A macro lens is a dedicated camera lens that is optically optimized to handle extremely close focusing distances and can take sharp, highly detailed images of microscopic subjects. For higher magnification ratios and greater image quality, reverse mounted enlarging lenses on a bellows is the most usefull combination. Looking for recommendations for a good quality enlarger 80mm or thereabouts enlarger lens second hand to use with a canon bellows for high magnification macro work, please. Enlarger lenses are among the cheapest goodquality optics. Enlarger lenses in photomacrography enrico savazzi. A macro lens has the ability to focus from infinity to 1. The ups and downs of using macro lenses for portraiture. Most of the cameras we use have register distances of around 45mm plus or minus and typical bellows have minimum extensions of 40mm plus or minus so the minimum extension from sensor plane is typically 95mm. For instance, is there any reason to use an enlarging lens for macro photography instead of, say, using extension tubes with another lens. The problem for me is that 50mm enlarger lenses offer limited magnification range when used on bellows.
Im using a sony mavica fd7 digital camera this is an older model with max resolution of only 640 x 480, coupled with enlarging lenses off a photographic enlarger. Using nonmacro lenses for macro photography 04 december 2018. The enlarger lenses used by film photographers to create prints from developed negatives. Enlarger lenses although slightly compromised will image ok. While macro lenses are often used to take photos of things close up, how theyre used isnt actually what defines them. Extreme macro using reversed enlarger lenses youtube. Quality enlarger lenses are one of the best options for macro and micro photography. There are better solutions available for this purpose, even if you are looking for a lowcost solution, and even if you cannot afford a true macro lens and must make do with an enlarger lens. Enlarger lenses are among the darkroom equipment of filmed photography time. However, these lenses are expensive, and almost all of them are no. Tutorial for using enlarger lenses in macro photography and image.
I actually already have a macro lens that i currently use for the job but was suggested to use an enlarger. Enlarger lenses that dont work reversed for extreme macro. We all go on about the best glass to fit to the front of our cameras, so what is the informed opinion about the best glass to fit on our enlargers cause as bigwill so rightly pointed out if you are taking images with some of the best lenses available it would be a. Enlarger lenses reversed on extension tubes are also excellent performers for macro use, and are now commonly used for exactly that.
Zoom lenses, and even some prime lenses with a macro badge, give a greater magnification of around 0. I have heard about people doing this the other way round using enlarger lenses on rangefinders and getting pretty good results. This elnikkor 50mm f4 seems to be an enlarger lens used in the enlarger machine. Reverse adapters for enlarging lenses custom photo tools. Regular lenses have a minimum focusing distance which doesnt allow you to get close enough to a tiny subject to make it that big. Taken using the enlarger lens and bellows pictured right, these macro shots are. Some photographers love using macro lenses for portraiture.
Both 8mm and 16mm cine lenses, as well as enlarger lenses, are not as commonly used for their original purposes. Reversed enlarger lenses suitable for extreme macro photography. This is a nuts and bolts explanation about adapting enlarger lenses to a common digital camera that accepts interchangeable lenses. Linhof did make a macro shutter on a tube with a leica thread. Over the last couple years, i have performed a moderate amount of testing on virtually all of them. Ive used enlarging lenses for macro in the past as well as. Enlarging lenses are designed for high resolution and for flatfield focus, and this is a major advantage on using it for macro and micro photography. When used with an m39 screw thread, the helicoids can be used with an enlarger lens, and the lens used as if it were a normal optic. At present, i have about 60 lenses that can be used for macro and highmagnification imaging. There is not much difference in design or performance between a nikon 50mm f2. Small production, specialized, custom made photo tools.
What differences can be expected when using enlarging lenses for. Using enlarger lenses with the fuji x system may 4th, 2014 in this article ill look at the use of enlarging lenses with the fuji x system, and how you can build a custom adapter for infinity focus with shorter focal length enlarging lenses. Proudly made on a craftsmanship workflow basis, adapters are made and tested one by one. How and why to hack an enlarger lens onto your mirrorless. I only recently expanded my lens testing procedures to add numerical detail about corner sharpness. An enlarger lens is specifically designed to project light through a flat negative onto a sheet of printing paper. Then you need to tape closed the port for the illuminated aperture on the base of the enlarging lens. Lens tests for various macro lenses, bellows lenses, microscope objectives, and enlarging lenses. Ive been using enlarging lenses for macro work for over thirty years, mostly on 4x5 film but also on 35mm.
