You do NOT want haze, fungus or mold on the lens ever! Fungus and mold can spread to other lenses if stored in the same bag, haze will blur the images.
I'm not seeing any of those lenses at reasonable pricing right now either, keep looking, I would set up a search with e-mail notifications try to keep it simple and make a few if needed with different wording.
Nikkor 75mm
EL-Nikkor 75mm
Nikon 75mm enlarging lens
Enlarging Lens
etc.
Deals will pop up, I got my Rodenstock APO 75mm-D F/4 for just under $50.00 because of a search notice I received while on vacation, couldn't hit that buy it now button fast enough, it was waiting for me when I returned home!
EL-Nikkor 75mm is a very nice lens but it's not the only one that is good, there are many lenses that will fit the bill to start with, I have the EL-Nikkor 50mm enlarging lens, a Pentax 100mm Bellows lens, a Beseler 65mm enlarging lens, a Rodenstock Omegaron 50mm, a Schneider-Kreuznach 50mm and a few others, I don't think I paid over $30 for any of them, just be patient they will pop up, just be prepared to act fast.
The Rodenstock Omegaron isn't horible and there are a few at under $10.00 up now, though you did say you are shooting dimes, so you might want to look for a little more focal length than 50mm.
"Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1982, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS) Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector.
@Westcoin My main focus, like many others I'm sure, is pennies. They will be the bulk of what I shoot unless I see something come up with a different coin. Maybe, for now, I'll get a 50mm to get me started and keep my eye out for others in the future.
I think your gonna need the 75mm for pennies and dimes. I don't know if your gonna be satisfied with the 50mm. I know you just want to start shooting your coins, but If you think you can wait, then I think you will be much more happy you did. I'm trying right now to get a good closeup of the FG on the 1988 D Reverse and have some issues trying to get a better close up. @Westcoin is that Rodenstock better then this Nikon? I am actually thinking of extending my lens capabilities. I got Half Dimes I need to log and I get ok pictures but not really close like for the arrows on the 1853 Seated half dime. Or if you wouldn't mind making a suggestion for the my Rebel T3i 600D, and will the Helicoid, and macro lens work with the upgrade? Don't know so Hanna ask .
Maybe try one of the cheaper 75mm lenses while you save up and wait for a excellent quality 75mm like the EL-Nikkor lens to pop up for sale at a good price then, you may not get the absolute best sharpness from a $10-30 Omegaron or Bessler, but it's all a learning curve anyways. You could at least get going on getting lighting and exposure practice shots that way.
Just a thought.
"Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1982, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS) Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector.
You got me looking now LeatherHawk. I'm going to go check out what westcoin suggested for better pics of my Half Dimes. Thanks Rpmsrpms for the info on how to set for glare. I'm going to do some shoots today and practice. I only use the LED lights I have and always try to eliminate all other light. Just want the natural look of the coin without glare. I am curious what LeatherHawk asked if that adapter works for other lenses like the Fuji's or Schreider?
They look like a cool cheap way to at least get started and save up for a better lens.
From what I can see they are 39mm screw mount. A standard size really on older enlarging lenses. I found a bunch of EL-Omegar 50mm F/3.5 lenses for cheap too ($6.00 to $12,00) there are some 75mm for just a few dollars more too.
Here is a fairly good multi part video explanation of how and why enlarger lenses work well for macro photography. This should help you with the adapters for sure.
FcrJfYtZ1IU
Q3WxpkaOoec
xF2J_KAnYZE
dIaTe67spaY
"Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1982, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS) Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector.
Well, I have got the El-Omegar f/3.5-50mm lens in annnnnnnnnnd, it doesn't fit my adapter. Now I have to find yet another adapter. Eventually, I'll get this set up. (Enter eye roll here.)
Sort of the same thing, except none of those are the right size adapters, here is what you want to search for exactly this copy and paste into ebay search.
M42 to 39mm enlarger lens adapter
That will get you links to, double (recommended) and single adapters, the single ones are as low as $1.50 from China but they don't tell you which way the threads go, I'd get the two adapter set so you have both ways, one will work. Should be a set of both 39 to 42 and 42 to 39.
Remember your 39mm enlarger thread is a different pitch than a 39mm lens thread for a filter. So they are not compatible, the ones in the link you ask about are for front of lens where you might want to put on a UV or Polarizing filter but not want to buy several filters for different diameter lenses. In that case you buy the largest and get step down rings, you want to avoid step up rings as you then are putting a smaller filter on a larger diameter lens which will cause vignetting. This isn't really relevant in our case of macro shooting, we are concerned with the back sides of the lens (the end that attaches to the camera body, helicoid tube or bellows. Lens thread pitch (size of distance between the individual threads) is or can be different that what is on the rear lens threads just to confuse you even more. While you may think it's just a tight fit - don't try to force any type of small threads. Once they cross-thread they might never want to come apart again, especially if the metals are different, like aluminum and brass.
Now is also time to let you know about filter wrenches, they are worth having a set of as well, eventually you will need them more than likely. They are cheap as you will need the smallest sized.
Just like these. https://www.ebay.com/itm/391027587265 NOTE I am not endorsing that seller I don't know them, just the product and size for the lenses we are discussing.
In a pinch rubber bands and a jar lid opener (a bit of rubber) can do the same thing, I've used a jar opener on a table top just by pressing the lens down onto it and twisting the lens while holding the rubber piece to keep it from twisting, the filter was able to be removed. The lens wrenches are just easier and safer.
As if we aren't confusing you more and adding stuff you never thought about getting now. Sorry - LOL, welcome to fun with macro photography 101.
"Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1982, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS) Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector.
I haven't used any filters. I have them, but I haven't really thought I need them. I use natural daylight, or blacked out room with LED that up can dim or more bright. I did post pics on the glare thread, and RPmsrpms is showing me how to adjust for those shiny ones.
I don't think there are really any filters that will help other than perhaps close-up lenses (not the same) but the go on front of the lens. Maybe a polarizing lens in a very rare situation. Now if we were still shooting on to film and in black and white that's another story altogether, but I think we've all moved into the digital world by now.
Back when I took the coin photography course at the ANA Summer Seminar (1984 I think) we used film, that was the hardest part of experimenting was waiting to get the film processed and negatives printed onto a proof contact sheet to see if we had improved or not using new techniques.
"Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1982, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS) Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector.
Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2025 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited. Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use