Thank you, thank you, thank you for this. I've been buying adaptors somewhat willy-nilly, trying to find just what will match the filter thread and the objective thread-- there are so many ways to go wrong with this, and it's one of those "experts already know" things that are so valuable.
17:00, I own Rodenstock Apo - Rodagon - D 2x 1: 4.5 f = 75mm lens. This lens looks like typical Schneider or Rodenstock enlarging lens with the same mount thread M39 and filter thread 40.5mm X 0.5, but this one is Repro/duplication lens optimized for 2:1 magnification range. Some people are claiming they prefer to mount this lens in reverse for optimal quality and some people say that it doesn't make a difference. The Rodenstock doesn't mention anything about reverse mounting either but I wanted to expiriance two methods for my self. The problem is that I couldn't find any revers mount adapter 40.5mm X 0.5 to M42 (42mm X 1) (and this was way before you made this video), but thank God I found this guy in Portugal who is willing to make almost any custom lens adapter. His name is Jose Meneses and company name is Custom Photo Tools. Jose made me an adapter and I had choice between an aluminium or brass material so I choose the brass. The quality of product was excellent in my opinion and worth every penny and it seems to me He would be willing to make all kind of useful custom products for photography.
I'm wondering if we aren't using bellows with a NIKOR enlarger lens if the BR-3 adapter is absolutely necessary? Wouldn't any other reverse lens adapter de ok?
Love the reverse lens macro photography topic. Still looking for a short, 10 minute video to demonstrate macro lenes and watches, figurines, action figures. 3 lens options, done.
@@AllanWallsPhotography I found a nice EL-Nikkor 1:2.8 on Ebay for $40, and the rest of the stuff on Amazon. Picked up a focus stack rack for the tripod as well. In a couple of weeks I'll be able to start experimenting! Cheers.
@@AllanWallsPhotography My new EL NIKKOR just arrived! I wasn't expecting it until next week, but yea! I get to play with it over the weekend. If I end up with anything worth sharing, I'll send a link!
I have the same extension tubes and I have lined their insides with black velvet, using contact adhesive. Otherwise internal reflections would make the image very hazy, especially when using the longest one or when combining them.
Watch out buying sets of step up and down rings. These sets come in 2 different sizes of sets, like odd sized and standard sized. One set will have sizes that will not include certain sized adapters where another set will. found this out the hard way when ordering these sets.
Thank you for putting these videos together. They are very helpful. I have been looking for an adapter for awhile now. I see you found yours in the BR-3. Have you heard of anything like this for Canon? I would like to protect the rear element as well as use a ring flash from time to time. Thanks again!!
Thanks David. I appreciate the kind words. I know that there is a Canon version of the BR-3, but I don't recall the part number. I will do some research and post it in the comments as soon as I track the part down.
I have thought about that! I have a video coming out in a day or two that deals with all the adapters needed for setting up enlarger lenses, and it will have links to the specific adapters that I prefer. Hopefully that will help.
I use a 90 mm macro by sony, now do you think that enlarger lenses are better, sharper than a native macro lens. I intend to try one but do you think that the lens will touch the sensor of my A7III or A6400. I do not think tha reversing the lens or using a front lens i that good. I appreciate your answer.
Hi Hesham! I am sorry for the late response! I just found your message. No, I don't think enlarger lenses are necessarily better than dedicated macro lenses - though some of them are very sharp. The enlarger lenses just offer photographers the opportunity to get into higher magnifications that you can get with a macro lens. I use both, depending on my subject. Your A7III and A6400 will both be OK to use, though you could always add an extension tube to be on the safe side (and get a little extra magnification). Sorry again for the late answer! Thank you.
@@AllanWallsPhotography is there any benefit to using a longer focal length lens, like a 105mm, when doing 1x and beyond magnification? Do the different focal lengths render insect portraits differently, similar to the way longer focal length portrait lenses have a more compressed or "thinning" rendering of the subjects features when photographing people? Or do they all pretty much render the same once you get to 1x+ magnifications?
