Lens Pentax Ist
Lens Pentax Ist
How to tell if a lens is capable of taking close-up shots?
If you're looking at lens specifics, how do you tell how close the camera can be to the subject while still getting a clear shot? Does that have to do with the focal length? I'm looking at buying a 70-210mm telephoto lens to do macro photography with on a Pentax K1000 (and soon, a Pentax IST DS2). Would this lens work well for my needs?
Just to give you an idea, the kind of photography I would love to do is similar to this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/baltic86/2811077371/ My current lens just isn't capable of that sort of thing.
There are two specifications to look for.
1. Closest focusing distance. This is the distance from the film/sensor plane to the subject, as close as the lens will focus. There are lenses in the 70-210 range where this is measured in feet. The closer you can focus, the better close-up shot you can get.
2. Reproduction ratio, or sometimes listed as magnification. This will be a number like 1:4, or 1:2, or 1:5. A true macro lens is 1:1, meaning the subject is life size on the film/sensor. A 1:4 reproduction ratio means the subject 1/4th life size. 1:1 is better of course, but even 1:4 can give you pretty good shots once you print them at 8x10.
I'm not familiar with the specific lens you mention... I would guess though that it won't do better than 1:4, maybe less. Once you get that *st DS2, look for a real macro lens to add to your kit.
PENTAX ist DS2. SLR
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