Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-11 Thread Antonio
Hi Rob,

Thanks for posting those images, very nice. They illustrate the effects of
different focal lenghs vey nicely. The A/50 2.8 being my favourite.
Fantastic.

Antonio

On 11/8/04 2:12 am, Rob Studdert [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 On 10 Aug 2004 at 16:35, Anders Hultman wrote:
 
 If you look at some macro shots I've done with a regular 50 mm lens
 and a bellows, could you say in which way these pictures would be
 different if I had used either of the two new lenses instead?
 
 Practically there will be little difference (and virtually nil if you are are
 looking to replace your 50mm bellows with a regular 50mm macro aside from the
 operation differences).
 
 The long and short of it (pun intended of course) is that when using a short
 FL 
 macro you will be relatively closer to the subject, this means that lighting
 may be made more difficult, your subject may be disturbed by the proximity of
 the lens and you may not be able to isolate the subject as effectively due to
 the relatively wider AOV. On the positive side shake is diminished somewhat
 and 
 the maximum apertures are fastest with short lenses so they are generally
 easier to use and more forgiving when shooting hand held especially when using
 available light.
 
 Longer lenses provide greater working distance and a tend to isolate the
 subject more effectively however they are far more difficult to hand hold
 effectively. I guess this is why macro lenses around 100mm are so popular as
 they offer a reasonable compromise between all the factors mentioned above.
 
 In order to show the visible (but sometimes subtle) differences that FL makes
 I 
 set up a semi-scientific macro test (2:1) using 50, 125 and 200 macro lenses.
 All shots were made at f5.6 at a mag factor of 2x and the tripod was slid out
 from the subject until focus was achieved The framing isn't perfect between
 each frame but it's good enough to highlight the differences. You will see
 more 
 background details in the 50mm shot and you will see the perspective
 distortion 
 flattening out in the 200mm shot.
 
 http://members.ozemail.com.au/~audiob/temp/_igp5685.jpg A50/2.8 Macro
 http://members.ozemail.com.au/~audiob/temp/_igp5686.jpg V125/2.5 Macro
 http://members.ozemail.com.au/~audiob/temp/_igp5688.jpg A*200/4 Macro
 (w/mirror 
 pre-fire)
 
 The easiest way to compare the images is to DL them and use an image browser
 with sync capabilities like ThumbsPlus, then you can pan around in the images
 synchronously. Looking at these images again I wish I also had a 28mm (or
 wider) macro lens for use in instances where working distance isn't critical.
 
 I'll leave these images on line for a couple of days.
 
 Cheers,
 
 
 Rob Studdert
 HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA
 Tel +61-2-9554-4110
 UTC(GMT)  +10 Hours
 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/
 Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998
 



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-11 Thread Steve Jolly
Tom C wrote:
Do we need to start a PGOMDML?  Pentax Grumpy Old Men Discuss Mailing 
List? :)
I thought we already had one... ;-)
S


Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-11 Thread Arnold Stark
I agree with JCO. DOF depends on the magnifcation by the lens. At 
typical object distances (1m), the short focal length (e.g. 10mm) 
lenses of digital cameras can be used at almost constant and very small 
(1:100) magnification, hence the large DOF.

Arnold
Jens Bladt schrieb:
I'm sure most of us agree to th opposite. Sertainly a 100 mm gives you less DOF than a 
50 mm. That's why smaller formats - lika many digital cameras - have larger DOF, 
provided the same angle of view is obtained by a shorter focal length.Jens
J. C. O'Connell wrote: 

W R O N G ! !  the 100mm will have exact same DOF as the 50mm at the same 
magnification and aperture. focal length has no effect on DOF, it is determined solely 
by magnification and aperture.JCO
-Original Message



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-11 Thread Frits Wüthrich
I also agree with JCO.
The difference between a 50mm and 100mm is not the DOF, assuming your object has the 
same size on your film or sensor. 
The difference is a bigger working distance for the 100mm, and a smaller angle of 
view, which gives you more change to get a less distracting background.

On Wednesday 11 August 2004 07:52, Jens Bladt wrote:
FJW I'm sure most of us agree to th opposite. Sertainly a 100 mm gives you less
FJW DOF than a 50 mm. That's why smaller formats - lika many digital cameras -
FJW have larger DOF, provided the same angle of view is obtained by a shorter
FJW focal length.
FJW Jens
FJW 
FJW Jens Bladt
FJW mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
FJW http://hjem.get2net.dk/bladt
FJW 
FJW 
FJW -Oprindelig meddelelse-
FJW Fra: J. C. O'Connell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
FJW Sendt: 10. august 2004 02:49
FJW Til: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
FJW Emne: RE: 50 or 100 mm
FJW 
FJW 
FJW W R O N G ! !  the 100mm will have exact same DOF as the 50mm at the
FJW same magnification and aperture.
FJW focal length has no effect on DOF, it is determined solely by
FJW magnification and aperture.
FJW JCO
FJW 
FJW -Original Message-
FJW From: Herb Chong [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
FJW Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 8:41 PM
FJW To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
FJW Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm
FJW 
FJW 
FJW the 100mm has a shallower DOF and a greater working distance for a given
FJW magnification. as for terminology, it's convention and there is no rule.
FJW i've always seen microphotography as taken with a microscope as the lens
FJW system.
FJW 
FJW Herb...
FJW - Original Message -
FJW From: Anders Hultman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
FJW To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
FJW Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 4:26 PM
FJW Subject: 50 or 100 mm
FJW 
FJW 
FJW  Exciting with the new lenses. Could someone please explain what the
FJW  difference in focal length will mean for macro shots? I fully
FJW  understand what difference it makes in regular shooting conditions,
FJW  but wouldn't life size 1:1 magnification become 1:1 regardless? What
FJW 
FJW  difference does it make then?
FJW 
FJW  And another thing about macro; when objects become larger than life
FJW  size, someone said that it is called micro rather than macro. Is that
FJW  true?
FJW 
FJW 
FJW 
FJW 
FJW 
FJW 

-- 
Frits Wüthrich



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-11 Thread Fred
 The beer makes you think bigger than 1:1, but perform at about 1:3.

Har!

Fred




Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-11 Thread Herb Chong
i have been checking my images and i find that i shoot at a higher
magnification with my longer macro lenses, so that is why i am seeing less
DOF.

Herb
- Original Message - 
From: William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2004 10:39 AM
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


 Well, no. A 100mm lens gives you a smaller angle of view than a 50mm
 lens.
 As this concept seems to be one that is very difficult for some
 people to get their heads around, I suggest that if you have a couple
 of different focal lengthsm you try the following experiment.




Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-11 Thread Rob Studdert
On 11 Aug 2004 at 20:28, Herb Chong wrote:

 i have been checking my images and i find that i shoot at a higher
 magnification with my longer macro lenses, so that is why i am seeing less
 DOF.

