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Lens Recommendation For More Working Distance

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CaptainFwiffo's Avatar
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 Posted 12/13/2020  3:41 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add CaptainFwiffo to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
I'm currently shooting with the Rodenstock 75ARD1 on m42 bellows. I'd like to have some more options with more working distance. Also experimenting with a full-frame camera.

What are current recommendations for m42? (or adaptable to m42, of course)

Doesn't need to be cheap.
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pepactonius's Avatar
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 Posted 12/13/2020  10:37 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add pepactonius to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
There are a number of bellows lenses that can be adapted to M42. Examples are the 105mm and 135 bellows-Nikors, and also the 80mm Olympus bellows lens.

I think the 75ARD1 is better, though -- it's what I use with my full-frame Z-7.
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 Posted 12/15/2020  11:47 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add rmpsrpms to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
The 75ARD1 has very good working distance. How much are you looking for? As @pepactonius says, there are longer FL bellows lenses available, though image quality is not as good as the 75ARD1.

Note that for longer FL lenses you will also need longer extension.

Let us know the conditions under which you want more WD (magnification/coin size). There may be some lenses that can meet the specific need with as good IQ as the 75ARD1.

Edited to add: are you looking for more WD for more lighting flexibility? There are solutions that help with that.

Further edit: thinking more about this, there are a few lenses which can give similar or better IQ vs the 75ARD1, with longer WD. The Printing-Nikkors come to mind, but they are highly optimized for specific magnification ranges. Ultimately, it seems the best choice may be the 85MV. You'll get a good boost in WD along with improved IQ that is adjustable for CA at any magnification from 0.5 to 2.0. If the 85mm FL does not give you enough WD, then you may need to go with the 105IXL Float lens. I have not evaluated this lens, but I do have a fixed (no CA adjustment) version and it is superb.
Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at:
http://macrocoins.com
Edited by rmpsrpms
12/15/2020 6:53 pm
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gunbarrelcoins's Avatar
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 Posted 12/15/2020  8:02 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add gunbarrelcoins to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I don't have a bellows, but I do use old MF micro-Nikkor 105mm f4 1:4 that does a great job for macro shots. And I built my own adjustable camera rig so can sit and use the view finder. Even though it is connected to my computer I find I get sharper images focusing through the view finder rather that trusting what I see on the monitor.
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 Posted 12/16/2020  12:06 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add CaptainFwiffo to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Yeah, my main issue is that my standard lighting rig is too low when photographing small coins like dimes on a FF sensor. I can probably do some redesign there.

The printing nikkors seem so optimized for specific magnifications that they seem inflexible.

The macro varon sounds super interesting, and 85mm should give me enough working distance. I just need a bit more. Being able to fix CA at a wide range of magnifications is super cool. I'll try to find one, but they seem to be rare and hard-to-justify expensive.
Edited by CaptainFwiffo
12/16/2020 12:07 pm
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 Posted 12/16/2020  5:53 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add rmpsrpms to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I've had good luck with cone diffusers, which allow the lights to be smaller than the diameter of the lens body. This works very well with the 75ARD1. They can be shaped just like the smile directors using masking.

Edited to add: the 85MV is indeed tough to get, and fairly expensive, similar to the Printing-Nikkors. The PN's will beat the 85MV within their working ranges, but you need two of them to cover the full 0.5...2:1 mag range. The 95PN can cover from 0.4...0.7 and from 1.4...2.8, while the 105PN covers 0.7...1.4.

It sounds like you have the most difficulty at highest mag where coin is smallest and WD is the least. You may want to consider an 8000ED, which has quality similar to the 105PN but is optimized more for ~1.2:1 one way, 0.8 the other. I have not tried it for large coins / low mags but it's a really nice lens for Cents and Dimes, and its FL is quite long so has long WD.
Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at:
http://macrocoins.com
Edited by rmpsrpms
12/16/2020 6:45 pm
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