Cosina Lens 80-200mm F1/4 for Pentax ME

[eyadnalsamman]

I have got the lens (Cosina Lens 80-200mm F1/4) for my old Pentax ME

but I still not sure in what kind of photos could I use it. Could I

get good telephoto, portrait, and macro photos by using this kind of

lenses or its use is limit to specific kind of photos?

 

Thanks for help.

[steve graham]

Lenses in that focal length range are useful for a number of purposes, with portraiture being a good example. I wouldn't have thought it would be capable of good macro shots however for general telephoto work it'll be fine, although you many need to stop down from the maximum aperture to get good sharpness.

[markku_ylilammi]

Zooms are not considered very good for macro work, but the easiest way to find out is to test and see. You need a set of extension tubes, tripod, and to use self timer.

 

If the zoom turns out soft you can buy a cheap 50 mm which should produce excellent results with an extension tube when stopped down to f:22. The large maximum aperture will assist focusing notably.

[stemked]

Eyad,

 

I think the answer is you are only limited by your creativity (and the quality of the optics!). Such a lens works very well for landscapes, for example. Many people who photograph landscapes believe they need to include 'as much as possible' in the image and always pick their widest lens, when in fact many of the best landscapes are very intimate, perhaps a small flower in a close rockwall squeezing out an existance, or using careful depth of field to pull out one slightly different flower in a field of many. I have even used a 500mm lens to pull in landscapes!

 

Even if the lens says 'macro' on it this lens is likely not a cood macro lens. The lens should go to AT LEAST 1:4 (1:1 is generally most desireable). Also true macro lenses have flatter in-focus fields. That said I have seen students return very lovely photos using cheapie diopter lenses, also called closeup lenses, on their longer zooms. Most professionals and serious amatures will snub their noses at them, but they can at least get you in the range which will help you descide if a future purchase for you should include a true macro lens.

[graham_powell1]

Cosina don't make particularly great primes, let alone zooms - too much plastic for a start. You would be better off going to Ebay and buying some cheap prime lenses. Besides Pentax the Tamron 90mm is a brilliant macro lens and as far as zooms go, the Vivitar Series 1 70mm - 210mm f3.5 can't really be bettered. With the lens you have the best you will really be able to get is 'reasonable' when it's used for telephoto or portrait work. As for Macro I really don't consider it to be adequate at all.