The fact is that disregarding all the repro-ratio basis of DOF calculation the 
apparent DOF is a far more complex issue than the simple traditional DOF 
calculators suggest. Factors including absolute sharpness and the plane of 
focus and the rendition of the OOF areas (bokeh) plus spherical and perspective 
distortion all affect apparent DOF. It's just not as simple and as fundamental 
as it's made out to be. Knowing the characteristics of your actual lenses is a 
far more valuable asset to any serious photographer.


Rob Studdert
HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA
Tel +61-2-9554-4110
UTC(GMT)  +10 Hours
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/
Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Pentxuser
I think the question was 50 or 100mm. Go go the 100 if you can afford it the 
working distance for the same results makes all the difference in the world...
Vic 



RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread J. C. O'Connell
It will not give the same results as the 50mm, it is a 100mm after all
now isnt it? Once you get near 1:1 the 100mm has same AOV of a 200mm
at infinity which is very narrow to say the least compared to a normal
lens. Bottom line is they are very different lenses so the 100mm is
not better than a 50mm, just different. If I had to go with only one
macro lens it would be about a 75mm but nobody makes one! I do use
75mm/80mm
macro lenses on a bellows but with a bellows the maximum focus distance
is very limited and often too close.
JCO

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 8:22 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


I think the question was 50 or 100mm. Go go the 100 if you can afford it
the 
working distance for the same results makes all the difference in the
world... Vic 



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Pentxuser
Give me a 100 any day. Just my opinion
Vic 



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Arnold Stark
At 1:1 magnification, the F/FA100/f2.8 as well as the new DFA100/f2.8 
all are near 75mm lenses. You can see that from the working distance 
which, at 1:1, is roughly four times the focal length. For the 
FA/F100/f2.8, at 1:1, the working distance is 310 millimters, thus the 
focal length at 1:1 is near 310mm/4=77,5mm. For the DFA100/f2.8, at 1:1, 
the working distance is 300 millimters, thus the focal length at 1:1 is 
near 300mm/4=75mm. The focal length of all these lenses varies due to 
the FREE (fixed rear element extension) design.

Arnold
J. C. O'Connell schrieb:
If I had to go with only one macro lens it would be about a 75mm but nobody makes one! I do use
75mm/80mm macro lenses on a bellows but with a bellows the maximum focus distance is very limited and often too close.
JCO
 




RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread J. C. O'Connell
We've covered this before but for closeup work I prefer the dedicated
classic macro designs over the pseudo-zoom types which are really
general
purpose lenses. I use normal (infintity optimized) lenses for landscape
and dedicated macros for closeup not a single pseudo-zoom type lens that
does both.

Regarding working distance, how is that defined? I always thought of
it as distance from front of lens barrel to subject which Is NOT
4X focal length at 1:1. Front of lens barrel to subject is less than
2X focal length at 1:1. Film plane to subject is 4X focal length
at 1:1.

JCO

-Original Message-
From: Arnold Stark [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 9:01 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


At 1:1 magnification, the F/FA100/f2.8 as well as the new DFA100/f2.8 
all are near 75mm lenses. You can see that from the working distance 
which, at 1:1, is roughly four times the focal length. For the 
FA/F100/f2.8, at 1:1, the working distance is 310 millimters, thus the 
focal length at 1:1 is near 310mm/4=77,5mm. For the DFA100/f2.8, at 1:1,

the working distance is 300 millimters, thus the focal length at 1:1 is 
near 300mm/4=75mm. The focal length of all these lenses varies due to 
the FREE (fixed rear element extension) design.

Arnold

J. C. O'Connell schrieb:

If I had to go with only one macro lens it would be about a 75mm but 
nobody makes one! I do use 75mm/80mm macro lenses on a bellows but with

a bellows the maximum focus distance is very limited and often too 
close. JCO
  




RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Kostas Kavoussanakis

 -Original Message-
 From: Arnold Stark [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 9:01 AM
 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm

 At 1:1 magnification, the F/FA100/f2.8 as well as the new DFA100/f2.8
 all are near 75mm lenses. You can see that from the working distance
 which, at 1:1, is roughly four times the focal length. For the
 FA/F100/f2.8, at 1:1, the working distance is 310 millimters, thus the
 focal length at 1:1 is near 310mm/4=77,5mm. For the DFA100/f2.8, at 1:1,

 the working distance is 300 millimters, thus the focal length at 1:1 is
 near 300mm/4=75mm. The focal length of all these lenses varies due to
 the FREE (fixed rear element extension) design.

On Tue, 10 Aug 2004, J. C. O'Connell wrote:

 We've covered this before but for closeup work I prefer the dedicated
 classic macro designs over the pseudo-zoom types which are really
 general
 purpose lenses.

Is FREE pseudo-zoom? Are you saying that the prime Pentax macro lenses
are not really macro? I rearranged Arnold's post so you can read it
again.

Kostas



RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread J. C. O'Connell
Why? 50mm and 100mm do vastly different things.

If you need the AOV of a 50mm,
the 100mm is absolutely useless.

If you need the working distance
of the 100mm, the 50mm is absolutely useless.

Neither one is better than the other for everything
anymore than a regular non-macro 100mm lens is better
for everything than a regular non-macro 50mm lens.

JCO

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 8:51 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


Give me a 100 any day. Just my opinion
Vic 



RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread J. C. O'Connell
FREE is psuedo-zoom. It is pretty obvious if the focal length
varies and it does. Pentax has made both dedicated and pseudo-
zoom macros. I believe the switch occurred when they went from
F4 designs to F2.8 designs in the early 80's. Of course any lens
that does Macro is a real Macro lens but when I was referring to the
classic macro lens designs I meant the fixed focal length designs
optimized for a specific closeup magnification, similar to the
designs of modern high end enlarging lenses.
JCO

-Original Message-
From: Kostas Kavoussanakis [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 9:23 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: 50 or 100 mm



 -Original Message-
 From: Arnold Stark [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 9:01 AM
 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm

 At 1:1 magnification, the F/FA100/f2.8 as well as the new DFA100/f2.8 
 all are near 75mm lenses. You can see that from the working distance 
 which, at 1:1, is roughly four times the focal length. For the 
 FA/F100/f2.8, at 1:1, the working distance is 310 millimters, thus the

 focal length at 1:1 is near 310mm/4=77,5mm. For the DFA100/f2.8, at 
 1:1,

 the working distance is 300 millimters, thus the focal length at 1:1 
 is near 300mm/4=75mm. The focal length of all these lenses varies due 
 to the FREE (fixed rear element extension) design.

On Tue, 10 Aug 2004, J. C. O'Connell wrote:

 We've covered this before but for closeup work I prefer the dedicated 
 classic macro designs over the pseudo-zoom types which are really 
 general purpose lenses.

Is FREE pseudo-zoom? Are you saying that the prime Pentax macro lenses
are not really macro? I rearranged Arnold's post so you can read it
again.

Kostas



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread William Robb

- Original Message - 
From: J. C. O'Connell
Subject: RE: 50 or 100 mm


 Why? 50mm and 100mm do vastly different things.

