RE: Long zoom macro lens?
I am back again to ask more questions. I am visiting US for some time and want to buy a used tele-zoom (macro not essential) before I return. I didn't see any FS: on the list so tried keh.com. How are the following lenses and prices: 75-300 F4.5-5.6 TOKINA MACRO A (58) for $105 80-400 F4.5-5.6 TOKINA AT-X AUTO FOCUS (72) for $286 I am tempted to buy the second even though it is way beyond my means. Also thinking of buying a used Vivitar Macro 2x teleconv from them for $60. Thanks, Gaurav -Original Message- From: Gaurav Aggarwal [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 15, 2003 9:40 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Long zoom macro lens? Hi all, I have been reading the posts for around 5-6 months now. I have a Pentax ME Super with M50/1.7 (and a PZ-1 also which I don't use though). I now realize that I would like to have a longish zoom for taking portraits of family, street photography, birds etc. Also, I have never done macro but would want that feature as well. IIRC, from the past posts some good long zoom lenses are: F 70-210 f/4-5.6 A 70-210 f/4 FA 80-320 f/4.5-5.6 Tamron 70-210 f/3.5 (manual focus?) Tokina ATX 100-300 f/4 (manual focus?) Vivitar Series I 90-180 f/4.5 Any other? . I am a hobbyist photographer, not even a serious amateur so build quality need not be very strong since I shoot 1-2 roll a month. . Manual Focus is fine since I will primarily use ME Super. . I prefer the reach of 300 mm, if possible. . Want to spend less than $150 (whis is Indian Rs. 7000). . Want macro (will I need/use it?). . Prefer not to be too heavy (less than 500g for sure) . I don't mind non-Pentax. . I had a Pentax 28-200 f/3.5-5.6 IF and wasn't extremely pleased with it so would want better optics. Is anybody selling anything that will meet my requirements? I saw Wendy is selling the A 70-210 f/4. Maybe that will be good since I bought my ME Super from her :-) Thanks so much!! Gaurav --- C++: Where friends have access to your private members. -- Gavin Russell Baker
Re: Long zoom macro lens?
Vivitar series 1 70 210 f 3.5 62mm filter size. Vivitar Series 1 70-210 f 3.5 67mm filter size. Both very good lenses from personal experience, solidly built manual focus available in very good to excellent condition for less than $150 if you shop around. At 11:09 AM 9/16/03 +0530, you wrote: Hi all, I have been reading the posts for around 5-6 months now. I have a Pentax ME Super with M50/1.7 (and a PZ-1 also which I don't use though). I now realize that I would like to have a longish zoom for taking portraits of family, street photography, birds etc. Also, I have never done macro but would want that feature as well. IIRC, from the past posts some good long zoom lenses are: F 70-210 f/4-5.6 A 70-210 f/4 FA 80-320 f/4.5-5.6 Tamron 70-210 f/3.5 (manual focus?) Tokina ATX 100-300 f/4 (manual focus?) Vivitar Series I 90-180 f/4.5 Any other? . I am a hobbyist photographer, not even a serious amateur so build quality need not be very strong since I shoot 1-2 roll a month. . Manual Focus is fine since I will primarily use ME Super. . I prefer the reach of 300 mm, if possible. . Want to spend less than $150 (whis is Indian Rs. 7000). . Want macro (will I need/use it?). . Prefer not to be too heavy (less than 500g for sure) . I don't mind non-Pentax. . I had a Pentax 28-200 f/3.5-5.6 IF and wasn't extremely pleased with it so would want better optics. Is anybody selling anything that will meet my requirements? I saw Wendy is selling the A 70-210 f/4. Maybe that will be good since I bought my ME Super from her :-) Thanks so much!! Gaurav --- C++: Where friends have access to your private members. -- Gavin Russell Baker To grasp the true meaning of socialism, imagine a world where everything is designed by the post office, even the sleaze. O'Rourke, P.J.
Re: Long zoom macro lens?
Hi! On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 11:09:38 +0530 Gaurav Aggarwal [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi all, I have been reading the posts for around 5-6 months now. I have a Pentax ME Super with M50/1.7 (and a PZ-1 also which I don't use though). I now realize that I would like to have a longish zoom for taking portraits of family, street photography, birds etc. Also, I have never done macro but would want that feature as well. You already have 50/1.7 and ME Super. May I suggest slightly different approach? You could look for Panagor Macro Converter ($20 or so I think). It would turn your 50/1.7 into macro zoom lens with macro factor changing from 1:10 to 1:1 (lifesize). The weight of converter is no more than 200 gr. Adding to that weight of 50 mm lens, I think your weight requirement will be met. The results however are most probably better than any zoom lens with macro setting. Notice that you would be using a 50 mm prime as an optical basis. You can see few photos I made with this combo here: http://www.geocities.com/dunno57/macro-photos.htm. By the way all shots there were made handheld... As a starting kit for Macro Work I think this is very viable option. Good hunting. Boris
Re: Long zoom macro lens?