@@OccultDemonCassette I am assuming you are asking specifically about the El Nikkor enlarger lenses. Other than the obvious marked reduction in magnification there is very little difference in image quality but it between the reversed 50mm and the 105mm though the magnification advantage is gone by 105mm. I suppose you could describe the image as more compressed as a function of the longer working distance, but the frame of reference is much less familiar than a human portrait, so it is unlikely to feel like a big difference. By the way, at the fullest extent of the bellows, around 200mm, the 105 might just get to 1:1.
Hi Allan! Cheap BR-3 alternative (for any camera mount): get a cheap third party rear lens cap, make a whole in it (with a wood cutter or anything similar) then glue on it a UV filter. If you want/need it to be more flexible in regards to the filters you put on ...then glue on it just the metal rim of cheap filter so you get the threads, and on them screw whatever filter you want. Hope this is helpfull to someone. Cheers!
Yo Allan - have you heard of or tried any kind of macro set up using some older lenses I just discovered for myself, older lenses 1: Carl Zeiss Jena Dokumar and 2: Carl Zeiss Jena Mikrotar - they would be from East Germany, post WWII when the Germans made some of the finest lenses. I ran across this web page from a German guy who has been collecting macro lenses for years. He has a vast assortment from history. Those lenses were used for microfiche I believe - kind of like using scanner lenses for macro. Database: www.macrolenses.de/start.php?lang=en His best: (he claims) forum.mflenses.com/a-few-special-macro-lenses-the-best-i-dare-to-say-t23584.html Check those out -to me, some look like microscope optics, although I don’t think they are.
Hi Gary, I am always on the lookout for old lenses and buy a lot of them, always with the intention to see how they can be used in high-magnification imaging. I have a lot of rubbish lenses! This guy has collected an amazing selection of rare glass, but to do so takes significant resources. Looking through the list I see quite a few that I have owned or borrowed over the years. The truth is, the cost of some of these optics have to part of the equation, and while some of them may be fantastic macro optics, they are impractical for most working macro photographers. The El Nikkor enlarger lenses, for example, are very affordable, take beautiful pictures, and are fairly available, so even though they are not collectors' lenses, they work for me. Doesn't mean I won't keep going to every estate sale I can find - and maybe one day I'll get that Micro Nikkor 120mm beauty in the link you shared!
@@AllanWallsPhotography some interesting lenses indeed.. I looked up a few, but frankly they were too expensive to take any kind of leap of faith. I like to see a little proof in the pudding before I believe anything someone else says about a particular lens being the best, or even just being great.. honestly, depends on their technical knowledge, their depth of experience and especially, their eye as a photographer.. not always divvied out in even measures - currently, I have almost completed several working macro set-ups.. however, I am still waiting on several missing adapters.. here and there, plus an extension tube or collar to source out. They include my dedicated macro lenses (oldies and modern.. reverse adapters as well), an enlarger setup (EL Nikkor), a plan objective setup (4x), an infinite objective setup (10x, etc), plus a scanner lens set up. After all these years I decided to do it right and take it very seriously. I am very curious about those 4 little ones he claims are his best.. they look kind of similar to plan objectives, but have focal lengths like lenses, 53mm, 40mm, 25mm, 16mm... they are Zeiss.. so kaching $$$$.
@@Just-a-bystander Couldn't agree with you more, Gary. There is a reason lens makers design and build new lenses - they are usually an improvement over the old ones! Doesn't mean there aren't some gems out there. I challenge you to find a collector who doesn't think the lenses he/she has collected are the very best of all time - they are invested!