This will be dependent on how the final image is viewed. Using enlarger lenses with the fuji x system david. The specifications listed here are those most relevant to using enlarging lenses as taking lenses on a camera film or digital such as for close up, macro, product or a broad range of photographic uses. It was in the case and was like a dead stock product. Ill show you how to capture pinsharp closeups with. Macro photography may also be accomplished by mounting a lens in reverse, in front of a normally mounted lens of greater focal length, using a macro coupler which screws into the front filter threads of both lenses. Enlarger lenses dont have any focusing ring and are pretty simple in their design. Though they usually are really sharp and pretty unexpensive. If they do have threads they may not be the same pitch as used for filters and a step updown ring may not thread into them.
Photographer mathieu stern decided to give one of these enlarger lenses a shot. Macro photography using enlarger lenses 24 december 2018. The darkroomgetting the most from enlarger lenses shutterbug. Macro photography using extension tubes 20 december 2018.
Most of the time, helicoid adapters are used for macro focusing. A true macro lens is one which is specially designed to focus up close and can do a 1. Want extreme macro results without having to pay the extreme prices of a macro lens. Although the accepted wisdom is not to use these 4 element lenses for extreme macro, if its a choice between having a stab at extreme macro with a poorer lens or waiting for the perfect lens to show up, dont hesitate to use the poorer lens. This may be a problem as enlarger lenses may not have threads on the front. This method allows most cameras to maintain the full function of electronic and mechanical communication with the normally mounted. This was the first time i heard that but a small search on the web shows that it indeed is a good solution as the enlarger lenses are designed to magnify. Componons, rodagons and elnikkors are usually used by extreme macro photographers. The novoflex bellows offer interchangeable mounts, so with a pentacon six mount on the back and the mount of your choice on the front, it is easy.
Optically this is one of the very best lenses you can buy today. I totally bought the idea that enlarger lenses are designed to project a small negative film onto a larger photo paper with enough resolution and flatness. For extreme macro photography, the better enlarger lenses to use are six element enlarger lenses. In another thread, i got the recommendation to look into using a high quality enlarger lens on a bellows for macro photography.
Im wanting to shoot macro using 2 lenses as described various places. Over the last couple years, i have performed a moderate amount of. When we want to print a photo from a negative film, we use an enlarger lens to project the image onto a lightsensitive paper. As the enlarger lenses have manual aperture, the viewfinder can be dark when we narrow the aperture. Yes, you can use a 90mm enlarger lens to print 35mm negatives, but because of its longer focal length, you will have to have the head of the enlarger raised much higher in order to make the same size print that a 50mm enlarger lens would make with the head much lower. Best results in photomacrography can be expected with lenses specifically designed for this application. This list details the basic specifications for various enlarger or enlarging lenses. The macrosymmar hm is a variation of the symmar design, engineered for 1. Closeup pictures using enlarger lenses 2000 timezone.
Most standard zoom lenses give a maximum magnification factor of about 0. Recently i remembered that photographic enlarging lenses are often used as macro lenses by reversing them on a camera. Has anyone tried using an enlarger lens with their pentax dslr. A giant enlargement might not be at optimum but for viewing on a computer monitor or making prints 8x10 inch or smaller, i think the enlarger lens will be satisfactory provided you can successfully mount it on the camera.
Discussing using enlarger lenses in pentax ricoh k. Reversed enlarger lenses suitable for extreme macro. Though my first extreme macro lens is not this elnikkor 50 f2. Sometimes, these and similar lenses are pushed as lenses for macro photography and photomacrography, which definitely they are not. There used to be an enlarger machine a long time ago.
102 480 618 829 1447 364 913 56 513 565 1119 1157 604 245 1310 191 647 846 233 346 219 924 27 703 1172 1093 14 776