I take this Panagor extension is just a tube, ie no lenses? This would otherwise surely degrade the Pentax lens quality considerably. I must say I'm impressed with your macro photo's. I want one of these! Might even get rid of my 100/4 macro then as I find very little use for it. Might just as well put thise macrozoom converter on my 85/1.8. Where would I end up in terms of image ratio putting it on my 200/4? :-) Paul Delcour From: Boris Liberman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 10:15:30 +0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Long zoom macro lens? Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Resent-Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 02:15:37 -0400 Panagor Macro Converter
Re: Long zoom macro lens?
What about the set of rings Pentax offered to get macro. What would be better: the Panagor macrozoomring or these Pentax rings? Seems ot me the zoom offers much mnore flexibility and less switching of lenses/rings. :-) Paul Delcour From: Boris Liberman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 10:15:30 +0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Long zoom macro lens? Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Resent-Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 02:15:37 -0400 Hi! On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 11:09:38 +0530 Gaurav Aggarwal [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi all, I have been reading the posts for around 5-6 months now. I have a Pentax ME Super with M50/1.7 (and a PZ-1 also which I don't use though). I now realize that I would like to have a longish zoom for taking portraits of family, street photography, birds etc. Also, I have never done macro but would want that feature as well. You already have 50/1.7 and ME Super. May I suggest slightly different approach? You could look for Panagor Macro Converter ($20 or so I think). It would turn your 50/1.7 into macro zoom lens with macro factor changing from 1:10 to 1:1 (lifesize). The weight of converter is no more than 200 gr. Adding to that weight of 50 mm lens, I think your weight requirement will be met. The results however are most probably better than any zoom lens with macro setting. Notice that you would be using a 50 mm prime as an optical basis. You can see few photos I made with this combo here: http://www.geocities.com/dunno57/macro-photos.htm. By the way all shots there were made handheld... As a starting kit for Macro Work I think this is very viable option. Good hunting. Boris
Re: Long zoom macro lens?
I use a Panagor Macro Converter with a Vivitar 135/3.5 these days and the results are good. I often find it difficult to get near enough to the subject with the Sigma 50/2.8 macro - which would be my choice in most cases. I also miss the 45 degree viewfinder of the earlier Alpa Reflexes. Don ___ Dr E D F Williams http://personal.inet.fi/cool/don.williams Author's Web Site and Photo Gallery Updated: July 31, 2003 - Original Message - From: Paul Delcour [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 12:19 PM Subject: Re: Long zoom macro lens? What about the set of rings Pentax offered to get macro. What would be better: the Panagor macrozoomring or these Pentax rings? Seems ot me the zoom offers much mnore flexibility and less switching of lenses/rings. :-) Paul Delcour From: Boris Liberman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 10:15:30 +0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Long zoom macro lens? Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Resent-Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 02:15:37 -0400 Hi! On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 11:09:38 +0530 Gaurav Aggarwal [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi all, I have been reading the posts for around 5-6 months now. I have a Pentax ME Super with M50/1.7 (and a PZ-1 also which I don't use though). I now realize that I would like to have a longish zoom for taking portraits of family, street photography, birds etc. Also, I have never done macro but would want that feature as well. You already have 50/1.7 and ME Super. May I suggest slightly different approach? You could look for Panagor Macro Converter ($20 or so I think). It would turn your 50/1.7 into macro zoom lens with macro factor changing from 1:10 to 1:1 (lifesize). The weight of converter is no more than 200 gr. Adding to that weight of 50 mm lens, I think your weight requirement will be met. The results however are most probably better than any zoom lens with macro setting. Notice that you would be using a 50 mm prime as an optical basis. You can see few photos I made with this combo here: http://www.geocities.com/dunno57/macro-photos.htm. By the way all shots there were made handheld... As a starting kit for Macro Work I think this is very viable option. Good hunting. Boris
Re: Long zoom macro lens?