I have a Sigma EM-140-DG Macro Flash and an EL Nikkor 55mm enlarger lens. I put a 49mm to 55mm step-up ring on it to use the flash lens adapter. Have you used a similar flash set up? What do you think about the Sigma macro flash as opped to using separate speed lights? I also have the Nikon PB-6 bellows - made like a tank! I use the Fujifilm X-T3 usually with an 80mm Fujinon Macro lens. But for extreme macro the enlarger lens gives you the most bang for the money. I use a cheap F mount to Fuji X mount adapter. Here is a link to a diagram of all the rings needed for the El Nikkor to F mount: 1.img-dpreview.com/files/p/TS560x560~forums/60826660/932de2ff6af54987a5fe3f41ae747b07 These parts will get you a Nikon F Mount for reverse mounting on bellows or rings: Altura Photo 40.5-52MM Step-Up Ring Adapter Nikon BR-2A 52mm Lens Reversing Ring These parts will get you a 52mm front filter thread on the rear of the lens: Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter, Leica L39 (M39, 39mm Thread) Screw Lens to Nikon F-Mount Fotodiox Aperture Control 52mm Filter for Nikon G/DX Lens in Reverse Mount for Macro Photography - www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Aperture-Control-Reverse-Photography/dp/B005ODKGLG Cheaper than the Nikon BR-3 Fotodiox Metal Step Up Ring Filter Adapter, Anodized Black Aluminum 52mm-55mm Here is an old video that may also help: ua-cam.com/video/FcrJfYtZ1IU/v-deo.html
Hi Lysander... I have indeed used a very similar setup and I still do sometimes. I use that system for field photography, because it is more compact and flexible. I find the light to be a little harsh, even with a circular diffuser that I built for that purpose. But in the field it's often the best option.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this. I've been buying adaptors somewhat willy-nilly, trying to find just what will match the filter thread and the objective thread-- there are so many ways to go wrong with this, and it's one of those "experts already know" things that are so valuable.
17:00, I own Rodenstock Apo - Rodagon - D 2x 1: 4.5 f = 75mm lens. This lens looks like typical Schneider or Rodenstock enlarging lens with the same mount thread M39 and filter thread 40.5mm X 0.5, but this one is Repro/duplication lens optimized for 2:1 magnification range. Some people are claiming they prefer to mount this lens in reverse for optimal quality and some people say that it doesn't make a difference. The Rodenstock doesn't mention anything about reverse mounting either but I wanted to expiriance two methods for my self.
The problem is that I couldn't find any revers mount adapter 40.5mm X 0.5 to M42 (42mm X 1) (and this was way before you made this video), but thank God I found this guy in Portugal who is willing to make almost any custom lens adapter. His name is Jose Meneses and company name is Custom Photo Tools. Jose made me an adapter and I had choice between an aluminium or brass material so I choose the brass. The quality of product was excellent in my opinion and worth every penny and it seems to me He would be willing to make all kind of useful custom products for photography.
Another thorough and helpful tutorial!
Cheers, Randy!
Grat Information, shedding light into that Ring and Mount jungle. Many thanks!
Great video Alan well explained and very clear.
Excellent video found exactly what I need to buy and try some macro. Yippee!
So would I get a 52mm reverse mount adapter for my vintage manual focus Rokinon 49mm f28 lens?
I'm wondering if we aren't using bellows with a NIKOR enlarger lens if the BR-3 adapter is absolutely necessary? Wouldn't any other reverse lens adapter de ok?
Love the reverse lens macro photography topic. Still looking for a short, 10 minute video to demonstrate macro lenes and watches, figurines, action figures. 3 lens options, done.
Thank you very much for the very useful information, Allan
Once again, you have made sense of it all! Thanks.
If I would've seen this, I wouldn't have had to bother you. Thanks again for the quick response and guidance to me questions via email.
These videos are pretty great. I really want to get the stuff to try macro photography. Your guides have been a real help! Thanks!
Thank you!
@@AllanWallsPhotography I found a nice EL-Nikkor 1:2.8 on Ebay for $40, and the rest of the stuff on Amazon. Picked up a focus stack rack for the tripod as well. In a couple of weeks I'll be able to start experimenting! Cheers.
@@SomeGuyInSandy Keep me posted and send a couple of images when you are up and running with the new rig. Cheers!
@@AllanWallsPhotography I will, thanks!
@@AllanWallsPhotography My new EL NIKKOR just arrived! I wasn't expecting it until next week, but yea! I get to play with it over the weekend. If I end up with anything worth sharing, I'll send a link!
I have the same extension tubes and I have lined their insides with black velvet, using contact adhesive. Otherwise internal reflections would make the image very hazy, especially when using the longest one or when combining them.
Thank you for insightful and very useful information. Helps me a lot.
Thank you so much Allan 🙏🙏🙏😊
Have you made a presentation on using different focal length lenses in macro photography?
