Nikon ES-2 Duplicator with Nikon 55mm f2.8 lens

I just received my Nikon ES-2 Kit for duplicating slides and film strips. I know it is designed to be used with modern Nikon 60mm AF lenses. My question deals with how much extension is needed if I use it with my older Nikon 55mm f2.8 lens for a 35mm slide to be in sharp focus?

With my Nikon manual focus tubes, I am using the PN-11 tube (52.5mm extension) and the PK-11A (8mm extension). This seems to give me a sharp (in focus) image with the FH-5 holder used with tow thin mount slides, but I am guessing I am magnifying a portion of the slide.

Does anyone know what extension is needed for 1 : ! using Nikon or Kenko or other third party extension tubes on a FX Nikon body (D 800e, D810 or D850).

The instructions that came with the ES2 are silent on use with older manual focus lenses.

Joe

I just realized that the ES-2 can be adjusted to different lengths as it moves back and forth on a sleeve. To get a sharp image that appears to be 1:1 , I have added two Nikon manual focus extension tubes: PK13 (27.5mm) and the PK11A (8mm). With these added and with the ES-2 almost fully expended all seems to be sharp and 1:1.

I am guessing that an old 52mm filter ring (minus glass) could be added if I needed a little more extension.

Hope this helps others.

Joe

Joe, Thanks for the heads up.

Where did you buy your ES-2?

All EU online shops seems to be back ordered at the moment.

I’m considering getting one from Japan, but the import fees and VAT will make significantly more expensive than local list price - which is already steep.

In order to use the 55/2.8 Macro, you need two extensions, one for the lens and one for the ES-2.

You need an extension between the lens and camera body (or adapter) in order to attain 1:1 magnification. The lens is only capable of 1:2 otherwise. The easiest way is to use a Nikon PK13 extension (27.5 mm), designed specifically for this purpose.

You also need a small extension between the lens (filter ring) and the ES-2. The ES-2 comes with three focusing tubes, 52 mm, 62 mm short and 62 mm long. The 55/2.8 has a 52 mm filter ring, but the 52 mm tube is too short (it is designed for a DX 45mm macro). One of the 62 mm tubes was nearly right, but a little too short for stability. I found that a 52-62 mm filter step-up adapter was just right. (The other 62 mm tube was not suitable).

To focus the ES-2 with a FF camera, you set the lens at its closest focus and slide the ES-2 on its adapter tube until the slide is in focus. That's hard to do with any precision, and just as hard to adjust if slides vary thickness or curvature. I set the lens at 1:1 then back off the focusing ring a little. I rough focus with the sliding tube, then focus precisely with the lens barrel. The net magnification is less than 1:1, but of no significance. The FOV is still greater than the opening in the slide mount.

I forget which 62 mm tube to use, but there are only two. The process is much simpler than writing a PhD thesis ;)

Thanks for the great comments.

FYI, I bought mine at B & H Photo video. It was on backorder for 9-12 months. I think they are out of stock right now, but say that more are on the way.

Here is the way I have mine set up for now: Camera, then PK 13, then PK 11A, then 55mm f2.8 lens, then ES-2. I can see why extension between the front of the lens and the ES-2 makes sense. I will have to experiment to see what I can do to make that happen. On another site, I saw where someone said they were using a Nikon k5 52mm tube, whatever that is, between the 55mm f2.8 lens and the ES-2.

If you want more magnification, use a PN-11 tube attached to the camera. I am using that too when I do not need the whole slide duplicated in 1 : 1.

Here are some pictures of my ES-2 attached to a Nikon PN-11 tube and a Nikon D800E. My old 35mm lightbox is my light source. Camera is set to ISO 200. lens is set to f8 when image is taken. Aperture priority. Camera set the shutter speed. Self timer is set to minimize any shake from triggering the exposure.

I am guessing that reproduction ratio is slightly above 1: 1. Since I am digitizing slides with people in them, I really do not care about exact 1:1 duplication.

Here is the way I have mine set up for now: Camera, then PK 13, then PK 11A

Just curious why the PK11A is fitted. The PK-13 alone allows 1:1 magnification with a 55mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor.

Self timer is set to minimize any shake from triggering the exposure.

If you use flash for the exposure, it minimises any chance of shake. You simply need a speedlight fitted in the hotshoe and reflected off a white surface - card, foamcore, whatever - about 18" to 2' in front of the ES-2. IIRC I usually only need about a 1/8th 'power' setting on the speedlight, which gives a fraction of a millisecond burst of light.

Wait for it.....

And yes; I've trotted out this tired old picture again!

IIRC I usually only need about a 1/8th 'power' setting on the speedlight, which gives a fraction of a millisecond burst of light.

Rear curtain sync with electronic first curtain...?

Metering?

Rear curtain sync with electronic first curtain...?

None of that nonsense. Just straightforward X synch.

Metering?

Organic Opto-cerebral servo feedback control.

In other words, I just eyeball it until it's right. That slide or negative strip ain't going nowhere, so it can be chimped to your heart's content.

