On Thu, Feb 06, 2014 at 02:35:41PM -0500, Glen Berry wrote: > Please help me decide on a used Pentax macro lens. I've narrowed it > down to these two used lenses: > > 50 F2.8 SMC MACRO D FA > 100 F2.8 SMC D FA MACRO > > What are the pros and cons of the 50mm vs the 100mm? > > What applications would the 50mm be best for? > > What applications would the 100mm be best for?
With macro, as in regular photography, focal length affects the following things: 1) working distance. If you don't have room to move further back, you need a shorter lense. If you can't, or don't want to, get closer, you need a longer lens. 2) How much of the background is visible (at a specific magnification). A shorter lens will have a wider field of view, and will show more of the background. So, if you are taking a picture of a flower in your yard, and want to show the yard in the back of the frame (albeit out of focus) you will want the shorter lens. If, however, you want to isolate the subject from the surroundings, or only have a smaller backdrop, then you want to shoot from further away with a longer lens. Note, that this also holds true with portaiture. -- Larry Colen [email protected] http://red4est.com/lrc -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
