Pentax *ist DS

"John Loomis" <jloomis.TakeThisOut@mcn.org> wrote in message
news:45e0ee3c$0$27180$235e9798@corp-news.dsltransport.net...
> Hello,
> I am an amateur digital photographer, and actually do pretty well but
> need to learn much.
> What would be a great close-up lense for a Pentax Automatic
> Digital Camera.
> Any suggestions for me?
> Thanks
> John Loomis
>

You mean a camera lens (there's only one 'e' in lens) not a supplementary
lens that you screw onto the front, right?

The answer depends on several things:

How much you want to spend;

What sort of subjects you want to shoot (if you are copying documents or
photographing stamps a 50mm might be best, for general work on natural
subjects a 100mm is a good all rounder, for butterflies a 200mm is better);

Whether you want auto-focus (very useful for some macro subjects, more
trouble than it's worth for others);

Whether you want the lens to do double duty for anything else as well as
close-up work;

Whether you are only interested in buying new, or would consider a used
lens.

Depending on your answers, there's a selection of Pentax macro lenses that
are as sharp as you will find anywhwere, and a couple of others (notably the
Tamron 90mm f2.5) that are very nearly as sharp as the best Pentaxes and
still blow away most other makes.

'Macro zooms' are generally no such thing (there is one zoom lens that is a
true macro, the no-longer-made Vivitar Series 1 Flat Field 90-180mm f4.5,
but it is rare and not cheap) so you are basically looking at a fixed FL.
The choices are, more or less, 50mm, 90 / 100mm, and 180 / 200mm. I have
and use all three, but the 100mm length is the best all rounder for the sort
of work that I do.

If you have answers to the questions above, I or someone else may be able to
give you a more specific reply.



Peter
 >> Stay informed about: Pentax *ist DS 

Bandicoot wrote:


(there's only one 'e' in lens)

I may be dens....

but I think both are perfectly valid words and 'lense' probably predates
'lens' by quite some time.



mike
 >> Stay informed about: Pentax *ist DS 

On Feb 25, 2:02 am, "John Loomis" <jloo... RemoveThis @mcn.org> wrote:
> Hello,
> I am an amateur digital photographer, and actually do pretty well but
> need to learn much.
> What would be a great close-up lense for a Pentax Automatic Digital Camera.
> Any suggestions for me?
> Thanks
> John Loomis

I use a Sigma 50mm F2.8 EX Macro on my Pentax *ist DS and it works
really well for the amount of money I was prepared to spend.
 >> Stay informed about: Pentax *ist DS 

Paul Allen wrote:
> On Sun, 25 Feb 2007 03:28:28 GMT
> m II <c.RemoveThis@in.the.hat> wrote:
>
>> Bandicoot wrote:
>>
>>
>> (there's only one 'e' in lens)
>>
>> I may be dens....
>>
>> but I think both are perfectly valid words and 'lense' probably
>> predates 'lens' by quite some time.
>
> "Lense" is not in my Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. I never saw
> it spelled that way in high school or college physics, in photography
> classes, books, or magazines, or in my telescope-making days. If it
> predates 'lens', then it's so archaic that dictionaries don't bother
> listing it any more.
>
> It's seen so often here that I've just assumed the odd spelling comes
> from countries that don't feel bound by American English spelling.
> It's not as if North America invented the Mother Tongue, after all.
>
>
> Paul Allen
>

You were making me doubt my sanity...at least for a bit.

http://www.onelook.com/?w=lense&ls=a


It's interesting to note that the original word was based on 'lentil'..
neat..




mike
 >> Stay informed about: Pentax *ist DS 

Thanks,
I will look into that.
John Loomis
"Hoshisato" <hoshisato RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1172396228.675504.54030@a75g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
> On Feb 25, 2:02 am, "John Loomis" <jloo... RemoveThis @mcn.org> wrote:
>> Hello,
>> I am an amateur digital photographer, and actually do pretty well but
>> need to learn much.
>> What would be a great close-up lense for a Pentax Automatic Digital
>> Camera.
>> Any suggestions for me?
>> Thanks
>> John Loomis
>
> I use a Sigma 50mm F2.8 EX Macro on my Pentax *ist DS and it works
> really well for the amount of money I was prepared to spend.
>
 >> Stay informed about: Pentax *ist DS 

"Bandicoot" <"insert_handle_here"@techemail.com> wrote in message
news:1172372846.16431.0@damia.uk.clara.net...
> "John Loomis" <jloomis RemoveThis @mcn.org> wrote in message
> news:45e0ee3c$0$27180$235e9798@corp-news.dsltransport.net...
>> Hello,
>> I am an amateur digital photographer, and actually do pretty well but
>> need to learn much.
>> What would be a great close-up lense for a Pentax Automatic
>> Digital Camera.
>> Any suggestions for me?
>> Thanks
>> John Loomis
>>
>
> You mean a camera lens (there's only one 'e' in lens) not a supplementary
> lens that you screw onto the front, right?