I supposed i-TTL could be used. Never tried it, cos I know from experience that 1/8th manual power on the speedlight is gonna be close to smack on.

In other words, I just eyeball it until it's right.

Post exposure histogram?

Where-as, a continuous source, AKA a lightbulb, is much easier....;)

I tried my Nikon SB-800 flash and that works too. I found that using my old 35mm slide viewing box that is daylight balanced made things easier, but increases the shutter speed needed. Outdoors with a blue sky was not the best.

In doing more tests of configurations, my current thinking is to use two of my Nikon manual focus extension tubes, PK13 and PK 12, 27.5 mm and 14mm respectively and focus the 55mm lens (extend its barrel, length) to get proper focus. I have set the ES-2 to its maximum extension.

I discovered that moving the ES-2 on its sleeve (about 13-15mm of movement allowed) is not the best way to achieve accurate focus. If you had Kenko tubes, I would, suggest starting with two tubes, 36mm and 12mm tubes. If you have only one extension tube, then buy 52mm spacers and attach them between the lens and the ES-2.

I had the same thought as Rodeo Joe had about why the PK 13 would not be enough. That was my first configuration. The answer must have something to do with the length of the ES-2.measured from the front of the 35mm slide, about 54mm. .

If you do not want to focus the 52mm lens, set it at infinity. Then use a PN-11 tube (52.5mm) and a Pk 12 tube (14mm) of extension. The ES-2 length has to be shortened about 2-4mm to get proper focus.

When I measure everything, from the camera mount to the front of the slide I get about 178mm, plus or minus 2mm.

You could probably build your own Adapters using step down rings from xxx mm to 52mm and 52mm spacers.

The ES-2 should have been made from metal and not plastic. I have no idea why Nikon thought plastic was better.

The answer must have something to do with the length of the ES-2.measured from the front of the 35mm slide, about 54mm. .

I don't see that. 1:1 magnification requires the same distance from subject to front of lens no matter what means is used to extend the lens from the camera

I've copied film using both f/2.8 and f/3.5 versions of 55mm Micro-Nikkor. In either case a single PK-13 tube was sufficient to fill the digital frame with the film frame.

The K series tubes, mentioned earlier, are Male to Female 52mm thread extension tubes. As someone also suggested, a cheap 52mm filter with the glass removed can serve as a short front extender.

WRT flash as the illumination; it works for me. There's very little need to adjust the exposure once a power setting and reflector distance have been found. But if someone wants to risk vibration using longer continuous-source exposures, why should I care?

I use a desk lamp and auto-exposure. At f/5.6, the shutter speed is typically 1/4 second. The whole assembly is screwed together and resting on a table. Out of hundreds of slides, I find no evidence of camera shake, even at 61 MP resolution. The electronic first shutter imparts no vibration. I have thought about using a remote release (e.g., USB), but find no reason for doing so.

Using an HDMI monitor allows you to center the slide and focus with minimal disturbance to the setup. The HDMI output can be configured to mirror (replace) the rear LCD screen, including focus magnification.

The ES-2 is constructed of a high grade engineering plastic. Unlike thin metal it doesn't bend or dent.

desk lamp

Incandescent (Tungsten) bulb I'm guessing?

For various macro and copying work these days, I use the slightly blue tinted "daylight" commercial incandescent. It seems to work just fine with ACB on the camera or sensing side. Anything more in color correction is easily done in post-processing.

Of course, I'm talking digital, not film, where much more care needs to be taken with color balance.

That's AWB, of course..:oops:

or is it:confused:

Actually, I find that an LED daylight bulb works as well as an incandescent light. Modern bulbs use an UV LED to excite a well balanced phosphor, which has a smooth black body like spectrum. There is a spike at 480 mmicrons (near UV), which doesn't seem to affect the color balance. I have an LED panel which is 5500K, rated CIE 95, but I haven't used it yet. I take the precaution of setting the white balance (deg K) with the empty film holder. I attached an example, shown as-is without cropping or color correction.

Here is an update on using the ES-2 with my 55mm f2.8 manual focus lens.

1. The instructions were not clear about what side of the slide or the negative should be taken, the clear side or the emulsion side. I tried both and settled on the clear side as I could see not difference between the two images and the clear side meant that I did not have to flip the image during post processing. (I do not use Adobe products so that factored into the decision as well. ) I do have and still use Nikon Capture NX-2, but the flip function under Edit is not working on my windows pcs.

2. Focusing accurately was my biggest challenge even using Live View. Manual focusing took so much time I finally decided to buy a used Nikon 60mm f2.8 G macro lens. In Live View, I can use AF to focus. And since I use Back Button focusing, focusing with the AF ON button makes the process so much easier and faster. If you have a lot of slides or negatives to digitize, use a lens where AF will work. If you use a Nikon 60mm macro lens, you have two choices, the older D version or the G version, the current one being sold. I chose the G version so I could get the most out of the D 850's sensor.

