Macro-Sharpness:Pentax DFA 50mm vs 100mm vs Sigma/Tamron.

Hello

I want the ultimate in 1:1 macro. I heard 50mm are more sharp than 100mm. I don't care for insects or bugs , thus I dont care if the min. distance is 20 or 30cm. I just want the ultimate 1:1 macro lens

well if you don't care about the price then forget anything which doesn't say "Pentax SMC" on the lens barrel. As for 50 vs 100, I have heard the same as you but I'm not entirely sure

I dont care abour price. Do you know if the latest DFA 50mm is the sharpest of all or some older model maybe is more sharp ?

thanks

Your technique will be more of an issue with macro sharpness than the lens. Either the 50mm or 100mm Pentax macro lenses will be as good as you are likely to get, and you won't see a difference between them. The 100mm version is probably more versatile.

The quest for sharpness is fine, but there are other lens properties that are equally impoirtant such as chromatic abberation, resolution, bokeh, etc.

Fortunately with digital photography, sharpness is unlikely to be a problem.

Not to mention diffraction which appears earlier with the APS-C sensors we have. Optimum Fstop is about 11-16 on the DFA 100mm according to my tests

If money's no object, isn't the 200mm Macro supposed to be about the best lens ever?

Dan

I have the two dfa macros, 100mm and just acquired second-hand the 50mm macro. I think it is true to say for stamps, coins and other small objects, where wind is not involved then the 50mm is the one to use. Everything else like flowers, insects, butterflies, then the 100mm is your friend.

That's half the story though, because both can be used for portraits or just about anything else. I think these two lenses are marvellous. For the prices, I would prefer production quality to be along the lines of the pancakes which I also have, however one cannot have everything in this life without compromise!

If you don't care for bugs and insects what else is there to shoot
I don't think you can go wrong with any of the macro's currently out on the market. I have read they are all good.
But i love my 90mm Tamron

I too love my Tamron 90mm.
If they made it in a Pentax fit I'd probably go for the Sigma 150mm though.

As Daniel said, the ultimate macro lenses are the two Pentax 200mm versions. The SMCP-A is manual focus, whilst the SMCP-FA is AF. Both are superb, and considered by some to be perhaps the best lenses ever made by Pentax (though others reckon the 77mm takes that crown, whilst the 85 1:1.4 lenses also have their supporters).

However, you'll only find the 200s second-hand now, and expect to pay over UKP 1000.

G

hey guys

I have bought the DFA 50mm macro before 4-5 months and I am very pleased with the results . I don't know if it is better than the FA 50mm macro but they should be on par .

I heard that 50mm DFA lens is better than the 100mm . Never done true tests .

There are two reasons I prefer the 50mm than the 100mm . The first reason is that I don't want to shoot bugs , only static objects and the 50mm needs half shutter speed for blur-free images . Second reason is that I want greater magnifications than 1:1 , that means bellows ( or extension tubes ) . I need 50mm more if I want 2:1 ( x2 ) with my 50mm lens , but I would need 100mm for the 100mm lens to achieve 2:1 ( x2 ) . The more bellows , the more the light loss = the more diffraction . To achieve 4:1 you need 20cm with 50mm lens . You need 40cm with a 100mm lens . 40cm ! After 2x magnification , I reverse the lens .

The 200mm lens sounds fine but I doubt it is any better in terms of sharpness than the 50mm and even if it is I am sure the difference is minimal . The only reason to buy one is because of the working distance , which I don't care to be long .

Now I want more magnifications and I have tried some cine lenses reversed ( 10mm - 25mm ) and they perform excellent with a bellows . I tested them for 4x-7x . The problem is that I have to focus wide open then stop down to the desired f-stop but this is something to be expected . There is nothing I can do about that ... Stacking lenses is an option but the quality isn't good . I will most probably buy a luminar or a photar or something like that if I can buy one for like 100 pounds . Up to x4 I will use my 50mm DFA reversed .

Have fun all

The two 200mm lenses are certainly thought to be the sharpest Pentax lenses of all.

You stated that you want the ultimate macro lens. Look no further.

G

hey george

if you read my post you quoted from , youll understand that 200mm is by far not the ultimate macro lens , at least for me Not that I wouldnt want one , because I would , but a 200mm is not good for higher than 1x magnification . The reason is of the long bellows ( extension tubes ) youll need . It does sound the best lens , though , for bugs , because of the long focusing distance , and if you want to achieve poster-like images with diffused backgrounds , because of the narrow field of view . Also, with a 50mm you can use 4x faster shutter speed , so sometimes you can avoid flash .

You can always stack a 28mm in front of the 200mm macro , though, to get x6 hehehe

Does anyone know if there will be a DA*200mm macro in the future ?

And I kinda doubt that the 200mm is much sharper , if at all , than the 50mm. Does anyone have the 200mm macro and a 50mm macro ? Maybe we could see some comparisons done in 1:1 magnification

I know of 1 forum member (distudio) who recently sold one on E-bay. Check out his Picassa web album there may be a few pics in there using the lens

http://picasaweb.google.com/distudio/PESO

wow excellent pics... thanks for the link