Right, the lens you screw onto the front!
The one of many that a person may have.

>
> The answer depends on several things:
>
> How much you want to spend;
Depends on the quality of lens.....
300.00 to 700.00 I think is a range....for a macro lens.
>
> What sort of subjects you want to shoot (if you are copying documents or
> photographing stamps a 50mm might be best, for general work on natural
> subjects a 100mm is a good all rounder, for butterflies a 200mm is
> better);

Water droplets, mushrooms,fungi,spider-webs, blossoms, bugs
Hey.........the little stuff!



>
> Whether you want auto-focus (very useful for some macro subjects, more
> trouble than it's worth for others);
I have auto-focus capability, and can turn that off and manual focus also.
I do not mind auto for some things....specially bee's. They seem to light
as soon as you get that big lens near them.
>
> Whether you want the lens to do double duty for anything else as well as
> close-up work;
I always considers double duty.....but close-up is what I would like.
>
> Whether you are only interested in buying new, or would consider a used
> lens.
I do not mind new, unless a used one is available and of good quality.
>
> Depending on your answers, there's a selection of Pentax macro lenses that
> are as sharp as you will find anywhwere, and a couple of others (notably
> the
> Tamron 90mm f2.5) that are very nearly as sharp as the best Pentaxes and
> still blow away most other makes.
>
> 'Macro zooms' are generally no such thing (there is one zoom lens that is
> a
> true macro, the no-longer-made Vivitar Series 1 Flat Field 90-180mm f4.5,
> but it is rare and not cheap) so you are basically looking at a fixed FL.
> The choices are, more or less, 50mm, 90 / 100mm, and 180 / 200mm. I have
> and use all three, but the 100mm length is the best all rounder for the
> sort
> of work that I do.
>
> If you have answers to the questions above, I or someone else may be able
> to
> give you a more specific reply.
>
>
>
> Peter
Hello Peter, Thanks for your help.
I will wurk on mi speelung good.
LOL
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Pentax *ist DS 

"John Loomis" <jloomis RemoveThis @mcn.org> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:45e1ccbf$0$27192$235e9798@corp-news.dsltransport.net...
> Thanks,
> I will look into that.
> John Loomis
> "Hoshisato" <hoshisato RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1172396228.675504.54030@a75g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
>> On Feb 25, 2:02 am, "John Loomis" <jloo... RemoveThis @mcn.org> wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>> I am an amateur digital photographer, and actually do pretty well
>>> but
>>> need to learn much.
>>> What would be a great close-up lense for a Pentax Automatic Digital
>>> Camera.
>>> Any suggestions for me?
>>> Thanks
>>> John Loomis
>>
>> I use a Sigma 50mm F2.8 EX Macro on my Pentax *ist DS and it works
>> really well for the amount of money I was prepared to spend.
>>
I have the Samsung equivalent to your camera and the 55 - 200 tele with a
Raynox 250 macro lens gives pretty acceptable results with coin / postage
stamp sized objects. For higher magnification I use the same tele zoom with
an inverted f 1.8/50 mm lens (with a coupling ring) from my old analog SLR.
Good results, but due to close focus lighting is a bit difficult.
 >> Stay informed about: Pentax *ist DS 

"John Loomis" <jloomis DeleteThis @mcn.org> wrote in message
news:45e1ce76$0$27159$235e9798@corp-news.dsltransport.net...
>
> "Bandicoot" <"insert_handle_here"@techemail.com> wrote in message
> news:1172372846.16431.0@damia.uk.clara.net...
> > "John Loomis" <jloomis DeleteThis @mcn.org> wrote in message
> > news:45e0ee3c$0$27180$235e9798@corp-news.dsltransport.net...
> >> Hello,
> >> I am an amateur digital photographer, and actually do
> >> pretty well but need to learn much. What would be a great
> >> close-up lense for a Pentax Automatic Digital Camera.
> >> Any suggestions for me?
> >
> > You mean a camera lens (there's only one 'e' in lens) not a
> >supplementary lens that you screw onto the front, right?
>
> Right, the lens you screw onto the front!
> The one of many that a person may have.
>

OK, yes, the one that I probably tend to have too many of...