I only know about two of the lenses you mention. the Tokina ATX 100-300 is a great lens but does not focus close. The Vivitar Series One 90-180 is a true macro and maybe the sharpest zoom ever made. Gaurav Aggarwal wrote: Hi all, I have been reading the posts for around 5-6 months now. I have a Pentax ME Super with M50/1.7 (and a PZ-1 also which I don't use though). I now realize that I would like to have a longish zoom for taking portraits of family, street photography, birds etc. Also, I have never done macro but would want that feature as well. IIRC, from the past posts some good long zoom lenses are: F 70-210 f/4-5.6 A 70-210 f/4 FA 80-320 f/4.5-5.6 Tamron 70-210 f/3.5 (manual focus?) Tokina ATX 100-300 f/4 (manual focus?) Vivitar Series I 90-180 f/4.5 Any other? -- --graywolf http://graywolfphoto.com
Re: Long zoom macro lens?
On Tue, 16 Sep 2003, Boris Liberman wrote: On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 11:09:38 +0530 Gaurav Aggarwal [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I now realize that I would like to have a longish zoom for taking portraits of family, street photography, birds etc. Also, I have never done macro but would want that feature as well. You already have 50/1.7 and ME Super. May I suggest slightly different approach? You could look for Panagor Macro Converter ($20 or so I think). May I also suggest yet another option: buy a long zoom that you like (I have the M75-150/4 and the early M80-200/4.5 and I am quite happy with them, and you can follow the other people's suggestions too) and buy a 49mm-K reversing ring (and a step-down ring suitable for the thread of the zoom you like) for $20 or sth. The one downside is that you cannot attach a ring flash (because you don't have a thread at the front any more), but I have taken reasonably useful floral macros that way. The other downside is that the configuration induces step-down metering, but if I can do it with the MZ-50, you probably can do it with the ME Super. HTH, Kostas (not developed the pictures with the step-down ring yet, but I will report, promise :-)
Re: Long zoom macro lens?
I have been reading the posts for around 5-6 months now. I have a Pentax ME Super with M50/1.7 (and a PZ-1 also which I don't use though). I now realize that I would like to have a longish zoom for taking portraits of family, street photography, birds etc. Also, I have never done macro but would want that feature as well. You could try macro using your 50mm lens with a 49mm Minolta achromatic close-up lens #1 and/or #2 on it. They screw as a filter and permits getteing closer to subject. Achromatic ones (with two lenses in it( are a lot better than regular close-up filters. New, they are 30$ but used they come at $10-15 on eBay, although not regularly in 49mm size. The close-up lens #1 will start where the 50mm left (around half a meter) and will bring you closer to your subject. #2 is still stronger (brings you still closer). You bring the filter with you, and when you fell macro, you screw it on your lens. Not as practical as having a macro function built-in a tele zoom, but the quality will be better. Canon also makes these achromatic close-up lenses, to be put on their zooms. Andre --
Long zoom macro lens?
Hi all, I have been reading the posts for around 5-6 months now. I have a Pentax ME Super with M50/1.7 (and a PZ-1 also which I don't use though). I now realize that I would like to have a longish zoom for taking portraits of family, street photography, birds etc. Also, I have never done macro but would want that feature as well. IIRC, from the past posts some good long zoom lenses are: F 70-210 f/4-5.6 A 70-210 f/4 FA 80-320 f/4.5-5.6 Tamron 70-210 f/3.5 (manual focus?) Tokina ATX 100-300 f/4 (manual focus?) Vivitar Series I 90-180 f/4.5 Any other? . I am a hobbyist photographer, not even a serious amateur so build quality need not be very strong since I shoot 1-2 roll a month. . Manual Focus is fine since I will primarily use ME Super. . I prefer the reach of 300 mm, if possible. . Want to spend less than $150 (whis is Indian Rs. 7000). . Want macro (will I need/use it?). . Prefer not to be too heavy (less than 500g for sure) . I don't mind non-Pentax. . I had a Pentax 28-200 f/3.5-5.6 IF and wasn't extremely pleased with it so would want better optics. Is anybody selling anything that will meet my requirements? I saw Wendy is selling the A 70-210 f/4. Maybe that will be good since I bought my ME Super from her :-) Thanks so much!! Gaurav --- C++: Where friends have access to your private members. -- Gavin Russell Baker
Re: Long zoom macro lens?
Is anybody selling anything that will meet my requirements? I saw Wendy is selling the A 70-210 f/4. Maybe that will be good since I bought my ME Super from her :-) The macro feature of this lens can get you pretty close, but the image quality is not good. Alan Chan http://www.pbase.com/wlachan _ Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail
