michael_matsil

Yes. Thanks to both of you for your advice. I'm going with the rubber band trick. Keeping the lens about 3/8" from fully collapsed does not touch anything within the camera body. 👍

Hi All. Does it stand to reason that with this combination, the Elmar can be completely collapsed into the camera body (like it would if mounted on a Leica M mount camera?). The M flange to focal plane distance is 27.8mm. The L flange to focal plane distance is 20mm. The L to M adapter measures very close to 8mm. Will the back of the Elmar collapsed clear the sensor? Appears so, the math says 'yes'. Are there any other factors I'm not considering? Thanks, Mike

Got it...

NHSN.... thanks for your advice and thanks to the rest of you too. I do like those Valoi products, but for now, I have the Nikon ES-2 already. I also purchased the 2.8 55mm I saw on eBay along with the PK-13 tube. I'll work with that system for a while and see how the workflow feels. But I can definitely see the advantages of the Valoi system in terms of efficiency and certainly a bellows/rail system is the best for flexibility. In fact, somewhere in the gear closet, I believe I have an old Nikon bellows unit. For now, I really just have one 35mm BW neg project to work on and it is of a limited nature, so I'll find my workflow on that project and will consider different gear set ups if I have more film to digital projects come up.

Found this offering of the 2.8 55mm micro with PK-13 included for 1:1. This was a very highly regarded lens and the successor to the 3.5. Good deal at $200 for both lens and auto extension tube. 55mm Micro-Nikkor f2.8 Lens with Nikon PK-13 Auto Extension Ring | eBay

Just to add to my previous post: The PK-3 offers 27.5 mm of extension and you're saying that will give the 55mm 3.5 a 1:1 reproduction size. It appears that my set of five K rings can be combined as follows to come close to that 27.5. 1] K3 + K4 + K2 + K1 would give 26.6mm 2] K3 + K5 + K2 would give 30.8mm Would one of those provide 1:1 with the 55mm 3.5? These numbers are according to the following source: Extension Tubes - Nikon F2 Macro-photography

Thanks, regarding using an old Nikkor Micro! I happen to have a K3 extension ring from the Nikkor F Extension Ring Model K set which I also have. Is this the same PK-3 that you speak of? I've attached a picture of the ring. The kit appears to have rings/tubes K1, K2, K3, K4 & K5 for various extensions.

Yes to all of that! Thanks.

Hi All, I use a Nikon Z7 body and I'm looking for a high quality macro lens to digitize slides & negatives, utilizing Nikon's ES-2 Film Digitizing Adapter. I'm surveying the market for a lens that fits my description. I've come up with the following: 1] A plug & play option would be to get the Nikkor Z Micro 50mm. 1:1 reproduction. I think a bit pricey at $600 US for a dedicated digitizing only lens. It seems to be highly rated, but outsourced manufacturing to China seems to have left the build quality and tactile qualities lacking for some. Also, no "Nano Crystal" coating on the elements which is a feature on many Nikkor F & Z lenses. For reproduction work at macro distance, I will be focusing manually and there have been some complaints regarding the movement and feel of the ring on the lens. 2] I have the Canon lens to Z mount adapter, so I'm also looking at the Canon EF 50mm 2.5 Compact. This lens only reproduces to half life size, so it requires Canon's Life Size Converter EF which gets reproduction to 1:1, which is what I need for duplicating film. It is not a simple extension tube but has 4 elements of optics within, which Canon says optimizes super close up image quality. 3] Nikon 60mm 2.8 Micro Nikkor AF-D. 1:1 reproduction. I'm not really concerned about AF performance or if any lens I choose has AF at all because this is a dedicated digitizing lens and I probably will not use it in the field. All of these lenses seem to get thumbs up from most users for the critical needs of macro: distortion & sharpness. Any comments on these choices, especially if you have experience using any of them? Any other candidates I should consider? Thanks! Mike

Just started using this as a still camera. Spent a bunch of time getting to know the menus & such. But I'm flummoxed by the fact that every time I turn the camera on the ISO is set to 800, even though I set it to a lower ISO (typically 100) while using the camera. Does anyone out there who uses the fp or fp l know how to defeat this? I've searched high & low through the menus, including ISO sensitivity settings, etc. Thanks in advance.

Got it... thanks. Years ago I had a SC-17 Nikon TTL cable for that. Probably still have it somewhere.

Thanks Heimbrandt. I thought about a flash bracket, but I find that they make the camera extremely cumbersome to handle... but I'll consider that. TTL is a great starting point for exposure and for quick/spontaneous set up, but I almost always end up modifying it in an on-camera flash only situation. In a multi off-camera flash scenario, I would certainly go manual. In a combination of on-camera and off-camera, I would rely on modified TTL for "on" and manual for "off" (camera). Get the position and ratios of the off camera lights to shape the environment; then on camera for the prominent subject(s) in front of you. That being TTL (most likely with compensated setting... as well as a physical modifier.) In commercial photography terms, that would be an "event" or "meeting" type of set up. So, given that TTL goes away for the whole system if I use the sync, I can either find a flash bracket I'm comfortable with... or not use TTL for my Elinchrom off camera set up... which in my experience I'm very comfortable with. I'm wondering what happens to TTL of my on-camera speedlite if it is connected via sync... and not hot shoe. As I said, I don't shoot with flash brackets normally, so I haven't tried that.