> >
> > The answer depends on several things:
> >
> > How much you want to spend;
>
> Depends on the quality of lens.....
> 300.00 to 700.00 I think is a range....for a macro lens.

I'm not sure on current prices in US$, but I think that probably rules out
the Pentax 200mm, but leaves most other options open.

> >
> > What sort of subjects you want to shoot (if you are copying
> > documents or photographing stamps a 50mm might be best, for > > general
work on natural subjects a 100mm is a good all
> > rounder, for butterflies a 200mm is better);
>
> Water droplets, mushrooms,fungi,spider-webs, blossoms, bugs
> Hey.........the little stuff!
>

In that case I would probably rule out the 50mm option too. I know the *ist
is a 1.6x crop camera (or is it 1.5x, I can never remember these things) but
even so you are going to find that the working distance with the 50mm is
going to be quite short. This makes lighting subjects harder and while you
can deal with that in the studio, it is harder 'in the wild' - whether you
are using flash or natural light. It will also make bees and bugs almost
impossibe to approach closely enough.

Remember that Depth of Field is related to magnification, not _directly_ to
focal length. This means that we are used to the idea that when we use a
wide lens we get more DoF than when we use a long focus lens from the same
position - but that is because the long focus lens is magnifying the scene
more. In macro work a long lens is used to get you the same magnification
from further back, not more magnification form the same distance, so you are
getting the same DoF for a given image size regardless of the focal length
you use to get there.

There is a price to pay for getting yourself more working distance though:
the longer lens has the same 'magnifying' effect on camera shake as it
always does, so you need a higher shutter speed, flash, and/or a tripod -
all of which you should be thinking about for macro work anyway.

>
> >
> > Whether you want auto-focus (very useful for some macro
> > subjects, more trouble than it's worth for others);
>
> I have auto-focus capability, and can turn that off and manual
> focus also. I do not mind auto for some things....specially bee's.
> They seem to light as soon as you get that big lens near them.

Ah yes, bees... In that cae you definitely want AF, although the option to
turn it off is very useful for more static subjects.

> >
> > Whether you want the lens to do double duty for anything else
> > as well as close-up work;
>
> I always considers double duty.....but close-up is what I would
> like.

Well, a 100mm lens on a 1.6x crop body is a bit long for many portraits, but
is a nice length for headshots...

> >
> > Whether you are only interested in buying new, or would
> > consider a used lens.
>
> I do not mind new, unless a used one is available and of good
> quality.

I think your budget would allow you to buy new, but second hand may well get
you better bargains.

> >
> > Depending on your answers, there's a selection of Pentax
> > macro lenses that are as sharp as you will find anywhwere, and
> > a couple of others (notably the Tamron 90mm f2.5) that are
> > very nearly as sharp as the best Pentaxes and still blow away
> > most other makes.
> >
> > 'Macro zooms' are generally no such thing (there is one zoom
> > lens that is a true macro, the no-longer-made Vivitar Series 1
> > Flat Field 90-180mm f4.5, but it is rare and not cheap) so you
> > are basically looking at a fixed FL. The choices are, more or
> > less, 50mm, 90 / 100mm, and 180 / 200mm. I have and use
> > all three, but the 100mm length is the best all rounder for the
> > sort of work that I do.
> >
> > If you have answers to the questions above, I or someone else
> > may be able to give you a more specific reply.
> >

Based on you answers I'd say get a 100mm (or a 90mm). Since the budget will
do it, I'd also say get one of the Pentax ones: they're the sharpest there
are; the bokeh (at least of the ones I'm familiar with) is excellent - and
that matters in a lot of macro work; and of course SMC coating makes them
contrasty and very flare resistant.

As you'll want AF available (for the bees!) I think you have basically three
choices. The 100mm f2.8 F Macro, 100mm f2.8 FA Macro, and 100mm f2.8 DFA
Macro. There is a 100mm f3.5, but it is a budget version and not as good as
the 2.8s.

The DFA is supposedly optimised for digital, but my personal favourite is
the FA. It is one of the world's ugliest lenses, but built like a tank.
There is a switch on the lens to go from AF to manual, which means that it
has much better 'feel' in manual focus than most AF lenses do, and you can
turn up the focus drag for manual focus use too which also helps. Also
there is a switchable limiter for the focus range - this means that when
using AF you can limit the lens to longer distances, or to the macro range,
which limits the range of focus hunting and can make focus faster: the very
long focus travel of macro lenses can make this a real issue. This lens is
very sharp - as sharp as any 100mm lens made - and has attractive bokeh too.
Works equally well at longer distances as for macro work.

