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Using a nikon pb-6m with a pb-6 bellows


javed_shakoor

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<p>I am trying to take photos of coins with a D700 and a 55/2.8 macro lens with the above equipment. The problem I am having is that the pb-6m attaches to the end of the pb-6 and there is not enough distance to focus. What am I doing wrong and, basically, how does one use a pb-6m with a pb-6?<br>

Thanks in advance.</p>

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<p>With the 55 Micro and a PB-6 you get a magnification ratio over 3:1. The working distance is about 10-20mm.<br /> If you look for a higher magnification than the PB-6 provides (!!), you need to add even more extension. The working distance will be then even shorter, so it could be that with the PB-6M the focus plane fall inside the lens cone, I guess.<br /> If you reverse the 55 Micro at such magnifications, you`ll gain a few millimeters in working distance.<br /> Better to use a shorter lens, reversed. With the PB-6 (only) you can get near 10X, with a 20-24mm lens, with a similar working distance.<br /> I don`t have a PB-6M, but I suspect it`s intended to use with longer lenses.<br /><br /></p>
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<p>The mentioned lens goes to 1:2 alias 0,5x magnification as such. With an 25 mm extension (tube) you get 0,5x - 1x magnifications.<br>

What kind of magnification ratios are you aiming at? PBs are better with higher ratios/ longer lenses. Also PBs have a certain minimum extension built in, that may even bigger than 25 mm. <br>

See what you can get with that lens alone, then add components to the rig one at a time.</p>

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<p>As the others have said you can get pretty huge magnification using just a PB-6 and a 55 mm lens. It is highly likely that if you add the extra extension of a PB-6M the working distance (distance from lens to subject) will become so small as to unworkable. Try with the PB-6 alone first, with the bellows on minimum extension, and move the object to and from the lens. When you can achieve focus try increasing the extension. It is likely that you won't need any more than that provided by the PB-6 alone.</p>

 

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I did and, actually, I did much better when I used a 60/2.8 lens. When set to life-size this lens gave me better working

distance and excellent sharpness.

Having said all this, and after spending all that money on it, I must confess I don't see much use for a PB-6M! Can't think

of many situations where I'd use it, especially with those clips on each side. If you're photographing a coin, you would

need to stick it on to a cardboard or something to keep those clips out of the image.

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<p>After your last post I looked in my files and found a Nikon close-up catalogue from about 1984! It shows the PB6M on a PB6 and the lens looks like a 55mm f/2.8 AIS. I suspect the trouble is that the object image distance is essentially fixed so that with any particular lens the magnification is fixed too. Did you have to use an extension tube to fit the bellows to the D700? If so that may have meant that the lens/bellows combination was no longer working as intended. I can't see the use for the clips either except perhaps to fix something like a microscope slide when the bellows are horizontal in order to trans-illuminate the object.</p>
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  • 8 years later...

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