Depending on the type of work you want to do, I 'd go with either a
100mm or 50mm f2.8 macro. Personally I use a D-FA 100 f2.8 and find the
results to be excellent. I have a Sigman 50mm f 2.8 that is also
excellent. I also use an M 50 f4 macro from time to time.
"Type of work you want to do"... For bugs longer focal length, fast
manual focus and / or auto focus. I usually want close 1:1 to 1:2
magnification and to isolate the subject against the background. For
flowers I usually shoot at a lower magnification and want a little more
background in the shot, so a shorter focal length works out well.
Some manual focus macro lenses trade off precision in focusing for
focusing speed. I have a older Kiron 105mm f 2.8 (I believe the same
lens as the Vivitar Series 1 f 2.5 (Kiron was the OEM for Vivitar)). I
just checked it - the lens barrel rotates just under 2 complete
rotations to go from infinity to 1:1. By contrast the D-FA requires just
under one full rotation of the focusing collar to cover the same
focusing range. One facilitates precision, the other speed.
Lastly, I would not give the Kiron an unqualified recommendation. It
works great with film and I've had good results with digital, but I've
had some shots on DSLR's that have suffered from chromatic aberrations,
fringing, whatever. If needed a 100mm macro, I would not get the Kiron
for a DSLR.
Mark
On 12/1/2012 9:18 AM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:
I want a versatile macro lens for my K-r, that would be suitable when
eventually I upgrade to a K-5 series or whatever comes along. Without
getting too exotic or pricey, I would like fairly wide max aperture
and good bokeh. I would use it mostly to shoot flowers, butterflies
and the like. If it could take decent images outside the macro range
as well, that would be a plus.
What are others using? What moderately price lens would you recommend>
TIA, Dan
Dan Matyola
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola
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