Macro rings on TLR?

[adam_hoover]

I have recently acquired a Yaschicaflex TLR and I found to be its

minimum focusing distance of 1 meter to be quite poor for macro

work. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge about using close-

up filters with TLRs? For example, could I attach them to the

focusing lense to get the correct focus, then switch them to the

shutter lens to take the picture? Any other macro advise for TLRs

would be greatly appreciated.

[godfrey]

Yashica TLRs all used Bay I accessories. Rollei made the

Rolleinar Bay I close up sets (close up lens plus parallax

correcting prism for the viewing lens) which can be used with the

Yashis to good effect, although the framing might not be as

accurate due to differences in lens spacing. Overall they work

well and can be found used for reasonable money.

 

Your proposed technique also works but requires moving the

camera between focus and exposure to get the right framing.

This often leads to focus problems as well.

 

Godfrey

[tim_brown5]

One reason the Yashica doesn't focus closer than 1 meter is to avoid big parallex problems. Yes, you could swap a closeup lens back and fourth to get closer. Then parallax becomes prominent. You'll have to put the camera on a tripod and crank the post up and down by the same amount as the distance between the taking and viewing lens. You'll have to keep the camers level relative to the center post and position the subject for the desired angle of view. It's a real pain in the but. Mamiya amkes a widget called a paramender that does this a little more conveniently, but its movement is calibrated for the Mamiya TLRs. Yeah, you can do macro with the TLR but there are better ways, namely, an SLR.

[Bill Bowes]

Hello everyone. See my blurb of July 29 - 2002 under "rolleinar filter factors?". I have very good results with my old Spriatone 1,2, 3 set on my YashicaMats EM's. Bill

[graham_patterson1]

You do see some Mamiya Paramenders with a mark or paint on the column at 45mm in addition to the full 50mm displacement. This is put there by people using YashicaMats - which have a 45mm lens axis displacement.

 

Not that I have ever wanted to use mine with my YashicaMat. If I want to do something that a standard close-up lens and prism pair cannot achieve, I use the Mamiya.

 

The only advantage of close-up lenses is that the exposure can be directly measured without extension factors. Really powerful ones can be surprisingly expensive.

[Brian]

<P>To put it briefly, don't try macro with your TLR. That's not its strong point. For what you spend on close-up attachments and a paramender or other parallax-defeating device, you could buy an old 35mm SLR and take macro shots in comfort.</P><P>Sorry to be negative, but I honestly believe in the best tool for the job, and in this case it isn't the TLR.</P>

[graham_patterson1]

That's a fair statement. It does assume that one has 35mm equipment with the desired range. Equally you could use 5x4 and up, with attendant inconveniences and benefits.

 

Since the usual definition of 'macro' is 1:1 or better, none of the TLRs can actually do it 8-)

 

The best camera for any task is the one you actually have. The second best is one purpose designed for the job that you do not have and do not know how to use. Of course you have to accept that some tasks are beyond you.

 

I used to use +3 diopter closeup lenses on a Voigtlander Vito B. That convinced me that an SLR was a sound move!