Watch out buying sets of step up and down rings. These sets come in 2 different sizes of sets, like odd sized and standard sized. One set will have sizes that will not include certain sized adapters where another set will. found this out the hard way when ordering these sets.
Thank you for putting these videos together. They are very helpful. I have been looking for an adapter for awhile now. I see you found yours in the BR-3. Have you heard of anything like this for Canon? I would like to protect the rear element as well as use a ring flash from time to time. Thanks again!!
Thanks David. I appreciate the kind words. I know that there is a Canon version of the BR-3, but I don't recall the part number. I will do some research and post it in the comments as soon as I track the part down.
I ran to your website hoping you're selling these adaptors! Someone really ought to put together packages or at least have US-based stock...
I have thought about that! I have a video coming out in a day or two that deals with all the adapters needed for setting up enlarger lenses, and it will have links to the specific adapters that I prefer. Hopefully that will help.
I use a 90 mm macro by sony, now do you think that enlarger lenses are better, sharper than a native macro lens. I intend to try one but do you think that the lens will touch the sensor of my A7III or A6400.
I do not think tha reversing the lens or using a front lens i that good.
I appreciate your answer.
Hi Hesham! I am sorry for the late response! I just found your message. No, I don't think enlarger lenses are necessarily better than dedicated macro lenses - though some of them are very sharp. The enlarger lenses just offer photographers the opportunity to get into higher magnifications that you can get with a macro lens. I use both, depending on my subject. Your A7III and A6400 will both be OK to use, though you could always add an extension tube to be on the safe side (and get a little extra magnification). Sorry again for the late answer! Thank you.
where do I get that lens mount?
On an enlarger lens the light enters and exits from the opposite ends than it does on a regular lens.
i have a few enlarging lens, i know a rodenstock, and a few others of differing focal lengths. maybe i will try one of them
There are quite a few good ones out there but stick to 35-50mm focal length for best magnification ratios.
@@AllanWallsPhotography is there any benefit to using a longer focal length lens, like a 105mm, when doing 1x and beyond magnification? Do the different focal lengths render insect portraits differently, similar to the way longer focal length portrait lenses have a more compressed or "thinning" rendering of the subjects features when photographing people? Or do they all pretty much render the same once you get to 1x+ magnifications?
@@OccultDemonCassette I am assuming you are asking specifically about the El Nikkor enlarger lenses. Other than the obvious marked reduction in magnification there is very little difference in image quality but it between the reversed 50mm and the 105mm though the magnification advantage is gone by 105mm. I suppose you could describe the image as more compressed as a function of the longer working distance, but the frame of reference is much less familiar than a human portrait, so it is unlikely to feel like a big difference. By the way, at the fullest extent of the bellows, around 200mm, the 105 might just get to 1:1.
goodbye adapter ring, he made a run for it damn
As always very informative Allan - thank you (My bank balance doesn't thank you as I've just gone and bought a El Nikkor 50mm 2.8mm)
I think you are going to have so much fun with it, you will quickly forget the buyers' remorse. Hope so anyway!
I don't get it. Some males are cut and others are uncut.
Hi Allan! Cheap BR-3 alternative (for any camera mount): get a cheap third party rear lens cap, make a whole in it (with a wood cutter or anything similar) then glue on it a UV filter.
If you want/need it to be more flexible in regards to the filters you put on ...then glue on it just the metal rim of cheap filter so you get the threads, and on them screw whatever filter you want. Hope this is helpfull to someone.
Cheers!
Don't drop round things, They go into hyper drive and disappear.
Bolt and NUT.
You must be nuts, not knowing that.
Haha.
Some chocolate bars have too few nuts in it ///////
Yo Allan - have you heard of or tried any kind of macro set up using some older lenses I just discovered for myself, older lenses 1: Carl Zeiss Jena Dokumar and 2: Carl Zeiss Jena Mikrotar - they would be from East Germany, post WWII when the Germans made some of the finest lenses. I ran across this web page from a German guy who has been collecting macro lenses for years. He has a vast assortment from history. Those lenses were used for microfiche I believe - kind of like using scanner lenses for macro.
