NEW CAMERA - OLD LENSES

What is the difference between a 50mm macro lens and a 100mm macro lens?

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Well, that's easy..........standby!!!































A mixture of pics and lens the last one being with the 18-55mm Pentax Kit lens that came with the camera.

 

Wow! Stunning images @ARMANDII

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Hi FC, Well, the basic difference is the "throw" or minimum focusing of the lenses. A 50mm macro lens will allow you to get closer to a subject than a 100mm while still giving you the same magnification. The advantages of a longer focal length is that it allows you to stand back more and compose a shot while also not disturbing the subject. Of course they can also take more general shots to infinity distance as well, but they are specifically designed to give sharper and closer images than non macro lenses.

 

Ah, I think I sort of get it now - the higher the focal length figure, the further away (generally) you can be?

Sorry to remain thick, but what does the f2 stand for?

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A good question, Freddy. The answer to that is Minimal. I shoot in RAW and therefore have to convert the images to JPEG while trying to ensure I keep the resolution, detail and quality of the original images as JPEG tend to throw away some data in conversion. So there is some cropping, and minimal sharpening, lightening but I try to keep away from software processing if at all possible. If you do buy the K5 then you will get the Silkypix software, which I like, specifically for the Pentax which will allow you to convert from RAW to JPEG.......very easy, and I can take you through that should you want me to.

 

Hi FC, the f2 refers to the maximum aperture of the lens i.e. the opening of the iris [diaphragm] within the lens. The higher the aperture number the narrower the opening in the iris and less light onto the sensor. Smaller apertures give more depth of field while most lens will be soft at the edges of the image at it's maximum aperture. So lenses of the f1.4 and f2 aperture mark are referred to as fast lenses as they can gather maximum light giving a faster shutter speed. F3.5 lenses and more are regarded as slow lenses giving detail but slower shutter speeds.

Image One show the aperture open at largest settiing [f1.8]


While Image Two shows the aperture at it's smallest setting [f.16]

 

Yes, they were, Freddy and mostly hand held, not on a tripod, although the pic of the Cottage was on a tripod as I was experimenting. Apart from the two lenses that came with the K5 [the 18-55mm and 50-200mm Pentax lens] the lens are between 20 and 40 years old. You can see the fine quality of them and ,in my opinion, there are few modern lenses to equal them and what there are you have to break the bank for. All of my second hand lenses have been bought on E-Bay after some research and I have to say I have never yet been disappointed and in fact have sometimes been amazed at the "mint" condition they were in.

 

That makes sense - smaller hole, longer time to gather the same light/detail

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Last question for now - am I right in thinking that when legacy glass is being used that all the 'intelligent' features should be switched off and the camera should be set up manually for everything including focus?

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You're more than welcome, Freddy. A quality camera does help the photographer mentally as it can give him confidence in himself. One of the things we talked about is going manual and that's the secret, for me, in getting a good image as manual mode makes you, after some learning errors, to understand what you and the camera can and are doing. Once you understand the effects of the different apertures, ISO speeds as per the camera, and the shutter speeds and how to use them in combination the rest comes naturally. As I've said picking up a camera makes me more aware of things around me and that's a good feeling.
By the way, none of your questions were "Dumb@ass"!!