kit which will go astonishingly close (about 3x magnification - fill the frame with an ant - if the ant will stay still that is...) and produce very good results for under £50

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Tony Milner
Super A, ME Super, MZ6, K5II, Ricoh GR & lenses from 8-500mm
www.amilner.org www.flickr.com/photos/tonymilner

George gave great advice. If you bought a fast 50mm you would have a great all-round portrait, landscape, etc. lens that would last a lifetime. Add to this a reversing ring and you have an insane macro capability as well.

If you want a dedicated MF macro, look out for a Vivitar/Cosina 100mm. It's 1:2 but has an adapter for 1:1 macro. it is very light and compact, being made of plastic. But the optics are quite good. It wouldn't be quite as sharp as reversing a 50mm, but it would be easier to control and give you far more working distance to your subject.

Looks like this:

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Listen to my albums free on BandCamp. Or visit my main website for links to photography, etc.

I have said to him via PM that I have the Phoenix brand of this lens that I will be selling shortly (Also made by Cosina).

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. My Flickr

Hi all

i've been lurking for a while and reading all the great tips.

I'd like to get into the macro world a bit more... i have the tamron 70-300 which is ok, but the min focus distance can be a tad annoying on macro.

i know nothing about bellows and extension tubes and, quite frankly, they scare me! can you use them hand held?

the Tamron 90mm looks good, just need to save up now.

i love the depth of knowledge here... cheers all.

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Pentax k100d, k30d 18-55, Tamron 70-300, Tamron 500 mirror, pentax 10-17, 50 1:4, a manual 28, some extension tubes and a bagful of memory cards. That's all i need... and a load of film cameras too... that's it, honest.

There is absolutely no need to be scared of extension tubes. All they do is move the lens further away from the camera, which effectively moves the point of closest focus closer to the lens, which means you get a bigger image.

There's no glass in them - the light just passes straight to the sensor as it comes out of the back of the lens.

You can pick them up very cheaply (indeed I'm selling some, in an auction that ends today). Then just stick the lens on them, and experiment.

It's the easiest, cheapest way of getting into macro. If you find you like it, think about spending money on a macro lens.



Yes. But it's quite difficult, and to get any depth of field, you need a very small aperture, so long exposures unless you use flash - so camera shake is a real problem.

Focusing is best done by moving the camera when you're very close.

Best is to use a tripod, but a bean bag or even a cushion would be better than nothing.

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Pentax K-3, DA18-135, DA35 F2.4, DA17-70, DA55-300, FA28-200, A50 F1.7, A100 F4 Macro, A400 F5.6, Sigma 10-20 EXDC, 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS Samsung flash SEF-54PZF(x2)
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Cheers, Chris.

i might well go the extension tube route and experiment.

i'm a bit of a slacker and can't be bothered to lug things like a tripod around... plus, i haven't got one! i never got on with the one i had years ago... i know some people who don't get on with hand holding though.

thanks for the help and i'll check out your ebay item.

L

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Pentax k100d, k30d 18-55, Tamron 70-300, Tamron 500 mirror, pentax 10-17, 50 1:4, a manual 28, some extension tubes and a bagful of memory cards. That's all i need... and a load of film cameras too... that's it, honest.

ok... i have got a 50mm 1.7 on the way as well as the extension tubes (it was me who won them on ebay, Chris!)

one more question... how do extension tubes/bellows differ from tele-converters? my brain is having trouble working all this out.


i look forward to playing with the kit when it comes. one reason i don't use a tripod is that i don't get the dame 'feel' as with hand-held... the camera feels too remote... if that makes sense! also, i tend to crawl around and lean over to get shots... not easy with a tripod. i'll see how it goes though - this could be the start of a new phase.

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Pentax k100d, k30d 18-55, Tamron 70-300, Tamron 500 mirror, pentax 10-17, 50 1:4, a manual 28, some extension tubes and a bagful of memory cards. That's all i need... and a load of film cameras too... that's it, honest.

All packed up - I'll try and get them into the post today.

I must admit, I expected them to go for a lot less than that!


Teleconverters have lenses in them, and multiply the focal length of the lens you attach by some multiple - 1.4x, 1.7x, or 2x, typically.

At the expense of some optical quality, they are a compact and inexpensive way of using a lens you already have, as one of longer focal length.

Extension tubes, like TCs, fit between the lens and the camera, but that's where the similarity ends. They have no optics, so don't degrade the image, and as I said earlier, just move the lens further away from the camera. This effectively moves the point of closest focus closer to the lens, so you can get much closer to the subject, and hence get a bigger image on the sensor.

I took this picture of a money spider with a 50mm F1.7 lens, using very similar tubes - and hand held, so it is possible

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Pentax K-3, DA18-135, DA35 F2.4, DA17-70, DA55-300, FA28-200, A50 F1.7, A100 F4 Macro, A400 F5.6, Sigma 10-20 EXDC, 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS Samsung flash SEF-54PZF(x2)
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You might find this article helpful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macro_photography

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Pentax K-3, DA18-135, DA35 F2.4, DA17-70, DA55-300, FA28-200, A50 F1.7, A100 F4 Macro, A400 F5.6, Sigma 10-20 EXDC, 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS Samsung flash SEF-54PZF(x2)
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