 If you need the AOV of a 50mm,
 the 100mm is absolutely useless.

 If you need the working distance
 of the 100mm, the 50mm is absolutely useless.

 Neither one is better than the other for everything
 anymore than a regular non-macro 100mm lens is better
 for everything than a regular non-macro 50mm lens.

Through the magic of thread drift, we have lost track of one of the
original poster's parameters, which was maximum magnification on a
bellows.
For this, the 50 will be the better choice, since it will give more
magnification than the 100 at any given extension.

William Robb




Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread William Robb

- Original Message - 
From: J. C. O'Connell
Subject: RE: 50 or 100 mm


 FREE is psuedo-zoom. It is pretty obvious if the focal length
 varies and it does. Pentax has made both dedicated and pseudo-
 zoom macros. I believe the switch occurred when they went from
 F4 designs to F2.8 designs in the early 80's. Of course any lens
 that does Macro is a real Macro lens but when I was referring
to the
 classic macro lens designs I meant the fixed focal length designs
 optimized for a specific closeup magnification, similar to the
 designs of modern high end enlarging lenses.


Not withstanding, the macro lenses with the fixed rear element design
are incredibly good lenses.
I recall reading in the literature of the day when I bought the
A100mm f/2.8 macro that the design allowed for superior lens
performance throughout the focal range.
As the lens is excruciatingly sharp from 1:1 right through to
infinity (no small feat), there is absolutely nothing wrong with the
lens design.

William Robb




Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Rob Studdert
On 10 Aug 2004 at 7:43, William Robb wrote:

 Not withstanding, the macro lenses with the fixed rear element design
 are incredibly good lenses.
 I recall reading in the literature of the day when I bought the
 A100mm f/2.8 macro that the design allowed for superior lens
 performance throughout the focal range.
 As the lens is excruciatingly sharp from 1:1 right through to
 infinity (no small feat), there is absolutely nothing wrong with the
 lens design.

You are kidding? It's not screw mount. LOL


Rob Studdert
HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA
Tel +61-2-9554-4110
UTC(GMT)  +10 Hours
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/
Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998



RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread John C. O'Connell
I never said there was anything wrong with the design,
it's just that AT THE SPECIFIC magnification the older
designs were designed for, the pseudo-zooms are going
to hard time matching the classic fixed designs, the
extra elements needed for faster speed and wider focus
range become a burden rather than help in terms of contrast,
saturation, and flare reduction just like a prime is better
at one focal length than a zoom at the same focal length.
Except in this case you are comparing a FAST ZOOM to a Slower
prime. Guess which one is almost always going to be better
if you use the prime for what it was designed for?
JCO
-Original Message-
From: William Robb [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 9:44 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm



- Original Message - 
From: J. C. O'Connell
Subject: RE: 50 or 100 mm


 FREE is psuedo-zoom. It is pretty obvious if the focal length varies 
 and it does. Pentax has made both dedicated and pseudo- zoom macros. I

 believe the switch occurred when they went from F4 designs to F2.8 
 designs in the early 80's. Of course any lens that does Macro is a 
 real Macro lens but when I was referring
to the
 classic macro lens designs I meant the fixed focal length designs 
 optimized for a specific closeup magnification, similar to the designs

 of modern high end enlarging lenses.


Not withstanding, the macro lenses with the fixed rear element design
are incredibly good lenses. I recall reading in the literature of the
day when I bought the A100mm f/2.8 macro that the design allowed for
superior lens performance throughout the focal range. As the lens is
excruciatingly sharp from 1:1 right through to infinity (no small feat),
there is absolutely nothing wrong with the lens design.

William Robb




RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread J. C. O'Connell
We are talking optical not mechanical design here arent we?
What does the mount have to do with it. You certainly don't
think that the mount has anything to do with my comments do
you?

-Original Message-
From: Rob Studdert [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 9:52 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


On 10 Aug 2004 at 7:43, William Robb wrote:

 Not withstanding, the macro lenses with the fixed rear element design 
 are incredibly good lenses. I recall reading in the literature of the 
 day when I bought the A100mm f/2.8 macro that the design allowed for 
 superior lens performance throughout the focal range.
 As the lens is excruciatingly sharp from 1:1 right through to
 infinity (no small feat), there is absolutely nothing wrong with the
 lens design.

You are kidding? It's not screw mount. LOL


Rob Studdert
HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA
Tel +61-2-9554-4110
UTC(GMT)  +10 Hours
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/
Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998



RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Rob Studdert
On 10 Aug 2004 at 9:54, John C.  O'Connell wrote:

 I never said there was anything wrong with the design,
 it's just that AT THE SPECIFIC magnification the older
 designs were designed for, the pseudo-zooms are going
 to hard time matching the classic fixed designs, the
 extra elements needed for faster speed and wider focus
 range become a burden rather than help in terms of contrast,
 saturation, and flare reduction just like a prime is better
 at one focal length than a zoom at the same focal length.
 Except in this case you are comparing a FAST ZOOM to a Slower
 prime. Guess which one is almost always going to be better
 if you use the prime for what it was designed for?

We've engaged in this debate a few times here but I've never seen any proof of 
the claims. Lens design has come a long way in 30 years, surely they have made 
some headway in performance? Unfortunately I don't have any old lenses and I 
suspect you don't have any new ones, so does anyone have both and are willing 
to execute some rudimentary tests?


Rob Studdert
HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA
Tel +61-2-9554-4110
UTC(GMT)  +10 Hours
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/
Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998



RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Rob Studdert
On 10 Aug 2004 at 9:56, J. C. O'Connell wrote:

 We are talking optical not mechanical design here arent we?
 What does the mount have to do with it. You certainly don't
 think that the mount has anything to do with my comments do
 you?

John I was yanking yer chain. Lighten up.


Rob Studdert
HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA
Tel +61-2-9554-4110
UTC(GMT)  +10 Hours
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/
Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998



RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Hans Imglueck
Hi Rob,

since I am a macro fan, I have indeed a lot of macros. I plan
for long a test of them but don't find the time. The oldest one
I own is the SMC-M 4/100mm macro. Is this old enough?

Best regards, Hans.


--- Rob Studdert [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
On 10 Aug 2004 at 9:54, John C.  O'Connell wrote:

 I never said there was anything wrong with the design,
 it's just that AT THE SPECIFIC magnification the older
 designs were designed for, the pseudo-zooms are going
 to hard time matching the classic fixed designs, the
 extra elements needed for faster speed and wider focus
 range become a burden rather than help in terms of contrast,
 saturation, and flare reduction just like a prime is better
 at one focal length than a zoom at the same focal length.
 Except in this case you are comparing a FAST ZOOM to a Slower
 prime. Guess which one is almost always going to be better
 if you use the prime for what it was designed for?

We've engaged in this debate a few times here but I've never seen any proof of 
the claims. Lens design has come a long way in 30 years, surely they have made 
some headway in performance? Unfortunately I don't have any old lenses and I 
suspect you don't have any new ones, so does anyone have both and are willing 
to execute some rudimentary tests?


