one last stab at macro + my first Tak

I have mentioned before that I tried several dedicated macro lenses in the recent past.  A Sigma 50/2.8, Tamron 90/2.8, Promaster 100/3.5, Sigma 105/2.8 and a manual SMC-M 100mm took turns, but nothing quite convinced me they would get enough use.  The most convincing was the Sigma, which was a nice 50mm lens with bonus 1:1 coverage.  In the end they all left, and now I have several close-up filter-type diopters and a Vivitar 2x combo teleconverter and extension tube.  These too have not caught on, and I have pretty nearly despaired of taking 'real' closeup shots.

On a parallel track I've been seeking a few good manual-focus primes.  The SMC 17/4 Fish-Eye and SMC-A 24/2.8 are a very good start.  I have a decent SMC-M 50/2 but had hoped for something more 'versatile' whatever that might mean.  I have the DA40xs for autofocus, so a 50mm lens is not vital - but having a set of well-spaced MF primes might catch on.

from bdimitrov.de site

Looking back at me this evening was an SMC-A 50mm f/2.8 1:2 macro at a decent price.  Hmm that would be OK, and would instantly be my best close-focus lens... but I won't bother if it's not any good.  Yikes, this thing scores 9.6+ out of 10 at pentaxforums - that qualifies as really good!  Many owners say it's their sharpest lens, so I'm convinced.

So farewell to the M50, and here's to my one last attempt to use a macro lens.  I've read often that manual focus is as good as AF for really close work, and I did not give the SMC-M 100mm enough time to get used to it, as I was still an AF addict at the time.  Maybe this one will be the answer - or equally likely, after this time I will desist from asking the wrong question!

Hopefully one more MF prime will round it out, though if I find an 85mm I may be forced to add another for the long end.

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4/11 update - and for now that 'one more prime' is a 105mm f/2.8 Takumar M42 lens.  Serious retro pickup, and a well regarded lens probably from the 1960s.  This copy has lived a full 50 years and it shows, but mere age does not stop a Tak!  Well, so they say; I shall know soon.

This means I have a a Tak, one K-series and two A-series Pentax.  Maybe I should keep the M50/2 around so I have one of each?  Or maybe later I shall find a tweener M - who knows?  Never I, that's certain...

two pancakes, one crêpe

Many have extolled the virtue of the Pentax DA pancakes: 21mm, 40mm and 70mm Limited primes that serve very well and are tiny to boot.  At one time I owned the DA40 and 70 at once, and I liked them very much but the budget demanded a sacrifice.  I later picked up the DA21 so my lifetime triple was complete!

Now I have picked up a new 40mm - not the DA Limited but the XS model that came with the K-01.  If the others are pancake lenses, this is surely a crêpe as it's substantially thinner.  It loses quick shift but is optically the same excellent lens; I look forward to using it to replace my lens cap! :^)  Actually the lens-cap for this is about the size of a rubber quarter, so hopefully I shall be able to keep track of it.

The fourth prime is a Sigma 105mm macro, which is larger and heavier than these three combined.  Hopefully I can justify carrying such a 'beast' now and then!

so many ways to play

So assume you have a couple of lenses you like, and some you don't.  An easy assumption since nearly every camera user will invent reasons to rework the kit, sometimes on a mere whim or rumor! In any case, how does one go about rearranging the kit, and find true imaging happiness?

Wide/Normal
I have a few great primes in the DA21 and DA70 Limiteds plus a nice Sigma 105mm macro.  I can stick a prime in between the Limiteds (35 or 40mm?), or choose the new 20-40mm Limited zoom and release the DA21 back into the wild.  Another option is a 17-50mm f/2.8, which would go nicely with the 70 and 105.  I could also abandon Pentax and pick a Sigma or Tamron 28-70 or 28-75 zoom at f/2.8, which could send the DA70 packing¹.

I really dislike Pentax' forcing a lens change around 50mm (16-45, 16-50, 18-55 + 50-135, 50-200, 55-300 etc.)² as I find the 50mm zone worth moving past in one direction or another.  This suggests that I'm a good candidate for their upcoming DA 17-85mm± offering, which should appear in 2014.   In the meantime a DA35/2.4 would fill my gap with the least expense - assuming a DA40xs does not magically appear.

