Which Bellows PB-4 or PB-6

I've been borrowing a bellows from a friend for the last little while to use

with some enlarging lenses and for macro work with other lenses. I know I'm

going to buy one for myself shortly.

 

The borrowed bellows is a PB-5. But, I cant see anyway in which the PB-6 isn't a

direct replacement. So the options are a PB-4 or a PB-6. I'm attracted by the

(slight) Tilt/Shift abilities of the PB-4 but realize the PB-4 sacrifices some/a

fair bit of length over the PB-6. My main question is: is that extra length

really all that useful for macro? Or does light-loss start to really eat away at

the possibilities anyways. Someone must think you want all that extra extension

since Nikon even makes an extra extension to the PB-6 bellows.

 

If I get the PB-4 for its T/S abilities will I regret the lost length?

 

My main macro interests are live insects in a garden setting (for which a

bellows is probably a very, very poor choice) and plants and their parts (i.e.

stamens, pollen, seed heads, etc...). I don't do inanimate macro photography.

 

I will be using either a D80 or FM2n.

As they say, size is not everything:-)

 

It applies here too. You can always get cheap extension tubes and put behind the bellows if you need closer focusing....it works fine for me.

 

Not sure how practical t/s lens will be with wildlife, it's not a fast setup. I use it, but mostly for still life subjects.

Since you're using a PB-5, you probably realize that some means of moving the whole assembly in relation to the subject is necessary. It's also way out of balance, leading to vibration and instability, if you mount it at the front or back, the only two choices. I made an aluminum plate that connects front and back, with mounting holes in various places over the length. Obviously, the better solution is the more expensive bellows with positioning built in. IMO, bellows are pretty specialized, and best used when you need precise control over the exact magnification. Slide copying comes to mind. For everything else, extension tubes are as good or better. I don't find length to be an issue, as I prefer to change magnification by changing lenses, not hanging the lens a mile out from the camera.

Ian, I bought my PB-4 in 1970, have never got any benefit from the shift and swing. It has no tilt, only swing; when it is put on its side, then it will have tilt but no swing.

 

Pardon my ignorance about the PB-6. If it has an integral focusing rail and movable front standard, as the PB-4, and is longer then it is the bellows for you.

Thanks for the responses so far.

 

Conrad, I want to mount a variety of lenses (a bellows-nikkor and some el-nikkors) that don't have focusing mounts in them and I need the bellows to allow some focusing. So, extension tubes wouldn't be a complete solution.

 

Dan, the PB-6 has that integral focusing rail and movable front standard and is longer. But, I have another question, even if you didn't find the swing/shift useful, was it ever actually in the way or a problem? Furthermore, have you ever actually wished for more extension?

One advantage of the PB-6 over the PB-4 is the removable/reversible front standard. This allows lenses to be reversed without the need for adapter rings like the BR-2/BR-2A. You do lose some length of course. However, you can add an extender bellows to almost double the length.

 

I agree with the other poster that the swing on the front standard of the PB-4 is more marketing than engineering.

 

I think the PB-6 is the best value.

The PB-7. It has the electronics to measure distance and auto-adjust an SB-600 or SB-800 down to whatever exposure is needed... oh, wait, I must be dreaming!

 

I do enjoy my PB-6. I have to use an extension tube on it anyway for clearance to mount my D200 with the MB-200, but I like having the control over magnification.

Ian, I use my PB-4 on a copy stand. My subjects can be tilted or moved as needed, so there's no need to move the image over the film plane or swing the lens. I don't use it in the field, too heavy and slow-working.

 

To use, e.g., process lenses on a Nikon SLR in the field I use a cheap Zenit (M39) bellows with adapters. And to use real macro lenses, e.g., Luminars, on a Nikon SLR in the field I use a Minolta Compact Bellows, adapters, and LTM tubes (see below) as needed.

 

Note that no lens in Nikon F mount will focus to infinity when mounted off a camera's body. This means that a Nikkor on PB-4 can't be used at any distance at all, so one can't play view camera games with a Nikon on a PB-4. It can be done with short mount lenses, but in general I can't see why to bother.

 

I just leave the PB-4's front standards' latches latched. The front standard's movements don't get in the way at all.

 

When I need more extension I put extension tubes on one end (or the other) of the bellows. My lenses that need a lot of extension are in RMS thread, I have an RMS to M39x26 adapter and a Novoflex NIKLEI and LTM tubes are cheap. So there I am.

 

Richard, I use a BR-2 to reverse lenses with 52 mm filter threads, a BR-4 with dual cable release to stop down at exposure time. Cheap, cheerful, and the BR-4 works fine on a reversed lens.

 

Good luck, have fun,

 

Dan

I have three PB-4 bellows. If I didn't need three bellows that matched, I'd change over to PB-6 (especially since they come up used all the time at good prices).

 

PB-6 feels sturdier to me (OK, that's subjective) and it has more room to accommodate today's bulkier cameras.

 

Any PB-4 that you get, no matter how little used or carefully stored, is a 20+ year old piece of equipment with a coated, flexible cloth component that may have gotten brittle, rotted, or developed pin-point sized light leaks.

