Slide copying with the Asahi bellows II

[david richhart]

I have the Asahi bellows II and the slide copier attachment that goes with it.

I have my Pentax digigtal camera and a Takumar 55mm lens hooked up and all

ready to go. The system works well, but I cannot find a combination that will

allow me to take a full frame copy of the slide. The best I can do is only

about 60% or so. <p>

What lens do I need, or extra macro-tube do I need to get the 100% copy? Is a

Takumar macro lens the answer? Thanks to all.

[JDMvW]

While I don't know this particular set-up, I am guessing that it copies as you have it set up at a 1:1 (full size). However, your digital camera is a smaller format so 1:1 only copies a portion of the original slide. This is a case where you need to cut back on the magnification to get all the slide on your smaller sensor camera.

[david richhart]

JDM... I had not thought of that. With the 1.5 digital factor figured in I think I will have to get down around 35mm for the same results?

[donnie_strickland]

I have used a bellows for this, but currently I use this setup:

 

Extension tube on camera body, then 55mm macro lens, then 62-52mm step-down ring, then 3 old 52mm filter rings with the glass out, then the slide copier. The slide copier has 52mm threads which screw into the filter rings. The filter rings are the key. They get the slide copier far enough away from the end of the lens so that I can get the whole slide in the viewfinder.

 

You might try getting the slide a little further away from the end of the bellows.

[mc2imaging]

I tried my FA 35 and a Super-Tak 28 on my K10D, both with poor results.

 

The combo that works for me is a 35-80 f/4 set around 70-75mm with the camera at the

back end of the bellows.

 

The problem I've had with the shorter lenses is that I can't get the lens close enough to

the camera body. Perhaps a 35mm with a short extension tube is the trick, removing the

bellows and the lens mount from the rail.

 

The up side to my setup is that I have more depth of field with the camera at the back of

the rail. The down side is that I don't have the bellows closed around the front of the lens,

but I haven't noticed an adverse affect.<div></div>

[ronald_moravec1]

If memory serves me properly, there is supposed to be a bellows lens shade that clips to the lens This is an expandable device just like the bellows. The slide copier goes on the end of the bellows shade.

 

Without more distance from the lens to the slide, you will only get partial image.

 

A macro lens has a flatter field and is corrected for close distances and is far better than the standard lens. The 50 and 100mm macro lenses made for Pentax were exceptional lenses. There were 50 4.0 auto diaphragm and manual diaphrage, 100 mm bellows with no focus mount, and a 100 mm with a focus mount to be used without the bellows.

 

For now, do not make a solid connection from the slide to the lens. Instead put the slide on a a piece of opal glass illuminated from below. Then put the camera, bellows, lens above it supported by a copy stand or tripod. move the bellows up and down until you find the proper distance when the slide is in focus. If less than full slide shows, but is in focus, retract the bellows some and repeat. If some of the mount shows,but the slide is in focus, extend the lens and refocus by moving the whole rig.

 

Reproduction ratio is set by lens extension. Focus is achieved by moving the camera+bellows as a unit. All macro photo work is done this way.

 

Having space around the slide on the opal glass serves to "flash" the camera film with a controlable amount of stray light thus reducing contrast. Building contrast is a normal result of the process and is why special slide copying films were made, however they are considered labratory film for experienced workers and they require special filtration for each batch. I do not believe they are still made.

 

If you get too little contrast, block off a portion of the surrounding area on the opal glass.

 

In short, ditch the slide holder. They are an amateur accesory.

[donnie_strickland]

All of my Kodachromes in this thread were shot with my above-mentioned setup:

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00OEIi

[tommyinca]

To account for the 35mm film to 1.5X crop sensor size differences, you need to

 

a. Set bellow to 1:1.5 magnification (36mm fills the view finder). This copy a 36 by 24mm film to the 24 by 16 sensor. Note: If you have a large bellow, the minumum magnification may be more then 1:1.5 with a 55mm lens. In which case, you will need a longer focal length lens.

 

b. Find way to extend the slide further such that the slide is in focus while the bellow is set for 1:1.5. On a 50/2.8 FA macro, this distant is about 67mm from the filter edge to the slide. On a 55mm, it is a bit longer. Try 74mm.

 

c. Focus your slide. Put a difuser in front of the slide. Point your flash to a white wall and fire.

[tommyinca]

I checked using a Takumar 55/1.8. Correction: You will need about 25mm of extension for the 55mm/1.8 to reach 1:1.5 within its focus helicoid's range. This is too short for most bellow including the small type. You will also need about 120mm from filter ring to slide, not the 74mm which I estimated (wrong). Better use the 50mm FA macro like I did. better result anyway :-)

[fast_primes]

Fundamental question here--assuming usage of a top macro lens (perhaps an Olympus 35mm macro) and a great sensor (say a Pentax 20D), just how close to a well scanned slide via a dedicated slide scanner could a traditional slide copy system come?

[donnie_strickland]

I can only speak of my experience with my equipment (*istDS and Ricoh 55mm macro lens), but I think it's very close. It's hard to quantify that, but it's close enough that I only ever scan a few slides any more; those that I plan on enlarging to 8X10 or larger. For my needs, the slide copier is just much quicker and easier for me than scanning.