Database:
www.macrolenses.de/start.php?lang=en
His best: (he claims)
forum.mflenses.com/a-few-special-macro-lenses-the-best-i-dare-to-say-t23584.html
Check those out -to me, some look like microscope optics, although I don’t think they are.
Hi Gary, I am always on the lookout for old lenses and buy a lot of them, always with the intention to see how they can be used in high-magnification imaging. I have a lot of rubbish lenses! This guy has collected an amazing selection of rare glass, but to do so takes significant resources. Looking through the list I see quite a few that I have owned or borrowed over the years. The truth is, the cost of some of these optics have to part of the equation, and while some of them may be fantastic macro optics, they are impractical for most working macro photographers. The El Nikkor enlarger lenses, for example, are very affordable, take beautiful pictures, and are fairly available, so even though they are not collectors' lenses, they work for me. Doesn't mean I won't keep going to every estate sale I can find - and maybe one day I'll get that Micro Nikkor 120mm beauty in the link you shared!
@@AllanWallsPhotography some interesting lenses indeed.. I looked up a few, but frankly they were too expensive to take any kind of leap of faith. I like to see a little proof in the pudding before I believe anything someone else says about a particular lens being the best, or even just being great.. honestly, depends on their technical knowledge, their depth of experience and especially, their eye as a photographer.. not always divvied out in even measures - currently, I have almost completed several working macro set-ups.. however, I am still waiting on several missing adapters.. here and there, plus an extension tube or collar to source out. They include my dedicated macro lenses (oldies and modern.. reverse adapters as well), an enlarger setup (EL Nikkor), a plan objective setup (4x), an infinite objective setup (10x, etc), plus a scanner lens set up. After all these years I decided to do it right and take it very seriously.
I am very curious about those 4 little ones he claims are his best.. they look kind of similar to plan objectives, but have focal lengths like lenses, 53mm, 40mm, 25mm, 16mm... they are Zeiss.. so kaching $$$$.
@@Just-a-bystander Couldn't agree with you more, Gary. There is a reason lens makers design and build new lenses - they are usually an improvement over the old ones! Doesn't mean there aren't some gems out there. I challenge you to find a collector who doesn't think the lenses he/she has collected are the very best of all time - they are invested!
@@AllanWallsPhotography indeed
I have a Sigma EM-140-DG Macro Flash and an EL Nikkor 55mm enlarger lens. I put a 49mm to 55mm step-up ring on it to use the flash lens adapter. Have you used a similar flash set up? What do you think about the Sigma macro flash as opped to using separate speed lights? I also have the Nikon PB-6 bellows - made like a tank! I use the Fujifilm X-T3 usually with an 80mm Fujinon Macro lens. But for extreme macro the enlarger lens gives you the most bang for the money. I use a cheap F mount to Fuji X mount adapter.
Here is a link to a diagram of all the rings needed for the El Nikkor to F mount: 1.img-dpreview.com/files/p/TS560x560~forums/60826660/932de2ff6af54987a5fe3f41ae747b07
These parts will get you a Nikon F Mount for reverse mounting on bellows or rings:
Altura Photo 40.5-52MM Step-Up Ring Adapter
Nikon BR-2A 52mm Lens Reversing Ring
These parts will get you a 52mm front filter thread on the rear of the lens:
Fotodiox Lens Mount Adapter, Leica L39 (M39, 39mm Thread) Screw Lens to Nikon F-Mount
Fotodiox Aperture Control 52mm Filter for Nikon G/DX Lens in Reverse Mount for Macro Photography - www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Aperture-Control-Reverse-Photography/dp/B005ODKGLG
Cheaper than the Nikon BR-3
Fotodiox Metal Step Up Ring Filter Adapter, Anodized Black Aluminum 52mm-55mm
Here is an old video that may also help: ua-cam.com/video/FcrJfYtZ1IU/v-deo.html
Hi Lysander... I have indeed used a very similar setup and I still do sometimes. I use that system for field photography, because it is more compact and flexible. I find the light to be a little harsh, even with a circular diffuser that I built for that purpose. But in the field it's often the best option.
CHRIST.... ANOTHER CURE FOR INSOMNIA VIDEO 😩.. 30 MINUTES TO SAY 5 MINUTES WORTH ?!?!?