3. With a D 850, digitizing negatives into positive pegs is so easy to do. If you want RAW files, you can make them but then you have to invert the tone curve during post processing to get a positive. That is easy to do so if that is your preference do it. For negatives where I felt special processing might be needed, I made both a RAW (negative) and a Jpeg (positive). Both can be done during Live View while the image is viewed in the D 850.

4. A constant light source, from a light tablet or a viewing box was am easier way for me to light my slides or negatives. I used my flash too, but decided the constant light source made the process easier.

5. I also used my Nikon D 800e with very good results. I does not have the negative digitizer, but it gets the job done.

In Live View, I can use AF to focus

Which AF point/points do you use? and what aperture?

Mike, good questions. I used Aperture Priority and an f stop of f8 when I took the shot.

To focus in Live View I moved the focus square usually to the subject's eyes or other part of the image I wanted in sharp focus. I chose S in all of the shots as best as I can recall. Then I used the AF ON button. White Balance was set to Daylight most of the time.

1) If you shoot from the back (shiny) side, you do not have to flip the scan. That works well for me with both slides and negatives. I focus on the grain, so there's no difference in sharpness. To manage Newton's Rings In a scanner (which reverses the image), it's best to place the emulsion side toward the lens. Film usually cups toward the emulsion side, so emulsion side down only touches the glass at the edges. The back is against anti-Newton (textured) glass.

2) The best way to focus is connecting a monitor to the HDMI port of the camera, with HDMI Data minimized and enabled. That way you can use the magnification focusing option, which makes focusing on the grain easy, with minimal handling of the camera rig. Theoretically AF cannot work at 1:1 reproduction. Even manual focusing is problematic. I back off the lens focus a bit, rough focus with the tube extension of the ES-2, and finish with the lens. That might be enough to allow AF. AF works easily with a DX camera, because the reproduction ration is 1:1.5.

3) I use "Negative Lab Pro" inversion software . It's a plugin for Lightroom, and works directly on RAW files. Like other adjustments in LR, it is non-destructive. I scanned over 1000 images in three two-hour sessions last week with near perfect results. I don't have a D850, but Photoshop has a negative conversion option, which works poorly.

4) I agree. If you set the WB with an empty holder, results are not affected by difference in the orange mask, nor by predominant colors in the image. An LED Daylight replacement bulb works well. For my marathon conversion sessions, I used a small CRI 95 light panel by LumeCube, set to 5500K.

5) "Negative Lab Pro" works with any camera, RAW, TIFF or JPEG image, in Lightroom. I straighten and crop each image (which takes the most time), the process the images in a batch. It takes about one minute to process three rolls (>100 images).

Film has curvature, and there's not much you can do about it. Slides bulge in the center towards the backside. Film strips tend to curl, especially at the ends, even when stored flat in archival polypropylene pages. So how and where do you focus?

First of all, use the camera in live view mode. Sony (and all mirrorless) cameras are 100% live view. Sony offers focus magnification of 5x or 12x in a spot you can move around with the joy stick control. Film curvature can exceed the meager depth of field near 1:1 reproduction (I use f/5.6, or never beyond f/8). I usually take the easy way out and focus in the center, roughly at full frame, then successively at 5x and 12x for grain sharpness. At times I have focused roughly midway between the center and one corner. While easy enough to do, I don't find it helps much. The exception is when the image is not dense enough at a particular location to see the grain. Besides, the most important detail is near the center, and the corners generally less so.

The ES-2 clamps to the sliding tube with a thumbscrew, which proves to be quite stable against the extra handling when using film or slide holders. I check the focus from time to time, but it doesn't change much in use. Out of 6 frames, I focus on frames 2-5 rather the ends. If I see significant curl, I focus separately at the ends. Using a monitor (which can be a TV set) makes focusing very easy and quick. More important, a monitor makes straightening and centering the image more precise.

The ES-1 film holder does not have a clamp screw, and can twist or slip if mishandled. In practice, that's not a problem if you are reasonably careful. Furthermore I find the ES-1 much quicker to use than the ES-2 when copying slides.

You cannot copy film strips for the ES-2 without touching the film in an image area when loading the holder and centering the film.. As a precaution, I use cotton "inspection" gloves, which are cool to wear and nearly lint-free. After loading the holder, I use a blower to remove any lint, or better yet a small anti-static brush. I clean each side upside down so that any debris falls away. That seems to work very well, and I rarely have to re-scan an image because of dust (<1 in 100).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AE67U?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

Just curious why the PK11A is fitted. The PK-13 alone allows 1:1 magnification with a 55mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor.

 

(snip)

It depends on what you want to do.

Slide mounts have an opening a little smaller than the image on the film, and even if they don't,

many have rounded corners. If you want all image and no mount, you need a little more

than 1:1 magnification. Or you can crop after the shot.

If you want all that is visible, then 1:1 or a little less. Sometimes I like the rounded

corners to be visible, as it reminds me that the original is a slide.

And it is different in the case of negatives, again depending on what you want,

and a little depending on the actual size of the frame from the camera.