The Haida 10 stopper is excellent, does not give a blue colour cast like the Hitech 10 stopper does. I have the 77mm pro version which I adapt to various lenses via cheap step down rings.

For ND Graduated filters, I use the 85mm Hitechs. They do not vignette with a 16-45 lens, even on the smaller 85mm filter size, although they do vignette a little with the Pentax DA17-70, for some reason. There is a simple solution for this; buy a cheap Chinese Cokin P type filter holder and cut it down with a hacksaw so you only have two filter slots instead of four. This eradicates the vignette.

I now use the Hitech 85mm ND Grads on my DA 12-24 with no issues. A set of three cost about £60 three years ago, this got me the 0.3 , 0.6 and 0.9 strengths, of which the 0.6 is most used. Be careful with them as they are made of resin and scratch very easily, but you can get rid of minor marks with T-Cut Metallic Paint restorer.

Hope this is helpful.

Regards
David

I like the second one Louise and agree with Andrew's suggestion and crop; it looks a lot more focussed and tight with the bench not in view.

Regards
David

Hello and welcome from me too

Best wishes
David

Nice shots, especially the second one which is a good angle and sharp where it counts. The Sigma 105 DG EX Macro is a very nice lens. It's also great for portraits if used wide open, it has smooth bokeh and renders skin tones beautifully.

I sold mine when I bought a Pentax 100 macro and a 50-135, but I sometimes wish I'd kept it.

Regards
David

Very impressive indeed. The Pentax images to my eye are significantly better than those from the Nikon D810, albeit the subject has to be stationary.

Regards
David

Hello and welcome from me too

Regards
David

Thanks for posting such informative information Tim, I found it very interesting, particularly the bits about focus issues and lack of consistency of focus. This is something that has plagued me, more so on some lenses than others and more so on some cameras, particularly the K-5 Mk1. I also often find that focussing with live view is the most accurate, which is fine for model shoots, but not practical for situations where speed is of the essence.

I ditch images that are not focussed correctly, but see so many shots on the Gallery where focus is off.

Thanks again.

Regards
David

That's an easy one - the cameras you should be looking at if you intend to use vintage glass are those with focus peaking in Live View. This makes them a pleasure to use with manual focus lenses, whereas cameras without this feature are more hit and miss. I know the K-3 and K-01 have focus peaking, I'm not sure which other models do, but I'm sure someone can give us a definitive list?

Regards
David

I can't verify or deny as I've never owned a M28 F2.8, but I can confirm it is a sharp little lens. It also renders colours in a very specific way; it is superb with greens hence its value as a landscape lens. It also has little or no distortion.

I also have a M50 F1.4, which isn't as sharp as some 50's (at least it isn't wide open) but comes in very handy when using the K-01 indoors. I like this lens too, but the 28 F3.5 is my favourite.

Regards
David

M28 F3.5, a fantastic landscape lens.

Regards
David