Rob Studdert
HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA
Tel +61-2-9554-4110
UTC(GMT)  +10 Hours
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/
Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998



_
23a mail



RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Anders Hultman
J. C. O'Connell:
I think the question was 50 or 100mm. Go go the 100 if you can afford it
the working distance for the same results makes all the difference in
the world... Vic
It will not give the same results as the 50mm, it is a 100mm after all
now isnt it? Once you get near 1:1 the 100mm has same AOV of a 200mm
at infinity which is very narrow to say the least compared to a normal
lens. Bottom line is they are very different lenses so the 100mm is
not better than a 50mm, just different.
Ok, the reason I asked was to learn more before I eventually buy one 
of the two new Pentax lenses. I still really haven't fathomed what 
the practical difference would be between the two.

If you look at some macro shots I've done with a regular 50 mm lens 
and a bellows, could you say in which way these pictures would be 
different if I had used either of the two new lenses instead?

  http://anders.hultman.nu/album/al/makro
This is flowers, berries, insects and ticks at approx 1:1 
magnification, and a distance from front lens to subject of about 75 
mm. The first six pictures are taken last year with an ME, the last 
eight are taken with the *istD.

anders
-
http://anders.hultman.nu/
med dagens bild och allt!


Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Anders Hultman
William Robb:
Through the magic of thread drift, we have lost track of one of the
original poster's parameters, which was maximum magnification on a
bellows.
For this, the 50 will be the better choice, since it will give more
magnification than the 100 at any given extension.
You mean if I both use the built-in macro capabilities *and* a bellows too?
Mostly, 1:1 is what I want, actually, or else many things I shoot 
won't fit in the frame anymore, but it's good to have the option to 
magnify more. With my current setup I can go to slightly less than 
3:1.

anders
-
http://anders.hultman.nu/
med dagens bild och allt!


Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Pentxuser
If you are going to use a bellows, the 50 is more useable. If you want a 
straight macro to use without bellows, the 100 mm gives you more distance which is 
very valuable for all sorts of reasons, including room to use reflectors, 
flashes etc. With a 50mm you're in so close that the shadow from either you 
looking into the camera or the camera itself can cause problems...
Vic 



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Pentxuser
I never could understand this 1:1, 3:1, 4:1 talk. Unless you are doing 
scientific work or have a real good reason to know your magnification, who cares. 
It's all about the image you're seeing through the viewfinder. If you're close 
enough to get the image you want, it's all you need I think some of us 
worry too much about the specifications of a lens rather than ask the questions: 
does it do what I need it to do to get the images I want. I have a 100mm macro 
that gives me 1:1. Do I use 1:1 very often? No. I have another 100mm macro 
that gives me 1:2. It's half the size, half the weight and performs beautifully 
99 per cent of the time. If I need to get closer I'll stick on an extension 
tube.
Just my two cents
Vic 



RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread J. C. O'Connell
the magnification spec is so you can compare the closeup
capabilities of lenses of different makes and models and focal
lengths directly. The magnification scale on the lenses also allows you
to calculate
the exact exposure compensation needed with manual exposure settings.
those are both real good reasons to know the
magnification/reproduction ratios.
jco

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 12:22 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


I never could understand this 1:1, 3:1, 4:1 talk. Unless you are doing 
scientific work or have a real good reason to know your magnification,
who cares. 
It's all about the image you're seeing through the viewfinder. If you're
close 
enough to get the image you want, it's all you need I think some of
us 
worry too much about the specifications of a lens rather than ask the
questions: 
does it do what I need it to do to get the images I want. I have a 100mm
macro 
that gives me 1:1. Do I use 1:1 very often? No. I have another 100mm
macro 
that gives me 1:2. It's half the size, half the weight and performs
beautifully 
99 per cent of the time. If I need to get closer I'll stick on an
extension 
tube.
Just my two cents
Vic 



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread William Robb

- Original Message - 
From: Rob Studdert
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


 On 10 Aug 2004 at 7:43, William Robb wrote:

  Not withstanding, the macro lenses with the fixed rear element
design
  are incredibly good lenses.
  I recall reading in the literature of the day when I bought the
  A100mm f/2.8 macro that the design allowed for superior lens
  performance throughout the focal range.
  As the lens is excruciatingly sharp from 1:1 right through to
  infinity (no small feat), there is absolutely nothing wrong with
the
  lens design.

 You are kidding? It's not screw mount. LOL

What was I thinking?

William Robb




Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread William Robb

- Original Message - 
From: John C. O'Connell
Subject: RE: 50 or 100 mm


 I never said there was anything wrong with the design,
 it's just that AT THE SPECIFIC magnification the older
 designs were designed for, the pseudo-zooms are going
 to hard time matching the classic fixed designs, the
 extra elements needed for faster speed and wider focus
 range become a burden rather than help in terms of contrast,
 saturation, and flare reduction just like a prime is better
 at one focal length than a zoom at the same focal length.
 Except in this case you are comparing a FAST ZOOM to a Slower
 prime. Guess which one is almost always going to be better
 if you use the prime for what it was designed for?


Make the comparisons and get back to me.
My SMC Takumar bellows 100 doesn't see much use since I bought the
100 macro.

William Robb




RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread J. C. O'Connell
Regarding the pseudo-zoom Macros,

 William Robb wrote ( edited ) :

 there is absolutely nothing wrong with
the lens design.


I am sorry but that couldn't be more wrong. There is something
wrong with every lens ever made, none of them are perfect.
The optical designers have to make lots of compromises in nearly
every parameter and to say that the pseudo-zoom macros
have absolutely nothing wrong with them is going a little
to far IMHO. Adding all those extra elements to achieve
wider focus range is going to improve some parameters most notably
infinity performance at wider apertures but at the same time degrade
others
like contrast and flare and quality control. It is a choice the
designers
and marketing dept felt was worthwhile or more valuable to the customer
or they would not have done it. 

JCO



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Cotty
On 10/8/04, J. C. O'Connell, discombobulated, offered:

If you need the AOV of a 50mm,
the 100mm is absolutely useless.

If you need the working distance
of the 100mm, the 50mm is absolutely useless.

This is why God invented zooms  :-)




Cheers,
  Cotty


___/\__
||   (O)   | People, Places, Pastiche
||=|www.macads.co.uk/snaps
_




Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread John Forbes
Proof that even God has bad days.
John
On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 23:18:29 +0100, Cotty [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
On 10/8/04, J. C. O'Connell, discombobulated, offered:
If you need the AOV of a 50mm,
the 100mm is absolutely useless.
If you need the working distance
of the 100mm, the 50mm is absolutely useless.
This is why God invented zooms  :-)

Cheers,
  Cotty
___/\__
||   (O)   | People, Places, Pastiche
||=|www.macads.co.uk/snaps
_


--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/


Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread William Robb

- Original Message - 
From: Anders Hultman
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


 William Robb:

 Through the magic of thread drift, we have lost track of one of
the
 original poster's parameters, which was maximum magnification on a
 bellows.
 For this, the 50 will be the better choice, since it will give
more
 magnification than the 100 at any given extension.

