El-Cheapo Lenses

Seems someone took your advice SD. The listing ended via BIN, even though none was available when it was first listed.

Has any one looked into the AMAR/S 4.5 105mm lens? and there thoughts?

I've almost pulled the trigger on this one a couple times but I already have a couple of them so will let someone else purchase this gem of a lens for $20:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/11094528819....m1438.l2649

I hope it is ok to use this post to ask for help.

I have a Cannon EOS Rebel XT SLR camera. I really don't get
the quality pictures I would like to.

Would this lens take good coin pictures

http://www.ebay.com/itm/38040684238....m1423.l2649

I do have a cannon EOS to FD lens adapter. But it seems like I have read this adapter may not be the best for getting a good focused picture. I am open to suggestions on what set up would be the best option with out spending large amount.

Rmpsrpms

Thank you for your reply. I will not purchase that lens.

The idea of getting good pictures for a cheaper price sounds good to me.

The adapter I have, has no glass. It says,

Canon macro lens mount converter FD-EOS

It is about a inch high total.

I do have a tripod. Also if I know what to get, I am open to buying a copy stand or bellows. In my limited experience, I think I may need better lighting.

I am very interested to any suggestions you and other members have.

GR58...

For some reason (economy, Europe, fiscal cliff, ?) ebay prices are quite suppressed at the moment for a lot of items. It's a good time to pick up what you need. I've seen Canon FD bellows going for $60-$80, which is usually the realm of the FL bellows, and FL bellows going for <$50, which is unheard of. Here's a FL bellows supposedly in mint condition for $49 buy it now:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-Bello...em2c69c271a4

Here's a FD Auto Bellows for $95 OBO. Not the best deal, but to get a Canon Auto Bellows for <$100 is a recent phenomenon:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-Auto-...em257743cde7

Do a search on "Canon bellows" and you get 119 listings. By the way, do NOT buy one like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Studiohut-L...em51a3b5b790

That type of Chinese-made bellows "work" but you will end up replacing it soon as you find an Auto Bellows, so are a waste of money.

Another BTW...your FD-EOS adapter will work great with the Auto Bellows or FL Bellows, so you're halfway there on adapters. And note that if your adapter is an original Canon type, they are quite rare and valuable on their own. Take good care of it!

The FL or FD bellows have a focus rail adjustment that can be useful if you are using a tripod or copy stand without fine height adjust.

A second choice, which is actually just as nice as the Canon, are Pentax Auto Bellows. These are a little tougher to find lately, and are available in multiple versions, so it might be good to run your choice by the group before you buy. The Pentax are smaller than the Canon, which is nice for compact setups. Build quality on either Canon or Pentax is superb. These are high quality machinery built in the heyday of Japanese photographic equipment.

Now for the lens...

I recommend a minimum 75mm focal length, and maximum 105mm. There are many reasons for this range, mostly related to how the lens interacts with the bellows and the resulting working distance to the coin. If you do mostly smaller coins, then 75-80mm is probably best. If you do mostly Dollars, then 90-105mm is better.

I'm going to let you look through this thread to get some ideas on lenses. Bottom line, I'd recommend starting with either a Spiratone 75mm Flat Field Macro Lens, which is T-Mount and easy to adapt to a bellows and will cost you perhaps $50-$75, OR a Nikon 75mm EL-Nikkor, which is M39 mount and thus also easy to adapt and will cost about the same. If you need to go longer to shoot mostly Dollars, then a Nikon 105mm EL-Nikkor is a good choice and will cost you around $100. For the lens, I also recommend you run your choices by the group for comment. There's lots of experience here applying these lenses and bellows for coins.

Wow ! What a great detailed reply. Thank you very muck.

I made a offer on the canon bellows.

And I am watching some of the Nikon 75mm lens. I will post here before I buy a lens, just to
Make sure I get the right one.

My wife is waiting for me to take her to the casino....I hope I have a reply on the bellows when I get back.
Maybe I should just buy it .... But I do like a good deal

Ray, its a good price for this bellows, however the shipping cost is $22.40, which makes the entire purchase a bit out of whack...