> I don't have much experience with longer macros, but one thing to > keep in mind, the longer the lens, the farther away you'll be able > to be when going 1:1 . . . this means that with not so nice > creatures you can be farther away and still get a good macro . . . > the same goes for skittish creatures. So for taking wildlife > photo's a longer macro may be better, depending how close you can > get to the little herps.
Yes, but keep in mind that the longer macros also ~require~ you to be farther away, too. I have had a few times when using the A* 200/4 Macro (which I no longer own) when I was trying to get a shot from ~above~ the subject, and I couldn't get conveniently high enough to do so. I have found that macro lenses in the 100-ish range offer a good compromise between the "often too close" 50's and the "once in a while too far" 200's. My favorite 100-ish macro is the A 100/2.8 Macro, but I have also used ~several~ other good 100-ish macro lenses: I can recommend the VS1 90/2.5 macro with 1:1 adapter, the optically identical Tokina AT-X 90/2.5 macro with 1:1 extender, and the VS1 105/2.5 macro. Also good (but slower) is the A 100/4 Macro. Another excellent approach for a lot of critter macro shots is the VS1 90-180/4.5 Flat Field Zoom. It's a little slow and it's kinda heavy, but it offers great flexibility and high macro abilities. However, if you want to be ~really~ far away, the VS1 450/4.5 aspheric cat with its "2X Macro Matched Multiplier" does 1:2.5 magnification at 900/9 from the next county (well, at 2.7 meters or 8.8 feet away - <g>). > IL Bill > Proud owner of a uromastyx benti ...and a fine lizard it is... <g> Fred - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