 

As others have pointed out, the PB-4 tilt and shift is more of a gimmick, although it is useful on occasion, especially when using short lenses like a 63mm.

 

I find the PB-6 reversible front standard to also be a gimmick, it puts a big old lens board on the back of the lens, facing the subject. This gets in the way of lighting and manipulating your subject. I like the smaller rear element of a reversed lens (which I always protect with a BR-6 (updated version of Dan's BR-4), much smaller than a PB-6 lens board).

Dan, you're as bad as me, with the Photars, Luminars, RMS adapters, M39 adapters, BR-6 on the reversed lenses, double cable release, etc...

 

I have some Ultra-Micro Nikkors...

 

Have you ever put three bellows together on a rail with a reversed 35mm f1.4? That lens is a stellar performer reversed with 700mm of extension for 20x magnification.

Here is a snap shot of items discussed above. They do work as advistised. Front to back BR2A (Good for reverse mount a 55mm micro nikkor on a bellow (1X-5X). Zeiss luminar 25mm f3.5 macro lens on a RMS to M39 adapter(for 6X+), LTM tubes of various sizes (light yet solid), Minolta compact bellow, a light weight bellow for the field with a M40 mount. E2 ring (and alternative option to BR4 for stop down a reversed lens). Picture taken with a Nikkor short mount 135mm + PB4 bellow with some swing (for max DOF).<div></div>

Joe, I didn't mention the various Novoflex and reverse-T adapters I use. Whatever will connect camera to lens and give no more extension than needed ...

 

I fell into the adapter hole when my only camera was a Nikkormat and I lucked into a 135/2.8 Auto-Macro-Tele-Quinon in Exakta mount. Hanging it on the Nikkormat took two Novoflex adapters (LEIEX, NIKLEI). This arrangement cut the lens' far focusing distance to around 1 m. Plenty, in a word.

 

I don't see how our brethren who stick with "standard issue" can have much fun.

 

Tommy, thanks for posting the images. When the E-2 was the only thing of its kind I bought one. Since it is "push to open aperture" and I've never found a dual cable release with one cable that pushes and another that retracts when the plunger is pushed, I find the BR-4 much more useful. If I had a hand or two more than the normal complement I might think better of the E-2. But using an E-2 is certainly preferable to turning the lens' diaphragm control ring before shooting, with it there's much less risk of shifting the point of aim.

 

Cheers,

 

Dan

Tommy, that Minolta Compact bellows looks like just thing for taking a few bellows lenses into the field. Do you know where you can get one? I've tried searching ebay and the used section at KEH etc... but, can't seem to find anything identifiable as that unit. Did the Compact bellows have a model number or other specific name that might help me track one down? Thanks.

I guess my last post was little premature. I managed to find one for sale in brittain and foudn that there were a couple come up on ebay in the last few months. So, I just need a little bit of patience and another will undoubtedly come up.

 

But, that compact bellows is just the perfect thing for taking some el-nikkors out to Algonquin park for some camping and UV photography.

Ian, you will need adapters at both ends. I don't know if Minolta made a MINLEI equivalent, I use that Novoflex adapter on mine.

 

An alternative to a string of adapters at the rear to get from male MD to male Nikon F is to remove the male MD mount at the rear and replace it with a male F mount. One of my neighbors who shoots modern Contax SLRs (C/Y mount) replaced both MD mounts on his compact bellows with C/Y mounts. I'd have done that if the screw holes had lined up.

 

If you shoot your El-Nikkor above 1:1 -- there's no reason to shoot an El Nikkor below 1:1 if you have a Micro Nikkor -- don't forget to reverse it.

 

Cheers,

 

Dan

 

Cheers,

 

Dan

This reply is somewhat dated but for those that would like something similar to a Minolta Compact Bellows you can find a cheap, third-party, bellows on eBay or someplace. Then cut the rails by 100mm or so. The Minolta Compact Bellows is about 28mm compact and 90mm extended.

 

Then of course there are extension tubes.

<p>R Meyers noted that the front standard on the PB-6 is reversible and would allow reversing the lens without using adapters. It is possible detach the bellows from the front standard, roll the standard off the end of the rail, turn it 180 degrees and slide it back on the rail; that much is true. But it is impossible to: 1) reattach the bellows to the reversed standard for no less than three reasons and 2) reverse-mount a lens. The problem is that the 52mm threads on both the standard and lens’ filter ring are female. Best to leave the standard in its’ normal position and simply use a BR-2 or BR-2A, which have a Nikon F male mount on one side and 52mm male threads on the other.</p>

<p>Clarification: if wanting to reverse-mount a lens, the front standard should first be reversed and then a lens is mounted <em>between</em> the bellows and front standard.</p>

<p>I have had a PB-6 for over 15 years and love it. I went one step further and mounted the camera/bellows on a macro focusing rail to give me finer front and back and side to side control over movement. For the times I use my 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor reversed, which is often, I add a BR-6 to the lens to retain automatic aperture control (not included in this photo)<br /> <img src="http://scottmurphyphotography.org/images/Macro%20article/F4%20-%20PB-6.jpg" alt="" width="541" height="457" /></p>

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