 You mean if I both use the built-in macro capabilities *and* a
bellows too?

Yes.

 Mostly, 1:1 is what I want, actually, or else many things I shoot
 won't fit in the frame anymore, but it's good to have the option to
 magnify more. With my current setup I can go to slightly less than
 3:1.

If you want bigger than 1;1 you should be reversing the lens anyway.

William Robb




Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread William Robb

- Original Message - 
From: J. C. O'Connell
Subject: RE: 50 or 100 mm


 Regarding the pseudo-zoom Macros,

  William Robb wrote ( edited ) :

  there is absolutely nothing wrong with
 the lens design.
 

 I am sorry but that couldn't be more wrong. There is something
 wrong with every lens ever made, none of them are perfect.
 The optical designers have to make lots of compromises in nearly
 every parameter and to say that the pseudo-zoom macros
 have absolutely nothing wrong with them is going a little
 to far IMHO. Adding all those extra elements to achieve
 wider focus range is going to improve some parameters most notably
 infinity performance at wider apertures but at the same time
degrade
 others
 like contrast and flare and quality control. It is a choice the
 designers
 and marketing dept felt was worthwhile or more valuable to the
customer
 or they would not have done it.

Allow me to rephrase that then.
Based on my single A100mm f/2.8 lens sample, I have found nothing to
complain about regarding the lens design in question.
It is as sharp a lens as I have seen (I have seen a lot of very good
lenses BTW), has excellent contrast, and flare has never been a
problem.
For me, there is nothing wrong with the lens design, since I have yet
to find a better performing lens in it's focal length and focusing
range.

Happy now?

William Robb




RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Rob Studdert
On 10 Aug 2004 at 16:35, Anders Hultman wrote:

 If you look at some macro shots I've done with a regular 50 mm lens 
 and a bellows, could you say in which way these pictures would be 
 different if I had used either of the two new lenses instead?

Practically there will be little difference (and virtually nil if you are are 
looking to replace your 50mm bellows with a regular 50mm macro aside from the 
operation differences). 

The long and short of it (pun intended of course) is that when using a short FL 
macro you will be relatively closer to the subject, this means that lighting 
may be made more difficult, your subject may be disturbed by the proximity of 
the lens and you may not be able to isolate the subject as effectively due to 
the relatively wider AOV. On the positive side shake is diminished somewhat and 
the maximum apertures are fastest with short lenses so they are generally 
easier to use and more forgiving when shooting hand held especially when using 
available light.

Longer lenses provide greater working distance and a tend to isolate the 
subject more effectively however they are far more difficult to hand hold 
effectively. I guess this is why macro lenses around 100mm are so popular as 
they offer a reasonable compromise between all the factors mentioned above.

In order to show the visible (but sometimes subtle) differences that FL makes I 
set up a semi-scientific macro test (2:1) using 50, 125 and 200 macro lenses. 
All shots were made at f5.6 at a mag factor of 2x and the tripod was slid out 
from the subject until focus was achieved The framing isn't perfect between 
each frame but it's good enough to highlight the differences. You will see more 
background details in the 50mm shot and you will see the perspective distortion 
flattening out in the 200mm shot.

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~audiob/temp/_igp5685.jpg A50/2.8 Macro
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~audiob/temp/_igp5686.jpg V125/2.5 Macro
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~audiob/temp/_igp5688.jpg A*200/4 Macro (w/mirror 
pre-fire)

The easiest way to compare the images is to DL them and use an image browser 
with sync capabilities like ThumbsPlus, then you can pan around in the images 
synchronously. Looking at these images again I wish I also had a 28mm (or 
wider) macro lens for use in instances where working distance isn't critical.

I'll leave these images on line for a couple of days.

Cheers,


Rob Studdert
HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA
Tel +61-2-9554-4110
UTC(GMT)  +10 Hours
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/
Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Alan Chan
Or simply buy one of those Canon/Minolta super macro lenses, just don't look 
at the price tag.

Alan Chan
http://www.pbase.com/wlachan
If you want bigger than 1;1 you should be reversing the lens anyway.
William Robb
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Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Alan Chan
Let Rob to educate you with his SL125/2.5 then. g
Alan Chan
http://www.pbase.com/wlachan
Allow me to rephrase that then.
Based on my single A100mm f/2.8 lens sample, I have found nothing to
complain about regarding the lens design in question.
It is as sharp a lens as I have seen (I have seen a lot of very good
lenses BTW), has excellent contrast, and flare has never been a
problem.
For me, there is nothing wrong with the lens design, since I have yet
to find a better performing lens in it's focal length and focusing
range.
Happy now?
William Robb
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RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread J. C. O'Connell
One anecdote does not science make. Just because
you are very satisfied with a given lens doesn't mean
there isnt something better out there that will
perform better given toughter test conditions like much
higher resolution films/sensors and/or more flare prone shooting
conditons. I suggest you try some of the newer
6 element MC enlarging lenses at close range with a bellows 
really fine grain film for comparison and also
with some really bright reflections in the image
to test the flare resistance. If you are satisfied
that is all that really matters but it doesn't mean
that is as good as it gets. Also, if you are into
1:1 is is a known fact that the symmetrical designs
are much better for 1:1 than any non symmetrical
could ever hope to achieve. They make lenses JUST
FOR 1:1 that suck at infinity wide open but will crush everything
else at that 1:1 magnification. 
JCO

-Original Message-
From: William Robb [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 8:11 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm



- Original Message - 
From: J. C. O'Connell
Subject: RE: 50 or 100 mm


 Regarding the pseudo-zoom Macros,

  William Robb wrote ( edited ) :

  there is absolutely nothing wrong with
 the lens design.
 

 I am sorry but that couldn't be more wrong. There is something wrong

 with every lens ever made, none of them are perfect. The optical 
 designers have to make lots of compromises in nearly every parameter 
 and to say that the pseudo-zoom macros have absolutely nothing wrong

 with them is going a little to far IMHO. Adding all those extra 
 elements to achieve wider focus range is going to improve some 
 parameters most notably infinity performance at wider apertures but at

 the same time
degrade
 others
 like contrast and flare and quality control. It is a choice the 
 designers and marketing dept felt was worthwhile or more valuable to 
 the
customer
 or they would not have done it.

Allow me to rephrase that then.
Based on my single A100mm f/2.8 lens sample, I have found nothing to
complain about regarding the lens design in question. It is as sharp a
lens as I have seen (I have seen a lot of very good lenses BTW), has
excellent contrast, and flare has never been a problem. For me, there is
nothing wrong with the lens design, since I have yet to find a better
performing lens in it's focal length and focusing range.

Happy now?

