DA-star and problems with extension tubes
Posted 09/09/2011 - 09:18
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Galoot wrote:
dougf8, Mannesty and Matt,
I think you all deserve a pat on the back
Thank you very much John.dougf8, Mannesty and Matt,
I think you all deserve a pat on the back
It's nice to have one's work appreciated and recognised, even if it was only scraping a bit of paint off of a few aluminium rings.
In accepting this accolade, I'd just like to thank:-
my wife Shirley, for putting up with my eccentricities,
my two sons Graeme and Richard, for staying out of my way,
my dog Gina, for just being there when nobody else would listen,
my neighbour's cat for keeping my dog amused when she got in the way,
and all the local bird and rodent population for keeping the cat & dog amused when they got fed up of each others company.
Once again, thank you.
PS: Damn, I forgot to mention the budgie.
PPS: I didn't forget the budgie, we didn't have one at that time.
Peter E Smith - flickr Photostream
Posted 09/09/2011 - 09:23
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Mannesty wrote:
Excuse me but, whilst I agree that Matt is wonderful, check out this thread . . . from 4 years earlier.
Excuse me but, whilst I agree that Matt is wonderful, check out this thread . . . from 4 years earlier.
johnriley wrote:
My Great Great Aunt's Daughter-in-Law used to stroke Bees all the time. They would quite happily sit on her hands and endure this, or maybe they liked it, and they never once stung her.
How odd
My Great Great Aunt's Daughter-in-Law used to stroke Bees all the time. They would quite happily sit on her hands and endure this, or maybe they liked it, and they never once stung her.
Posted 09/09/2011 - 09:53
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...going sliiiiightly off topic....
Reminds me of "Sorry I've Got No Head"
Glad the paint-scraping tricks got things working for you John
Think I'll have a go at making a small mod to my extension tubes and internally shorting the data pin to ground... will let you know if it does the trick for DA* lenses
(You see I don't have a macro lens any more - I rarely used it!)
Matt
Quote:
They would quite happily sit on her hands and endure this
They would quite happily sit on her hands and endure this
Reminds me of "Sorry I've Got No Head"
Glad the paint-scraping tricks got things working for you John
Think I'll have a go at making a small mod to my extension tubes and internally shorting the data pin to ground... will let you know if it does the trick for DA* lenses
(You see I don't have a macro lens any more - I rarely used it!)
Matt
http://www.mattmatic.co.uk
(For gallery, tips and links)
(For gallery, tips and links)
Posted 09/09/2011 - 09:53
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I've a tear in my eye just like when I listen to Kate Winslett.
Errr John and Mike are super too. And the bees...
Errr John and Mike are super too. And the bees...
Lurking is shirking.!
Posted 28/09/2011 - 09:52
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Okay dokay
Here's what I did with my Teleplus tubes:
* Carefully removed the front plate
* Inserted a thin strip of kitchen foil between the Digital pin and its spring
* Put the foil over the adjacent screw hole
* Replaced front plate (watch out for the alignment of all those pins!)
I have done this to the 36mm and 20mm tubes. Works like a charm with the DA*50-135 and DA*16-50. The camera has no clue about the lens - so it works in manual focus mode (with focus confirmation though). All works exactly as required for macro work
In fact, it's the cat's whiskers
(That's 135mm, 36+20mm tubes, resize and sharpen only)
For information, the digital pin is shown on Bojidar's page.
Hope this helps!
Matt
Here's what I did with my Teleplus tubes:
* Carefully removed the front plate
* Inserted a thin strip of kitchen foil between the Digital pin and its spring
* Put the foil over the adjacent screw hole
* Replaced front plate (watch out for the alignment of all those pins!)
I have done this to the 36mm and 20mm tubes. Works like a charm with the DA*50-135 and DA*16-50. The camera has no clue about the lens - so it works in manual focus mode (with focus confirmation though). All works exactly as required for macro work
In fact, it's the cat's whiskers
(That's 135mm, 36+20mm tubes, resize and sharpen only)
For information, the digital pin is shown on Bojidar's page.
Hope this helps!
Matt
http://www.mattmatic.co.uk
(For gallery, tips and links)
(For gallery, tips and links)
Posted 28/09/2011 - 10:06
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Mannesty wrote:
Oh that one brings back memories, one of the very first posts I made IIRC, following Peters advice my scratched paint tubes are still in use today, though I cant recal using the them with an SDM lens, I'll try it later today
dougf8 wrote:
Matt is wonderful
Liking the macros of the watch.
Excuse me but, whilst I agree that Matt is wonderful, check out this thread . . . from 4 years earlier. Matt is wonderful
Liking the macros of the watch.
Posted 28/09/2011 - 10:38
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One of the best pieces of advice received here!
