My Macro Kit

This is the kit i use when i'm bashing through the bush looking for potential victims.
All attached to my monopod

nice kit...
but I want to ask a different question; it is written "sigma 180mm macro" in your equipment list; is 180 mm available for pentax?? (I thought that sigma macros which have 105 or shorter focal lengths are available for pentax; am I wrong??)
(sorry about my english )

The Sigma 180mm Macro certainly is available in Pentax fit, although it's rare, expensive and hard to find. Sigma also make 70mm and 105mm macros in Pentax fit but their 150mm macro is not yet available for Pentax (it is expected to be released soon though).

I have tamron 90mm f:2.8 macro; and the reason for to buy was that the nearest focal lenght was 105 mm (sigma); but tamron was sharper than sigma... if I knew the sigma 180mm is available for my k20d; I would have tried to find one...
anyway; this is not the subject of this topic; I will start a topic soon; but let me ask here first; in macro shooting it is important to stay away from the subject; but get bigger magnification ratios (so 180 mm sigma is more attractive for me than a 90 mm)... "canon" has a great macro lens called "mp-e65" which has a 5x magnification ratio. However it allows this magnification ratio from "close" distances, I want to have a chance to use it with my pentax camera... is it possible to find such adapters that allows to use "canon" lenses on pentax bodies??

Unfortunately there is no way of adapting Canon lenses to the Pentax mount as Canon use a wider "mouth", however, you can achieve greater than 1:1 magnification by using your current macro lens combined with a set of extension tubes.

If you can find one (and you can afford it) look out for the Pentax FA*200mm Macro (or the earlier A*200mm Macro) as this is considered to be one of the finest macro lenses ever made by any manufacturer. Prices for these tend to reach well over £1000+ on eBay - even for well-used examples!

If you start a new topic in the lenses section of the forum you'll probably get more replies than in here. Welcome by the way!

I'm afraid there is no such adapter (that i know of) to use Canon lenses on a pentax body. The Canon mount is just to big to fit into the Pentax body. But it is possible to fit a pentax lens into a Canon body with the right adapter.

The Sigma 180 is a cracking good lens but as hefty1 says, they are little scarce and difficult to get hold of.

thank you guys both; I guess I must find another way to get a magnification ratio bigger than 1:1 (extension tubes seem to be a solution at first; but if you use it with a fix focal length (for example my tamron 90mm); it means that you can only focus objects nearly from 2-3 cms.. even if you try to shot from 5 cms; it is impossible to focus)

by the way; you're wellcome hefty1

There are other ways of making higher than 1:1 magnification macro photo's, but I think all require you to be fairly close to the subject.

1: Reverse mounting a 50mm lens on your camera.
2: Stacking a 50mm lens (you'll need a male to male filter stacking ring of suitable size) on the front of a 70-200mm lens (at 200mm gives roughly 4:1 magnification).
3: Bellows, which is essentially the same as using extension tubes, but infinitely adjustable.

wouldnt a 1.5 or 2x convertor work?

You can actually buy a PKA mount Vivitar 2X macro converter.
Mount that on a 1:1 macro lens and you get something like the fly I have on my gallery pictures.

Still not as close as the Canon mp-e65 but not that far off.

Not entirely true. You can get a mount, but it won't provide infinity focus because the lens will have to be placed in front of the body.

This is not exactly a disadvantage in macro work.

G

I stand corrected...

hey; here is just the place I need to be in
in fact, I read a lot about the tele converters and I used one with my ex Zenit; but the picture went pale when I used it... so I will buy one, but I don't expect a satisfying image quality with it...

Mannesty; you seem to work with a "RAYNOX DCR 250"; what about it; is it possible to get focus to infinity with it; and is it possible to get a higher magnification ratio when you try to shot from the lense's own "minimum focus distance"??

(sorry abaout my english again; my english is under average; if you roughly understand what I mean; please forget the rest )

Your English is easily good enough to understand so don't worry.

It may help people to give you suggestions if they knew what you were trying to achieve. I understand that you want a high magnification ratio, but are you taking pictures of insects (for example) or coins or flowers or what? Each type of macro photography would be better suited to different equipment; for instance with insects or wildlife you need a long working distance so a long lens (like the Sigma 180 or Pentax 200) is best. With static objects (like coins or flowers) then you can use a shorter focal length (maybe 50mm) and extension tubes to get higher magnification - all on a tripod of course!

So what sort of photography is it you want to do?

well; I'm interested in every kind of macro shooting
but I will have the chance to shoot at "home" more often; because I live somewhere very cold and winter lasts very long here; and I will have to stay at home for a long and whole winter... but I like to shoot "flowers" even at home or at outside... and my aim is to have a chance to get macros of the flowers and some flies; butterflies and some bugs on them... and I do not want to fire these shots close to the flowers; more far the distance is, more enjoyable the macro shooting is for me... (and I'm seeking the way to stay more away from the subject -for example like the "95 mm minimum focus distance" with sigma 70-300 APO macro- and still get bigger magnification ratios -like my tamron 90 mm 1:1 macro- ... in other words; what I am looking for is something likely a "mixture" of these 2 lenses which will allow to get magnification ratios bigger than 1:1 from closer distances; and can still focus afar and gives the tamron's "1:1" magnification ratio from far away...

(my tamron's "magnification ratio" is "1:1" and you can reach this ratio from the "minimum focal distance" of "29 cms"
my sigma 70-300 APO macro's max. magnification ratio is "1:2" at 300mm and you can reach this ratio from the minimum focal distance of 95 cms...
I want "still" to get focus from both 29cms and 95 cms; and get magnification ratios bigger than 1:1 and 1:2 )

(as a footnot; I've ordered a "raynox dcr 250" yesterday and waiting for it now... I don't know how my expectations and pleasure with macro shooting will change with it, but I will share the results of raynox as soon as possible) (but maybe you would prefer me to "shush" )