Instructions for BP 6 bellows

[juri_vosu]

Greetings,

I have searched high and low for info on BP6 with no success. I read

that the front standard could be used for reverse lens mounting

without using a BR 2a adapter. There is no male screw mount, only on

the back of the standard there is a female screw mount. I assume that

would be for filters etc. Any help would be appreciated.

[vivek iyer]

Try searching for a PB-6 bellows.

[joseph_wisniewski]

Juri, the reversible standard on the PB-6 (like Vivek said, not BP) is about the most useless feature imaginable. You mount the lens to the front side of the standard, then reverse the entire standard so that the lens faces the bellows and the standard faces your subject. This allows you to keep your double cable release connected to the front standard and still use it to stop down the lens.

 

This means you have to work around the large standard, instead of the smaller back of the lens, making it much harder to light your subject. Those female filter threads allow you to mount a filter over the rear element of your reversed lens, to protect it.

 

My "normal" solution is about $80 more expensive. I prefer to reverse mount the lens onto the bellows using a Nikon BR-2 reversing ring. Then I mount a Nikon BR-6 "aperture control" ring to the rear of the reversed lens, and connect my cable release to the BR-6. The BR-6 also provides female 52mm threads so you can mount a filter.

 

If you're not using a double cable release, and you don't care about putting a filter over the rear element of the lens, get yourself a Nikon BR-2 (about $30) or a generic Nikon mount reversing ring ($15-20) and use that to mount the reversed lens on the "normal" (not reversed) front standard of the PB-6.

 

There are some photographers who hate the double cable release, claiming that it adds vibration. I've found the best way to fight that is to firmly attach the double release cable to the bellows rail with a couple of pieces of double sided Velcro (possibly the most useful substance in the world, outshining even duct tape itself).

[lee hamiel]

Juri:

 

See this article - info on using the PB-6 is included.

 

http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/nikon_articles/other/close-up_macro/macro_1.html

[joseph_wisniewski]

Lee - thanks.

 

That's exactly what I meant. Look at the top right picture. Instead of reversing the front standard of the PB-6, he left the front standard in normal position, and mounted the lens reversed with a BR-2 ring, then attached his double cable release to the lens with a BR-6 ring, and also mounted a filter on that BR-6.

 

Although the author later comments that he no longer uses double cable releases, I still find them useful.

[juri_vosu1]

Thanks for the info.