Tele
A few shots with the DA50-200 have shown how the primes obliterate this compact lens - but what after that will I be willing to carry?  Actually the Sigma 100-300 can cover that ground for a while despite its relatively slow f/4.5-6.7 aperture, though the HD 55-300WR would be a good option too.  I owned and liked the Sigma 50-150, and the DA* 50-135 does drop into my price range at times.  This is less of a priority so I can punt on telephoto decisions for now - but I'd think a weather-resistant 17-85 + 100-300mm would make a simple and impressive pair most days!



P.S.  The magic worked: I found a used DA40XS for less than the price of a used DA35/2.4!  I did not expect that, but I'll cheerfully take it.  Most reviews say this is an optical clone of the Limited lens without quick shift, but some like it a lot less.  When the time comes it can be sold with my K-01 and bring it back to its original complete and bizarre nature. :^)

¹ I do have a Quantaray 28-90 with 1:2 macro, but it's f/5.6 at the long end, and it flares some when the light is wrong.
² the DA 17-70 bridges that gap, but with no WR I'll wait and manage with primes.

what a difference...

a few days (and early holiday sales!) makes.

Last week at this time the primary kit =  κ-01, DA16-45/70, and Sigma 50-150, no backup.
Once the packages arrive it will become κ-5ii, DA21/50/70, and Sigma 105 macro, κ-01 backup!  No doubt a step up, though the wide zoom is now a white DAL 18-55!

Strange days indeed.

The DA50 has arrived; it's quite a nice lens and feels better than most when focusing manually. I had heard that, now I know it! It also focuses rather close relative to other AF primes I have tried.   I'm not certain this can find a place so close to the DA70, but for now it's a nice addition; perhaps the DA35 will turn out to match better with the 21 and 70, or a DA40xs might make a timely appearance.  To look at it another way: with 1/2 stop more light and very good images, will the DA50 allow the 70mm enough room to shine?  

Whatever wins out, for the next few months it will not be allowed to bother me.

DA21 and the II are now here.  First camera tests are promising, I took a photo in deep shade and focus locked nicely with the 50/1.8.  So far so good!  The DA21 has a bit of a reputation as a less-than-razor-sharp lens that does best at closer focus, and this copy seems to be the same.  I shall try some AF adjustments to see how it goes, but razor sharpness does not make an ordinary image into a great one (and software can assist) - so I do not expect this to go badly.  The 21 looks enough like 18mm to be acceptable as the widest lens other than my fisheye 8mm, so the 18-55 can pretty much stay locked to the K-01.

turnovers!

What an interesting few days.  The 50-150 is sold and the funds mutate into the DAs 21/3.2 Limited and Sigma 105/2.8 macro, and the DA16-45 is converted to a DA50 f/1.8!  It's clear from the number of 18-55 and 16-45 lenses in my history that I find these two interchangeable, especially with a good sensor whose ISO talents can compensate for the slower 18-55.

Deals have been too complicated to tell if a net $ gain or loss occurred on all the above, but more gear will depart in the next few months, once the K-5 comes home from the service trip I have planned for it.  The SMC-A 24mm is definitely out of work now that the DA21 is coming to town.


So here is the latest scoreboard:

• primes: 8 fisheye, 21, 50, 70, 105 macro, 400 (8 & 400mm both manual focus)
• zooms: 18-55 + 50-200 WR, 28-90 1:2 macro, 100-300 f/4.5-6.7 (latter two full-frame)
• bodies: κ-5ii, K-01 (white with white 18-55 DAL), K-5 (injured reserve)

the kit reborn?

So the 50-150 f/2.8 is moving on soon*, and the DA40 Limited is gone.  Never thought the 40 would go, but at 770 grams the 50-150 was a risk I chose to take.  A 450-gram Sigma 105 macro is not a lightweight, but 70+105 fast lenses combined will do well with the DA16-45.  Heck, the 70+105+DA50-200WR weighs a bit more but gives me more range, some weather seals and 1:1 macro!  Yes I'm stretching to justify my actions, but it works for me!

Why am I doing this?  The K-5 II is the new goal.  With the K-5 awaiting repairs & the wet season upon us, a II (or praps a IIs) makes sense... if the price becomes right in the next few months.  I could pick up a classic K-5 but the SAFOX X has a few important upgrades I would like to have:

• better AF predictions in continuous-AF mode
• much less light needed for autofocus (-3EV)
• f/2.8 precision (center point) and 
• more decisive focusing in nearly all cases

The gapless-screen update will be quite nice as well.

