Which telephoto lens

[xosni]

Hello,

 

I have a chance to buy one of those two Pentax 67 lenses, one is SMC

165/F2.8, the other is Pentax67 200/F4. Which one should I go for?

Notice

that one is SMC (the 165mm) and the other (the 200mm) is not. Does it

make a

difference? which is sharper?

 

I'm also going to buy extension tubes. I noticed that there are three

designs available: the Helical one, the set of three tubes, and the

auto

extension tubes. what are the differences exactly ( nothing is

mentioned on

the Pentax site!)? In the Pentax 67 lens manual it is mentioned that

the

auto extension tubes can't be used with the 200mm lens, I wonder if I

can

still use the helical one with that lens?

 

thanks

ahmad hosni

Cairo-Egypt

[jean_marie_solichon]

Ahmad,

I can't speek about the SMC 165/2,8 but I can tell you that I once owned a non SMC 200/4 and now use the latest version of this lens and it is much better! I would definitely go to the SMC lens.

Regarding auto extension tubes I have been using them for several years and they work properly with the 200mm lens. My operating manual for them says that they can be used for lenses of 45mm-300mm focal length. I'd suspect the helicoidal extension tube to be too weak for heavy and/or long lenses (although I never saw one) and it also may not operate with auto diaphragm. Hope this help. Jean-Marie

[steve_rasmussen]

It sounds like you will be doing some macro work and therefore the 200 Pentax with its f/32 would be a better choice than the 165 with f/22. The 200 and Helicoid work well but be aware that the magnification is not going to match the 3 piece set. As I recall, neither the Helicoid nor the auto tubes have wide open metering. All Pentax and Takumar lenses that I have seen have been SMC; only the Super-Takumars have been otherwise. The Super-Takumars still have excellent contrast.

[stemked]

I'll pass along my (limited) experience in this area.

 

First on the 200mm lenses. The older has a 67mm filter thread (useful if you already have a shorter lens with this thread) whereas the newer one is 77mm. The newer one shots closer; you'll need one extension tube to shot portraits with the older 200mm. I personally own the older lens and have been VERY impressed with this lens; others do not agree.

 

When I shot macro (135mm lens) I drag out all three tubes to get 1:1. It's bulky so I use a Bogan long lens support. If you shoot a lot of portraits mostly, I might go with the helicoid tube, if it is true macro you want then the three tube setup is the way to go. My tubes have the manual to auto switch (I guess they must be the auto tubes), you need to use this to get proper exposure (before I discovered this I returned a bunch of under exposed shots).