Macro work can be addictive: have fun!

> >
> > Peter
> Hello Peter, Thanks for your help.
> I will wurk on mi speelung good.
> LOL
> >





Peter
 >> Stay informed about: Pentax *ist DS 

On Sun, 25 Feb 2007 05:40:23 GMT
m II <c.RemoveThis@in.the.hat> wrote:

> Paul Allen wrote:
> > On Sun, 25 Feb 2007 03:28:28 GMT
> > m II <c.RemoveThis@in.the.hat> wrote:
> >
> >> Bandicoot wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >> (there's only one 'e' in lens)
> >>
> >> I may be dens....
> >>
> >> but I think both are perfectly valid words and 'lense' probably
> >> predates 'lens' by quite some time.
> >
> > "Lense" is not in my Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. I never saw
> > it spelled that way in high school or college physics, in
> > photography classes, books, or magazines, or in my telescope-making
> > days. If it predates 'lens', then it's so archaic that
> > dictionaries don't bother listing it any more.
> >
> > It's seen so often here that I've just assumed the odd spelling
> > comes from countries that don't feel bound by American English
> > spelling. It's not as if North America invented the Mother Tongue,
> > after all.
> >
> > Paul Allen
> >
>
> You were making me doubt my sanity...at least for a bit.
>
> http://www.onelook.com/?w=lense&ls=a
>
>
> It's interesting to note that the original word was based on
> 'lentil'.. neat..

Hmmm... Where did you see the bit about 'lentil'? According to the
links on the above page, "lense" is not in Merriam-Webster's Online
Dictionary, the Cambridge International Dictionary, or LookWayUp.
Wikipedia calls it a misspelling. The Merriam-Webster Medical
Dictionary, Princeton's WordNet, and something called RhymeZone
list "lense" as a word. In geology, "lense" means something entirely
non-optical.

Looks to me as if "lense" is a recent corruption of the original "lens",
and the keepers of the dictionaries are still in the process of catching
up with it. I think I'll keep spelling it the only way its ever been
spelled in my experience ("lens"), and see if "lense" overtakes me.
It's happened before. When digital electronics was being mainstreamed
into the culture, the popular media got everybody saying "chip" instead
of "integrated circuit" or "IC". When a change like that reaches a
tipping point, there's not much point in standing in the way.

Paul Allen
 >> Stay informed about: Pentax *ist DS 

On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 01:07:12 -0800, Paul Allen wrote:

>> It's interesting to note that the original word was based on
>> 'lentil'.. neat..
>
> Hmmm... Where did you see the bit about 'lentil'? According to the
> links on the above page, "lense" is not in Merriam-Webster's Online
> Dictionary, the Cambridge International Dictionary, or LookWayUp.
> Wikipedia calls it a misspelling.

It's mentioned in the Online Etymology Dictionary:

> lens [link]
>1693, from L. lens (gen. lentis) "lentil," on analogy of the
> double-convex shape. See lentil.

> lentil [link]
> c.1250, from O.Fr. lentille, from V.L. *lenticula, dim. of L. lens (gen.
> lentis) "lentil," cognate with Gk. lathyros, O.C.S. lesta.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=lens&searchmode=none

but it has no entry for lense. The link immediately after the word
"lens" goes to http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=lens and
that page shows:

> Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source
>
> Main Entry: lens
> Variant: also lense /'lenz/
> Function: noun


The authoritative source would be the OED but their online
dictionary requires a subscription. As the minimum charge is for
their "low monthly rate of US$29.95" I do believe I'll pass, even
though "this is great value with no commitment".

A better deal would be the CD version of the OED as its $295 price
is the same as the cost of a year's access to the online version.
Still too pricey for me but the final deal breakers are its annoying
validation every 90 days and the broken security update, which I
happen to have installed:

> Minimum system requirements:
> PC with 200 MHz Pentium-class processor
> 32 MB RAM (64 MB recommended)
> 16-speed CD-ROM drive (32-speed recommended)
> Windows 95, 98, 98 Se, Me, NT, 2000, or XP
> Minimum 1.1 GB hard disk space to run the OED from the CD-ROM
> and 1.7 GB to install the CD-ROM to the hard disk (CD validation
> required every 90 days)
> SVGA monitor: 800 x 600 pixels, 16-bit (64k, high color) setting
> recommended **Please note: There is a known problem between the
> OED and the Microsoft Security Update KB917422. It causes the OED
> to close as soon as it is loaded, without showing any error messages.
> Microsoft are currently working on this problem and a solution will be
> posted on this website as soon as it is available.
 >> Stay informed about: Pentax *ist DS