Enlarger lenses as adapted lenses?

JimKasson wrote:

Vic Chapman wrote:

I have a couple of enlarger lenses - an El-Nikkor 50mm f2.8 (still attached to the enlarger) and a 75mm (for 6cmx6cm negs). They might be best for macro since they are made to focus at close distance with a flat field. I'm guessing they are 39mm thread in which case I should be able to get an adapter.

Ideas - whether this is worth buying an adapter for or am I wasting money?

BTW, I'm not actually short of macro options so unless they do something special it's only for novelty value.

I believe the 50mm El Nikkors were optimized for 1:8 reproduction ratio, which is what you'd get making an 8x10 print. Not exactly a macro lens.

Another thing to consider. Just buying an adapter for Leica screw mount won't get you any ability to focus.

Jim

Reversed mounted on bellows it may still be in the right ratio for some work though. In the early seventees, with a tight budget, my approach was a bit different; I bought the Canon FL 50mm 3.5 macro lens for my Canon FTb camera and used it also with a Leica 39mm thread adapter on the Durst M610? enlarger, quite happy with the versatility then.

A year ago I have been tinkering a bit with the adaption of a Canon 5D II + Sigma 50mm 2.8 Macro lens to a Canon FD auto bellows. To get the aperture control when the lens is reversed I added an "ethernet" cable link from adapter to lens. Auto focus works at large aperture but is of course also reversed so no help For auto focus and to get any manual or barrel lens (enlarger lenses for example) focused it is better to have a hollow autofocus adapter between camera and bellows so subject distance remains fixed. I thought about using an old Canon EF lens focusing mechanism for that or suggesting this macro accessory to Metabones or another adapter manufacturer till I saw this announcement yesterday:

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/hot-worlds-first-techart-m-mount-to-e-mount-autofocus-adapter/

Had to happen in my opinion. So for Sony mirrorless an adapter like that should be easy for macro work too, to make the rear of a bellows into an M-mount can not be difficult. 4 mm focusing helicoid is not much but the bellows will do the main focusing first I guess.  I will wait with that adaption till I can afford a Sony.

Added some images of diverse adaptions on the FD auto bellows. In practice the classic Canon solution for reversed adaption with aperture closed by twin shutter cable and an FD macro lens + an auto focus adapter between camera and bellows would be the best solution.

auto aperture solution between reversed Sigma and EF mount

For both adapter sides a 20 Euro film EF camera + lens was used

Leica thread El Nikkor mounted on the bellows front adapter that also allows reversion of some macro lenses

Leica thread to Schneider thread makes a Componon mount possible. The two enlarger lenses can be reversed too but no access to the aperture ring then. Mounting reversed on the filter thread is possible like shown in the following image with a 180mm Componon and aperture ring can be accessed.

Classic Canon reversed mounting, the other shutter cable should get a reed switch to trigger a digital camera, or nicer an electronic actuator on the FD aperture mechanism and a radio trigger for that and the camera.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
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