William Robb




RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Rob Studdert
On 10 Aug 2004 at 20:26, J. C. O'Connell wrote:

 One anecdote does not science make. Just because
 you are very satisfied with a given lens doesn't mean
 there isnt something better out there that will
 perform better given toughter test conditions like much
 higher resolution films/sensors and/or more flare prone shooting
 conditons. I suggest you try some of the newer
 6 element MC enlarging lenses at close range with a bellows 
 really fine grain film for comparison and also
 with some really bright reflections in the image
 to test the flare resistance. If you are satisfied
 that is all that really matters but it doesn't mean
 that is as good as it gets. Also, if you are into
 1:1 is is a known fact that the symmetrical designs
 are much better for 1:1 than any non symmetrical
 could ever hope to achieve. They make lenses JUST
 FOR 1:1 that suck at infinity wide open but will crush everything
 else at that 1:1 magnification. 

John this is just getting stupid now. I suspect most people here are talking 
real-world and Pentax and likely K-mount and screw at the peripheries. I (like 
most other people here I assume) couldn't be bothered with too much BS to get 
what is generally a very acceptable image from my K mount lenses. Pentax lenses 
with FREE elements are high contrast and damn near flare free and provide more 
sharpness than the *ist D and most all readily available mainstream films can 
resolve, what more do you want?

How many late macro lenses have you used?


Rob Studdert
HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA
Tel +61-2-9554-4110
UTC(GMT)  +10 Hours
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/
Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Fred
 Not intending to single anyone out...

;-)

Fred




RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread J. C. O'Connell
I personally don't care if you believe me. I don't just make this stuff
up.
But if you expect me to explain optical design theories in a few
sentences you 
arent being realistic.  If you want a hint the reason
the symmetricals are so much better for 1:1 is many of the optical
errors completely cancel out at 1:1 unlike an unsymmetrical design.
Some of the very finest Apo process lenses for 1:1 are only four
to six element symmetricals. Even the 4 element ones are legendary
and go back many years. 

As for the *istD being unable to tell the difference between very good
and really great lenses, that just shows the sensor isnt very good
it doesn't prove the lenses are the same or just as good for
someone who wants to get the most out of 35mm format by using extremely
fine grain films.

JCO



-Original Message-
From: Rob Studdert [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 9:23 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: 50 or 100 mm


On 10 Aug 2004 at 21:10, J. C. O'Connell wrote:

 I just told you in last post, late model 6 element german enlarging 
 lenses on a bellows. There is nothing Stupid about stating the 
 facts. If you want to get the best out of 35mm or current digital 
 you still need the best lenses. We werent talking good enough we 
 were talking what is better and best!

For your information I've shot a high contrast test chart with the
A50/2.8 + 
*ist D and from f2.8 to f16 the images are indistinguishable, at f22
there is a 
hint of loss of sharpness. These are the facts. So have much more
resolution is 
required?

 If you want to do 1:1, the best lenses are the ones
 designed for 1:1, not the pseudo zooms. I'm sorry
 if I am bursting your bubble but so be it.

You're are not bursting my bubble, maybe if you could substantiate your
claims 
with some examples your rhetoric would be more believable?


Rob Studdert
HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA
Tel +61-2-9554-4110
UTC(GMT)  +10 Hours
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/
Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread William Robb

- Original Message - 
From: Norm Baugher
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


 I've tried that a few times, never worked, always thought it was
just
 the beer.

The beer makes you think bigger than 1:1, but perform at about 1:3.

William Robb




Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread William Robb

- Original Message - 
From: Alan Chan 
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


 Let Rob to educate you with his SL125/2.5 then. g

This is what I have heard.

William Robb



RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Anders Hultman
Rob Studdert:
In order to show the visible (but sometimes subtle) differences that 
FL makes I
set up a semi-scientific macro test (2:1) using 50, 125 and 200 macro lenses.
 (...)
The easiest way to compare the images is to DL them and use an image browser
with sync capabilities like ThumbsPlus, then you can pan around in the images
synchronously.
Thank you for the information and the comparison pictures. I'm going 
away for a short trip now, but I've downloaded and saved the pictures 
and will have a thorough look at them when I get back!

anders
-
http://anders.hultman.nu/
med dagens bild och allt!


Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Anthony Farr
Not all macro photos are artistic renditions of flowers and bugs.  In my
distant past I worked with scientists in the back-rooms of a museum, to
photograph biological specimens, fossils and more.  Not only did we include
a scale in the frame, but we also used a range of fixed magnification (or
reduction) ratios, to enable easier batch printing later in the darkroom.
Had we framed each shot for best composition on an ad hoc basis, then each
and every print would have needed individual scaling under the enlarger.

Way back in my ancient past I briefly worked a humungous microfilm camera, a
35mm (unperforated rolls) Fuji.  Here too, only a few specific reduction
ratios were ever used, and the camera was programmed to go straight to those
reductions, skipping over the infinite range of settings between each preset
ratio.

regards,
Anthony Farr

- Original Message - 
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

 I never could understand this 1:1, 3:1, 4:1 talk. Unless you are doing
 scientific work or have a real good reason to know your magnification, who
cares.
 It's all about the image you're seeing through the viewfinder. If you're
close
 enough to get the image you want, it's all you need I think some of us
 worry too much about the specifications of a lens rather than ask the
questions:
 does it do what I need it to do to get the images I want. I have a 100mm
macro
 that gives me 1:1. Do I use 1:1 very often? No. I have another 100mm macro
 that gives me 1:2. It's half the size, half the weight and performs
beautifully
 99 per cent of the time. If I need to get closer I'll stick on an
extension
 tube.
 Just my two cents
 Vic






Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Anthony Farr
- Original Message - 
From: J. C. O'Connell [EMAIL PROTECTED]

   The MICRO/MACRO thing is a marketing
 term with no real hard fast definition.
 JCO


It's mostly true that the consumer end of the market doesn't appreciate the
definitions of MICRO and MACRO.  As an illustration, for many years Nikon
has labelled its macro lenses as Micro-Nikkors, when it is patently obvious
that they are intended neither for microphotography or photomicrography.

There are definitions, but the crossover points between one type of
photography and the next are blurred.

PHOTOMICROGRAPHY is photography at extreme ranges of magnication, eg.
through a microscope, or with specialised objectives such as Zeiss Proxars.

MICROPHOTOGRAPHY is photography in extreme ranges of reduction, such as the
microdot of spy movie notoriety.

PHOTOMACROGRAPHY is the correct term for what is commonly but erroneously
called macrophotography.  It is generally accepted, as others have noted, to
fall within the range of 0.5X to 10X magnification.

MACROPHOTOGRAPHY is something I can't readily define, because my photography
college notes are long gone.  Rest assured that something about it is big, I
vaguely remember that it involves very, very big sheets of sensitized
material (and thus opposite to microphotography).

I also suspect that the last usage is for all purposes obselete, and the
word macrophotography has been popularly transferred to the definition of
photomacrography.