To confirm that the lens mount does indeed form part of the electrical circuit you'll notice an additional contact on lenses with a plastic mount like the DA35mm f2.4
To confirm that the lens mount does indeed form part of the electrical circuit you'll notice an additional contact on lenses with a plastic mount like the DA35mm f2.4
Ken
“We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson -
“We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson -
Posted 28/09/2011 - 14:17
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MattMatic wrote:
I've just bought one of these lights and thought I'd have another go at macro with the DA* lenses.
The problem is that the Teleplus (sorry: Teleplus) tubes I have - which have the electrical contacts - seem to freak out the K5. Now, it did it with the K7 and IIRC the K20D as well. It's almost like the camera is confused, knowing that the lens should be SDM focused, but not able to communicate.
Now, I'm not one to take this without a fight
So, first thing: switch the lens or body to the MF setting. When the lens is on AF, the "MF" sign flashes madly in the viewfinder. (But I've lost focus confirmation ability!) With that, I can take shots through the viewfinder...
...but, odd things are going on. Holding a button down doesn't auto-repeat anymore (unless you slightly dismount the lens). Oh, and Live View doesn't work - the camera just opens and closes the shutter. Pah
I did manage to get it to work by holding the lens release tab and slightly rotating the lens.... but it's not working all the time
It's such a shame that Pentax can't update the firmware to allow for this situation. But, I admit it's low down on their priority - supporting a third-party extension tube!
My only other option is to modify the tubes to mask out one of the contacts - so the body thinks it's got an unidentified lens attached that still supports "A" aperture.
Will keep you posted
Matt
Hi Mathew.I've just bought one of these lights and thought I'd have another go at macro with the DA* lenses.
The problem is that the Teleplus (sorry: Teleplus) tubes I have - which have the electrical contacts - seem to freak out the K5. Now, it did it with the K7 and IIRC the K20D as well. It's almost like the camera is confused, knowing that the lens should be SDM focused, but not able to communicate.
Now, I'm not one to take this without a fight
So, first thing: switch the lens or body to the MF setting. When the lens is on AF, the "MF" sign flashes madly in the viewfinder. (But I've lost focus confirmation ability!) With that, I can take shots through the viewfinder...
...but, odd things are going on. Holding a button down doesn't auto-repeat anymore (unless you slightly dismount the lens). Oh, and Live View doesn't work - the camera just opens and closes the shutter. Pah
I did manage to get it to work by holding the lens release tab and slightly rotating the lens.... but it's not working all the time
It's such a shame that Pentax can't update the firmware to allow for this situation. But, I admit it's low down on their priority - supporting a third-party extension tube!
My only other option is to modify the tubes to mask out one of the contacts - so the body thinks it's got an unidentified lens attached that still supports "A" aperture.
Will keep you posted
Matt
I have been looking at those LED lights from “7Dayshop”, what is your opinion, please.
Many thanks.
Chris R.
I. El. (Eng). (Rtd).
I. El. (Eng). (Rtd).
Posted 28/09/2011 - 14:30
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Quote:
I have been looking at those LED lights from “7Dayshop”, what is your opinion, please.
Actually, quite nice really! They are a bank of 8x8 LEDs. Very bright - but with only about 2 or 3 foot 'throw'. Ideal for macro lighting. You can switch them down to 6x6 LEDs. Of course, you'll need AA NiMH/Eneloops as it draws almost 1Amp! I have been looking at those LED lights from “7Dayshop”, what is your opinion, please.
Too bright to look directly into. I paid £15 for mine - seems perfectly adequate (but don't expect to light a room with it )
HTH!
Matt
http://www.mattmatic.co.uk
(For gallery, tips and links)
(For gallery, tips and links)
Posted 28/09/2011 - 14:54
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MattMatic wrote:
Too bright to look directly into. I paid £15 for mine - seems perfectly adequate (but don't expect to light a room with it )
HTH!
Matt
Many thanks, Mathew.Quote:
I have been looking at those LED lights from “7Dayshop”, what is your opinion, please.
Actually, quite nice really! They are a bank of 8x8 LEDs. Very bright - but with only about 2 or 3 foot 'throw'. Ideal for macro lighting. You can switch them down to 6x6 LEDs. Of course, you'll need AA NiMH/Eneloops as it draws almost 1Amp! I have been looking at those LED lights from “7Dayshop”, what is your opinion, please.
Too bright to look directly into. I paid £15 for mine - seems perfectly adequate (but don't expect to light a room with it )
HTH!
Matt
Yes, macro was the use I was thinking of.
Take care.
Chris R.
I. El. (Eng). (Rtd).
I. El. (Eng). (Rtd).
Posted 28/09/2011 - 15:01
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Here's a quick image from Nymans taking with the 'hacked' extension tubes:
https://www.pentaxuser.com/photo/user-77/explosion--35407
https://www.pentaxuser.com/photo/user-77/explosion--35407
http://www.mattmatic.co.uk
(For gallery, tips and links)
(For gallery, tips and links)
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7671 posts
16 years
Smegland
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
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