Advice on Megapixels and Macro choice (1 Viewer)

I am a keen hiker, who carries a camera to take photos of anything interesting that I see, mainly landscapes, flowers, insects, and similar subjects.

My present camera is a Pentax K100D, with lenses Sigma AF 17-70/2.8-4.5 DC Macro, Sigma AF 70-300/4.0-5.6 DG Apo, and a Tokina SD 400mm 1:5.6.

Since I am often in rough terrain, and have to take my water and food with me, I only carry the camera with the 17-70 lens attached, a combination which I find very satisfactory. I print the photos in A4 on my own printer.
However, I would like to improve the definition of my photos of insects and flowers, and since this lens is not true macro, I am often obliged to "crop" the frames to get the enlargement that I desire.
I don't really want to buy a true macro lens, due to the minimal depth of field, and lack of versatility, plus I hate having to constantly change lenses in the field.

I would therefore very much appreciate the forums advice on the following.
Would I see any appreciable improvement in my "cropped" images, by replacing my 6.1 megapixel Pentax K100D with the 10.1 megapixel Pentax K200D.?
I intend to stick with my present lenses.

Hoping that some knowledgeable soul can assist me.

Hi bestboat,

I use the K100D Super, which has the same 6 Mpix sensor and I really love the crisp sharpness of "true" macros (I have a Tamron 90mm f/2.8) - even in non-macro magnifications. I think you would not see a significant improvement by simply switching to the K200D, but rather see the softness of your Sigma better. The K200D also has more noise at high-ISOs. Three suggestions come to my mind if you absolutely don't want to carry an additional tele-macro:
1) A good close-up lens. Not expensive, does not take too much space and does not require taking the zoom lens out of the body - not the most elegant solution optically, but does bring the subjects closer better than by cropping.
2) Pentax K-x. Better high-ISO sensitivity (and even more pixels) may let you stop down the existing lens more and thereby get more DOF, sharpness and cropping potential.
3) Pentax DA35mm f/2.8 macro "Limited". It is a small and amazingly versatile lens - but obviously it lacks the wide angles and requires quite short shooting distances for macro magnifications. Macro pics are worlds better than with any zooms - even with 6Mpix.
http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=3454
http://www.robertsdonovan.com/?p=1048

Best regards,

Ilkka :t:

Hi Iporali,

just the kind of practical advice that I was hoping to get, from another dedicated Pentax K100 user, not the commonest of birds.
1] By a close-up lens, do you mean the type that attaches like a filter, to the front of the main lens?
2] I really cannot justify spending a further 500 Euros on the K-x, since I am not interested in live-view or video,although I certainly appreciate your point concerning the improved imaging engine.
3] You are suggesting my going for a "genuine" macro lens, and I must admit that after looking at your links, I am much tempted, but again, the cost rather puts me off.
Since you find the Tamron 90 so good, and since I have found a second hand one for 270 Euros, I may just go for that.

Regarding my other lenses, I now never use the Tokina 400mm, which I bought to take birds, but found that I lacked the time and patience to overcome their natural wariness, and the Sigma 70-300mm, which I tend to leave at home due to my need to cut down on unnecessary weight in the mountains.[much hotter here than where you are, I think.

Photo: Peaceful Co-Existence - Fly having a drink on my knee during 37 degree Celcius hike.

Thanks very much for your suggestions, which are much appreciated

Kind regards
Bestboat

I don't really want to buy a true macro lens, due to the minimal depth of field
The minimal depth of field is caused by the short distance rather than the type of lens. Easy option is to go for a screw in filter type close up lens as already suggested, the quality is fine as long as you are stopped down a little as you would be anyway to get sufficient depth of field. I have a Hoya which gives excellent quality, be aware there are different strengths available.

Thanks Miketoll,

I have finally bitten the bullet, and purchased the Tamron SP 90mm 2.8-4.5 DI macro lens, together with a Pentax K200D to give me an increased pixel count.
I will also be getting the Mecablitz 15 MS1 Ringflash next week, and can then compare them with my other camera and lenses.
I guess that I will just have to put up with carrying the extra weight.
Has anybody tried this Metz Ringflash on a Pentax?

bestboat said:

Thanks Miketoll,

I have finally bitten the bullet, and purchased the Tamron SP 90mm 2.8-4.5 DI macro lens, together with a Pentax K200D to give me an increased pixel count.
I will also be getting the Mecablitz 15 MS1 Ringflash next week, and can then compare them with my other camera and lenses.
I guess that I will just have to put up with carrying the extra weight.
Has anybody tried this Metz Ringflash on a Pentax?

Click to expand...

Congratulations on a great choice. I don´t know the Metz Ringflash in particular, but I have used other dedicated macro flash systems to know that it should be about as good as macro lighting (at short distances) can get. It should give you a possibility to use very small apertures and short exposure times for *really* great sharpness. I am sure you are rewarded for carrying that weight, but be prepared not to trust the AF.

Best regards,

Ilkka :t:

Thanks Ilkka,

thats very encouraging regarding the increased shutter speeds and smaller apertures.
In the Summer, when I am sitting out under the trees, I am always fascinated by the many tiny Jumping Spiders, as they struggle through the hairy jungle on my legs.
Hopefully, I will now be able to capture them in photos.

Best regards
Bestboat

I started using flash at the end of last summer with my setup, but it was reasonably heavy but usable most of the day, I liked the sharpness in some of my images I was getting, and I am looking forward to this summer in honing my skills more with the flash setup, here is the setup I used on the 50d and now looking to use a similar setup on the 7d, also a a dragonfly image taken with the flash setup.

Have fun with your setup....