Just my curmudgeonly contribution in the absence of anything on this matter
from Greywolf.

regards,
Anthony Farr




RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-10 Thread Jens Bladt
I'm sure most of us agree to th opposite. Sertainly a 100 mm gives you less
DOF than a 50 mm. That's why smaller formats - lika many digital cameras -
have larger DOF, provided the same angle of view is obtained by a shorter
focal length.
Jens

Jens Bladt
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://hjem.get2net.dk/bladt


-Oprindelig meddelelse-
Fra: J. C. O'Connell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sendt: 10. august 2004 02:49
Til: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Emne: RE: 50 or 100 mm


W R O N G ! !  the 100mm will have exact same DOF as the 50mm at the
same magnification and aperture.
focal length has no effect on DOF, it is determined solely by
magnification and aperture.
JCO

-Original Message-
From: Herb Chong [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 8:41 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


the 100mm has a shallower DOF and a greater working distance for a given
magnification. as for terminology, it's convention and there is no rule.
i've always seen microphotography as taken with a microscope as the lens
system.

Herb...
- Original Message -
From: Anders Hultman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 4:26 PM
Subject: 50 or 100 mm


 Exciting with the new lenses. Could someone please explain what the
 difference in focal length will mean for macro shots? I fully
 understand what difference it makes in regular shooting conditions,
 but wouldn't life size 1:1 magnification become 1:1 regardless? What

 difference does it make then?

 And another thing about macro; when objects become larger than life
 size, someone said that it is called micro rather than macro. Is that
 true?






50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread Anders Hultman
Exciting with the new lenses. Could someone please explain what the 
difference in focal length will mean for macro shots? I fully 
understand what difference it makes in regular shooting conditions, 
but wouldn't life size 1:1 magnification become 1:1 regardless? 
What difference does it make then?

And another thing about macro; when objects become larger than life 
size, someone said that it is called micro rather than macro. Is that 
true?

anders
-
http://anders.hultman.nu/
med dagens bild och allt!


RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread J. C. O'Connell
  Focal length differences are the same for macro as
for regular shooting: a 100mm is going to give only
half the angle of view as a 50mm, but there is one
thing you have to keep in mind though and that is
the effective focal length DOUBLES by the time you
get to 1:1 vs. infinity, so a 50mm at 1:1 gives same angle of view
as a 100mm at infinity. The other thing that focal length
affects is the working distance. A 100mm lens at 1:1 will
give you 400mm from subject to film plane while a 50mm
will only give you 200mm from subject to film plane
at 1:1.

  The MICRO/MACRO thing is a marketing
term with no real hard fast definition.
JCO

-Original Message-
From: Anders Hultman [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 4:27 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: 50 or 100 mm


Exciting with the new lenses. Could someone please explain what the 
difference in focal length will mean for macro shots? I fully 
understand what difference it makes in regular shooting conditions, 
but wouldn't life size 1:1 magnification become 1:1 regardless? 
What difference does it make then?

And another thing about macro; when objects become larger than life 
size, someone said that it is called micro rather than macro. Is that 
true?

anders
-
http://anders.hultman.nu/
med dagens bild och allt!



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread graywolf
The dictionary definition clearly indicates that macro merely means large. That 
is a close up. In photography it usually just means larger than can be made with 
a regular lens. Nothing mystic about it at all. Diffinitions very, but generally 
macro photography is in the range of 10:1 to 1:10.

macro-
macro- or  macr- prefix
1.  Large: macronucleus.
2.  Long: macrobiotics.
3.  Inclusive: macroinstruction.
 [Greek makro-, from makros, large.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition 
copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from 
INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution restricted in accordance 
with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved.

Anders Hultman wrote:
Exciting with the new lenses. Could someone please explain what the 
difference in focal length will mean for macro shots? I fully understand 
what difference it makes in regular shooting conditions, but wouldn't 
life size 1:1 magnification become 1:1 regardless? What difference 
does it make then?

And another thing about macro; when objects become larger than life 
size, someone said that it is called micro rather than macro. Is that true?

anders
-
http://anders.hultman.nu/
med dagens bild och allt!

--
graywolf
http://graywolfphoto.com/graywolf.html



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread alex wetmore
On Mon, 9 Aug 2004, Anders Hultman wrote:
 Exciting with the new lenses. Could someone please explain what the
 difference in focal length will mean for macro shots? I fully
 understand what difference it makes in regular shooting conditions,
 but wouldn't life size 1:1 magnification become 1:1 regardless?
 What difference does it make then?

100mm gives you a longer working distance, but reduced depth of field.
The longer working distance can be really helpful when you are trying
to get enough light on the subject (so that the camera or your head
isn't shading it).  Depth of field is always a challenge with macro
photography though, so the little increase from a 50 could probably
help.

The 16-45/4 has a much closer close focusing distance than advertised
by Pentax and I haven't found myself desiring a macro lens since picking
it up.  I also own the Tamron 90/2.5 (MF) and used to use it a lot with
my film cameras, but I hardly use it with the *ist D.  It is a heavy
beast though, and the new D-FA lenses look more reasonable.

alex



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread Mark Roberts
Anders Hultman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

Exciting with the new lenses. Could someone please explain what the 
difference in focal length will mean for macro shots? I fully 
understand what difference it makes in regular shooting conditions, 
but wouldn't life size 1:1 magnification become 1:1 regardless? 
What difference does it make then?

The only difference is that fills the whole frame of an ist-D at 1:1
wouldn't fill the frame of a film SLR at 1:1. They'd both have the same
magnification ratio (1:1 of course!) but on the film camera there'd be
more empty area around the subject.

And another thing about macro; when objects become larger than life 
size, someone said that it is called micro rather than macro. Is that 
true?

My experience is there really aren't any set definitions for this kind
of thing. Kodak tried to get everyone to agree on their own definitions
of micro, macro etc a long time ago and they were soundly ignored.
I consider micro photography to be images of *much* greater than 1:1
magnification. Using a microscope, basically. But that's just me :)

-- 
Mark Roberts
Photography and writing
www.robertstech.com



RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread Anders Hultman
J. C. O'Connell:
Focal length differences are the same for macro as
for regular shooting: a 100mm is going to give only
half the angle of view as a 50mm, but there is one
thing you have to keep in mind though and that is
the effective focal length DOUBLES by the time you
get to 1:1 vs. infinity, so a 50mm at 1:1 gives same angle of view
as a 100mm at infinity. The other thing that focal length
affects is the working distance. A 100mm lens at 1:1 will
give you 400mm from subject to film plane while a 50mm
will only give you 200mm from subject to film plane
at 1:1.
I'm not sure that I follow you here. How will it affect the picture 
if I use the 50mm or the 100mm lens? Will I get the same thing but 
from different distances?

For comparison, the way I do macro shots now is that I have this bellows:
  http://anders.hultman.nu/kamera/makro-b.jpeg
When I connect a 50mm lens, it gives approx. 1:1 on the stort end and 
about 3:1 on the long end. It gives me sharp image at 75mm and 50mm 
from the front lens, respectively.

