Pentax Macro Lenses
See my Pentax K1 wish list at B&H Photo.
The Pentax K1 SuperRes mode is well-suited to still-life photography, hence a macro lens is a key part of the lens kit for the K1.
None of the loaner lenses I have on hand (15-30/2.8, 24-70/2.8, 31/1.8, 43/1.9, 77/1.8, 70-200/2.8) are any good for close range work (quality and/or focusing range) like the Ultegra cassette example, so B&H has kindly send me these three optics for arrival tomorrow.
- About $430 Pentax HD DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited
(covers APS-C, can be used in crop mode on K1 and possibly larger). - About $300 Pentax Normal smc P-D FA 50mm f/2.8 Macro
- About $400 Pentax smc Pentax-D FA 100mm f/2.8 WR Macro
I’m skeptical that any of them will perform as well as Zeiss macro lenses, but hopefully they will be reasonably good and perhaps shine on the K1 in SuperRes mode.
At close range the Pentax 35/2.8 macro might enlarge its image circle enough to almost cover full frame, as the Zeiss Touit lenses can do.
I’m facing a business challenge here: interest in my K1 coverage has not exactly been robust; I would characterize interest as 'niche'.
Very soon it becomes a financial loss for me to spend more of my time on the Pentax K1 system, when I could be covering more popular topics. I’d love to cover the K1 for another week at least, but I need to see an uptick in DAP subscriptions at the least, and preferably the “Everything” deal—that really makes a difference. Every/any current subscriber can login and upgrade to everything at reduced price.
One reader emailed to ask if I was going to review the Pentax 50mm f/2.8 macro or 100mm f/2.8 macro. There is also a Pentax 35mm f/2.8 Limited macro. I replied in a vein similar to the above—I can’t work at a loss for long; I have a family of 5 to support. So I cover what pays the bills or, sometimes, what I feel I need for general understanding of the market directions. The K1 so far falls into that latter bucket.
The new HD DA style lenses from Pentax are lovely in aesthetic terms.