The K-3 has still more updates, but the 24Mpix sensor does not beat the sweet-16 for low-light imaging so more pixels hold less appeal.  Many of the other features (variable AA simulation, better/easier video, USB3) are good but not wildly relevant to me -- well OK a few shifted buttons would be nice.  A larger screen and faster electronic pipeline sounds like battery-life sacrificed as much as anything else.  And even with sale prices, the K-3 will be at twice the price of the basic II.  But hey, the shopping season approaches: if discounts are in the right places and the house is getting a lot of buying attention, who knows where this will end?

Once my K-5 is fixed it may go on the market... or should the K-01 depart?  Keeping the K-5 makes more sense for identical controls, the K-01 has the interesting video and interval-movie setting - but those are also available on the Q!  Acquiring a brand-new II with three years of warranty feels like a good decision - though a better one would be to swear off all imaging 'upgrades' for six months!
Ha ha very funny... and oh yeah just picked up a white 18-55 for the white K-01 :^p

Today's pile of imaging gear:

• primes: 8 fisheye, 24, 50, 70Ltd, 105 macro, 400 (all manual focus except 70 + 105)
• zooms: DAs 16-45, 18-55, 50-200wr (28-90 & 100-300 for full frame/film)
• bodies: K-01, K-5 (needs repairs), Q with 02 zoom and PK adapter

* first sale fell through, try try again..

Update - the 50-150 went through the 2nd time, and is being replaced by a DA21.  Yes this was not needed thanks to the 16-45.  More shuffling in the works; what a surprise.

Farewell to the Forty.. and ??

I had not intended to let any Limited lenses get away... but that was before the DA16-45 began crowding them out.  I had unsuccessfully marketed the DA70 a couple of times - keeping the 70mm makes much more sense than the DA40 given the 16-45, and the 70mm is slightly faster and nearly as small.  This injection of camera funds helps alleviate my financial remorse over the Sigma 50-150 f/2.8 as well.  I had felt that the 70-150's arrival made the 70mm expendable, but the huge size/weight difference really doesn't make for a fair comparison of the two on 70mm images alone.

So yet again, the kit has shifted.  Maybe at some point a 100-135mm prime will go along with the 16-45 / 70 / ?? for hiking trips (the 50-200WR is great except at the edges, where the 50-150 bests it handily).  I have diopter attachment lenses for decent closeups, but of course a 100mm or 105mm macro would be even better - but after the K-5 has been serviced.  Perhaps I can find a manual lens to fill in for now.

Rumors swirl around a Pentax 20-40mm Limited zoom, which may be WR and/or have DA motor; that would be fun to own, but it definitely will not be a cheap lens!

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And hello 105...
The 50-150 tests are in, and results are clear on several levels - and the truth hurts.  Without doubt it's an amazing lens, sharp right to the edges below f/4, silent focus, plenty of good.  At the same time, that 750+ grams could be used to carry several other items.  One that has stood out as an ideal match is a 100mm± macro lens.  Yes, guilty as charged: I recently sold off a Cosina-made 100/3.5 but it had no focus limiter and focus was loud & crazy.  In this case a Sigma 105mm EX.DG finally came up at a good price, and here it comes now to complement my 16-45 and 70 Limited as a top-notch hiking trio.

This means the 50-150's purpose has lessened, as the less-edgy but far lighter DA50-200WR can reclaim its position as both good telephoto and foul-weather choice.  Yet that makes less sense when attached to a K-01, and my K-5 sits in the moving van awaiting both unpacking and servicing for a few age-related issues.

The easy answer is to trade the 50-150 for an updated K-5 so I'm ready for the wet season.  I'm more convinced now that the II-series has features I would really like, notably the improved AF and crisper screen.  So the Sigma is on the block for cash or a K-5II trade; if I am cashed out I shall await a good post-Thanksgiving fire sale.  As to the II versus IIs debate, I am satisfied that the IIs may be sharper overall but the color moiré is a risk (though a slight one) and my skills are more in play than the AA filter by a long shot.

Now for the silly part: I also have the K-01 on the block.  That's just silly, both because I really enjoy it and also because all of its boxes and manuals are packed for our move and wildly inaccessible!  I shall not be aggressive with the sale or lower the price, so we shall see where that leads.