When I connect a 200mm lens, I have to back out quite long to get 
sharp images. More than half a meter. With the bellows on the short 
end and the lens focused the closest possible, the distance from 
front lens to subject is 600mm. The magnification don't get anywhere 
near 1:1, though. Rather approx. 1:2.3.

So, my question really is which of the two new Pentax macro lenses I 
should get if I wanted the largest possible magnification. They're 
both 1:1 but is it the same 1:1 so to speak? I'm only used to using 
the bellows, and with that it really is a difference between a 50mm 
lens and a longer one.

With the bellows, the magnification setting effectively determines 
the working distance. The DOF is extremely short, and I have to focus 
by moving the whole camera back and forth.

anders
-
http://anders.hultman.nu/
med dagens bild och allt!


Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread Anders Hultman
Mark Roberts:
Exciting with the new lenses. Could someone please explain what the
difference in focal length will mean for macro shots? I fully
understand what difference it makes in regular shooting conditions,
but wouldn't life size 1:1 magnification become 1:1 regardless?
What difference does it make then?
The only difference is that fills the whole frame of an ist-D at 1:1
wouldn't fill the frame of a film SLR at 1:1. They'd both have the same
magnification ratio (1:1 of course!) but on the film camera there'd be
more empty area around the subject.
I meant what the difference would be between 50 and 100 mm, not between
film and digital :-)
anders
-
http://anders.hultman.nu/
med dagens bild och allt!


RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread Rob Studdert
On 10 Aug 2004 at 1:34, Anders Hultman wrote:

 So, my question really is which of the two new Pentax macro lenses I 
 should get if I wanted the largest possible magnification. They're 
 both 1:1 but is it the same 1:1 so to speak? I'm only used to using 
 the bellows, and with that it really is a difference between a 50mm 
 lens and a longer one.

1:1 means just that, a 5mm subject will be rendered 5mm on the 
67/645/35mm/APS/*istD imaging surface.

 With the bellows, the magnification setting effectively determines 
 the working distance. The DOF is extremely short, and I have to focus 
 by moving the whole camera back and forth.

Practically working distance is tied with AOV, ie a short macro will give you 
more view of areas behind the subject, a long macro lens at the same film 
magnification will tend to isolate the subject to a greater extent. A longer 
working distance will allow you to light the subject artificially a little 
easier as equipment shadows are less likely.


Rob Studdert
HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA
Tel +61-2-9554-4110
UTC(GMT)  +10 Hours
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/
Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998



Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread William Robb

- Original Message - 
From: Anders Hultman
Subject: RE: 50 or 100 mm




 I'm not sure that I follow you here. How will it affect the picture
 if I use the 50mm or the 100mm lens? Will I get the same thing but
 from different distances?

It will affect you the same way changing focal length with any scene
type affects you.


 So, my question really is which of the two new Pentax macro lenses
I
 should get if I wanted the largest possible magnification. They're
 both 1:1 but is it the same 1:1 so to speak? I'm only used to
using
 the bellows, and with that it really is a difference between a 50mm
 lens and a longer one.

1:1 is what either lens will give you unaided. Toss a bellows on as
well, and the 50mm will give more magnification, although working
distances can become short enough as to make lighting difficult.






Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread William Robb

- Original Message - 
From: J. C. O'Connell
Subject: RE: 50 or 100 mm




   The MICRO/MACRO thing is a marketing
 term with no real hard fast definition.


It's gotten pretty fuzzy lately. Macro used to be anything from about
1/4 life size to 10x life size. Micro was more magnification than
10x.

William Robb




Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread Herb Chong
the 100mm has a shallower DOF and a greater working distance for a given
magnification. as for terminology, it's convention and there is no rule.
i've always seen microphotography as taken with a microscope as the lens
system.

Herb...
- Original Message - 
From: Anders Hultman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 4:26 PM
Subject: 50 or 100 mm


 Exciting with the new lenses. Could someone please explain what the
 difference in focal length will mean for macro shots? I fully
 understand what difference it makes in regular shooting conditions,
 but wouldn't life size 1:1 magnification become 1:1 regardless?
 What difference does it make then?

 And another thing about macro; when objects become larger than life
 size, someone said that it is called micro rather than macro. Is that
 true?




RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread J. C. O'Connell
W R O N G ! !  the 100mm will have exact same DOF as the 50mm at the
same magnification and aperture.
focal length has no effect on DOF, it is determined solely by
magnification and aperture.
JCO

-Original Message-
From: Herb Chong [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 8:41 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


the 100mm has a shallower DOF and a greater working distance for a given
magnification. as for terminology, it's convention and there is no rule.
i've always seen microphotography as taken with a microscope as the lens
system.

Herb...
- Original Message - 
From: Anders Hultman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 4:26 PM
Subject: 50 or 100 mm


 Exciting with the new lenses. Could someone please explain what the 
 difference in focal length will mean for macro shots? I fully 
 understand what difference it makes in regular shooting conditions, 
 but wouldn't life size 1:1 magnification become 1:1 regardless? What

 difference does it make then?

 And another thing about macro; when objects become larger than life 
 size, someone said that it is called micro rather than macro. Is that 
 true?




Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread Herb Chong
define aperture.

Herb...
- Original Message - 
From: J. C. O'Connell [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 8:48 PM
Subject: RE: 50 or 100 mm


 W R O N G ! !  the 100mm will have exact same DOF as the 50mm at the
 same magnification and aperture.
 focal length has no effect on DOF, it is determined solely by
 magnification and aperture.




RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread J. C. O'Connell
Aperture= focal ratio = F-number, i.e. F8 , a 50mm lens @F8 @ 1:1 RR has
same DOF as 100mm lens @ F8 @ 1:1 RR. (RR=Reproduction ratio)
JCO

-Original Message-
From: Herb Chong [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 8:59 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


define aperture.

Herb...
- Original Message - 
From: J. C. O'Connell [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 8:48 PM
Subject: RE: 50 or 100 mm


 W R O N G ! !  the 100mm will have exact same DOF as the 50mm at the 
 same magnification and aperture. focal length has no effect on DOF, it

 is determined solely by magnification and aperture.




Re: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread William Robb

- Original Message - 
From: Herb Chong 
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


 define aperture.

Ah, a tricky question
Very inscrutable of you, Mr. Chong.

William Robb



RE: 50 or 100 mm

2004-08-09 Thread J. C. O'Connell
Aperture= focal ratio = F-number, i.e. F8 , a 50mm lens @F8 @ 1:1 RR has
same DOF as 100mm lens @ F8 @ 1:1 RR. (RR=Reproduction ratio) JCO

-Original Message-
From: Herb Chong [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 8:59 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: 50 or 100 mm


define aperture.

Herb...
- Original Message - 
From: J. C. O'Connell [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 8:48 PM
Subject: RE: 50 or 100 mm


 W R O N G ! !  the 100mm will have exact same DOF as the 50mm at the
 same magnification and aperture. focal length has no effect on DOF, it

 is determined solely by magnification and aperture.