Help with a Manual needed

[Lizakita]

Hi,
I recently purchased a used Sigma 105mm macro lens Pentax fit,unfortunately it came with out a manual :(
I have searched every where online without any luck,so in desperation i was
wondering if any one out there could help me out by scanning or taking a pic of the English instructions for me,this is my first attempt at Macro photography and i am finding
the Auto to Manual adjustments a bit confusing :confused013
Any help would be much appreciated,
Lizakita.:)

[Analog6]

Have you tried emailing Sigma?

[arthurking83]

moved the thread to gear talk.

generally there is little information available in the lens manual, that can't be explained in more detailed here by someone that already has the lens in their kit.

describe the problems you're having in 'some' detail, and I'm sure someone can help you understand using plain engrish as opposed to manual engrish :p

Ususally a macro lens has markings on the distance scale that indicate the reproduction ratio.
those marking will look like 1:5, 1:4, 1:3.. etc.. down to 1:1.
lined up with those markings will also be the actual distance to the subject(focused distance) required for the point of focus to be sharp.

so as an example: say that you pre set the lens to 1:1 and the distance on the scale says 0.34cm, you need to set the camera body to be about 0.34cm from the subject you're trying to photograph.
on the camera body, usually on the top plate near the LCD(if your camera has one) there is a symbol that indicates the 'film plane'. That symbol is a circle with a line running horizontally across the circle. That's where the distance(0.34cm) is measured from.

note the numbers are totally random figures and your lens may be different.

macro is hard work to get super quality images. you can do macro hendheld, but that's very hit and miss.. usually a very sturdy tripod is required.

Auto focus doesn't work very well when shooting at 'macro' distances.. ie. from approx 1:3-1:1. Manual focus is generally better.

[Lizakita]

Thanks for the quick replies.
The first thing i did was to contact Sigma, but no response as yet :(
Also thanks for the info on the distance scale ,the lens does has a distance window , but i didn't know about the connection between the two :o , that was very helpful you live and learn,i guess that's what it's all about (photography ) :)
I have not used the lens yet as i wanted to find out how it worked first, it has a strange push pull ring on the lens ,which when pushed forward just spins around ,pulled back the lens moves this may be for manual /auto focus not sure ? plus i was wondering if it would do any damage if the camera was set to manual focus and the lens to auto focus or vice a versa ,would it do any damage ?
I have not seen a lens like this before ( i have one zoom and one wide angle) so i am starting to see that macro will be a steep learning curve :eek:
Also on the tripod,i have a Slik pressman,i hope that will be sturdy enough.
Thanks for the help :D
Lizakita