Stick a Pentax-A 50mm F1.7, a Pentax SMC K55 F1.8 or a Pentax-M 50mm F1.4 on your nice shiny new K30, K-5 or K-5iis and prepare to be amazed at how good these old lenses are!

These oldies but goodies cost about £50 or less each if you buy cannily and they will reward you with suberb, sharp images and beautiful colours. They also feel great to use. If you have a K30 or a K-01 they are a revelation with focus peaking.

Finally, get some extension tubes and get into macro - they all make stunning macro lenses on tubes.

Regards
David

Congratulations Dave, your photos have always stood out for me and your win is well deserved. It matters not how much you won, the important thing is that you won!

Regards
David

Hi Stuey, I've not seen these before, but I'll give it a go now!

#1 is a great shot, I also like #4, #5 and #7. I think #2, #3 and #6 have too much 'dead space' near the bottom of the frame and would have benefitted from slightly different framing.

Regards
David

There seems to be to be a pattern emerging with the SDM failures and issues. It seems to happen more often when lenses are used less frequently? Maybe the trick with these lenses is to use them a lot and keep the motor free.

I know this is no comfort to you with regard to your experience but maybe this is something that others might bear in mind? Any thoughts anyone?

Don't ever do that Peter, we can all improve with practice and the right technique; I've spent many hours over the past couple of years trying to improve my macro shots and it does seem to be paying off. I'm a Scorpio too and not disposed to giving up on anything!

Thanks very much Barrie, I always seem to have had a knack of holding the camera steady and don't really feel the need for a tripod for anything other than landscapes. I find it a bit restrictive and would rather trust my hands!

Regards
David

Thank you Stuey, very nice of you to say so. I agree with you that Shaun's would be more tasty, but then again I don't eat the insects after I've photographed them!

Cheers
David

Great stuff Shaun, love the creativity in these.

Regards
David

Fantastic achievement Shaun, really well done! You will need to order a few copies and keep them!

Regards
David

The technique I always use for macro shots taken 'in the wild' is to leave the focus ring alone and adjust focus by moving myself back and forth very, very slowly until the point of critical focus is achieved, whilst always ensuring the camera is held very steady to my eye. I have tried CIF previously for this type of work and found it is not as accurate as using my own judgement. For static macro shots (where the subject doesn't move) the best approach is magnified live view, especially with the K-01 using focus peaking to assist.

My other tips for getting shots like those in this thread are:

- Don't use ISO's higher than 800, even with a K-5, and keep your shutter speed at 1/80 or so as a minimum. If there is not sufficient light for 1/80 and ISO800, use diffused flash to supplement the light (Pringles Tube diffuser, preferably on an external flashgun mounted on the hotshoe)

- Get down low - you need to be on the same level as your subjects (or even below their level) wherever possible

- Get to know the plants in your garden / surroundings and learn which insects inhabit which areas - you will quickly identify some spots where something unusual can be found and will increase your chances of getting interesting shots

- Don't magnify the shots too much as this tends to lose any sense of composition, cuts the edge of the frame with parts of the subject and can make the images look clinical rather than attractive

- Use builders knee pads so you don't get your knees wet/dirty and make a firm foundation by kneeling with one knee on the ground and your elbows tucked in tight with one elbow on the knee that is not on the ground - this makes for a robust platform to take shake-free shots and allows the freedom to rock slowly back and forth to get the focus spot-on

- Shoot at F8 to F11 to maximise the sharpness of the lens whilst still getting some DOF

- Shoot in RAW

- Try different lens / tube combinations - some lenses make better macro lenses than others - any of the vintage Pentax K, M or A 50mm / 55mm variants make superb macro lenses combined with tubes

- Don't use AF - it is not accurate enough for macro work unless your subject is large

- Practice, practice and practice again - it takes a lot of work to get good at macro, especially when shooting outdoors with lively subjects

Hope this is useful.

Regards
David

Hi Joe, Hi Gary, thank you very much for your comments and questions about 'catch in focus'. The K-5 User Manual, P134 explains how Catch In Focus works, with any manual focus lens as follows:

1. Attach a proper lens to the camera
2. Set the focus mode lever to AF.S
3. Set the focus on a position the subject will pass
4. Press the Shutter Release button fully. The shutter is released automatically when the subject comes into focus at the set position.

Based on the above, I would imagine that CIF should work with Extension Tubes and also with any manual focus lens, but I can't seem to get this working on my K-5iis with tubes. I don't use it anyway, but it would be nice if anyone can give any further insight as to using this with tubes.

Regards
David