I am incorrect about the Godox speedlites having full command function... but I am still interested in the Elinchrom transmitter and speedlite-on-camera combo. Can I just use the sync connection from the transmitter to camera and mount an independent speedlite on the camera's hot shoe?

Hi All, I'm considering purchasing some brand new Elinchrom lighting gear, which is being offered to me at a great discount. It's all latest stuff [ELB 500 TTL packs/heads, etc.] I have a question about the latest pro transmitter. Let's say I've got a couple of these strobes on stands set up in a room at a particular ratio, but I still want to have an on camera speedlite working independently. Is it possible to have the command control of the Transmitter Pro for the ELB 500 heads and also have a speedlite working from the camera hot shoe. I'm thinking the speedlite can go on the hot shoe and the Transmitter Pro can be connected connected to camera via sync cord. At one time, I was considering a Godox system because they make speedlites that have the command control system for external strobes built in to the speedlite. Eliinchrom does not make speedlites for their system. I'd like to get the Elinchrom system, because it's good gear and I'm getting a great price on virtually new stuff. I also do plenty of work without on camera speedlites, so this system is just what I want for general strobe work. Just want to check with you all regarding this particular functionality. Thanks!

Duly noted. I would suggest, a slight tweak of barrel/pin cushion distortion in post. Capturing into the unexposed area of the film will avoid any unwanted cropping of the image area. Also, the Makro-Planar 50mm f/2 design has a very flat field.

Hi all... I now have what I think is the complement of hardware I need to 'digitize' film in-camera. See attached photos. Mounted on the front of the Zeiss 50mm Makro Planar: Nikon ES-2 with the kit's 'adapter B' [62 to 52mm step down], mounted to another step down ring from the Zeiss's 67mm thread, to the adapter B's 62mm. On the back flange of the Zeiss is Nikon K-1 + K-2 + K-3 extension kit, in its shortest configuration (roughly 18mm), (hopefully) getting the Zeiss Makro from 1:2 to 1:1. After that, the Nikon FTZ adapter allowing F mount on the Z7 camera. So, nice 40+ MP resolution. Looking at the photo of my LCD screen, I can see the edge of the ES-2's slide holder in focus and the rectangle nearly filling the LCD... about 80% or so (?). The ES-2 is as close (short) as it can go on the adapter B. I'll play around with extension tube length as well as the front adapters and see if I can get 35mm film frame to fill more of the digital frame. Right now, I'm not sure I'm at 1:1. Chime in if you have any thoughts on this, which is a starting point. Thanks!

Yes. 67mm on my 50 Zeiss Makro. I ordered a 67 to 62 step down and then I will use one of the 52 to 62 end adapters that are part of the ES-2 kit. I also have a set of Nikon K extension tubes to handle the 1:2 to 1:1 transition. Because of the need to step down from 67 to 52, there is a possibility of vignetting. I did some approximate measurements, so I think my Zeiss just might sneak by without that happening. We'll see for sure when I get all the gear assembled. The objective here was to not have to buy another lens. But if there is a problem, I'll substitute a 55 Nikkor micro into the set up. Thanks!

Thanks again. I hadn't seen those links.

Hi again... Maybe David, you can answer this question. I've decided to eschew the idea of getting a Nikkor 55 micro and use my Zeiss Makro Planar 50. They're both 1:2. The Planar would be easy to get to 1:1 with the appropriate extension tube(s), which we've discussed above. Since I do not have a ES-2 yet, can you let me know how I can get the 67mm filter thread of my Zeiss to mate with the ES-2. I'd be able to figure this out, but I have not been able to determine how the ES-2 connects to its lens; is it threaded (inside or outside) or does it slide over its lens and lock down with the set screw? I know the kit comes with 2 adapters for a variety of contemporary Nikkor lenses (both for FX & DX). So I'm a little hazy on how I will get the ES-2 to be adapted to the 67mm. Thanks!

Actually... one more question if anyone knows: what adpater (step up/down ring) would I need to attach the ES-2 to a 55mm micro?

Thank you all! I think I have what I need to get started with this.

Thank you Jochen and David. This is all really interesting. It seems to me that the 55mm + PK-13 is a 'known quantity'. The lens has a storied history, the extension tube gets you to 1:1 and the ES-2 is convenient to use with 35mm films. So, I guess the only question would be reproduction quality of this rig. I may be able to assume (and then verify, with my own experience) that if it was good enough for my 'famous' photographer friend's retrospective exhibition I wrote of above, it should work for me well. Just make the rig stable and light the film properly. [A peak at that show, produced by Blazing Editions and ChromaLuxe found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0i-UBSW9aQ]

Right... the 55mm is 1:2, just as my Zeiss 50mm Makro Planar is. Would be great if I could use the Zeiss, but at 50mm instead of 55mm, the PK-13 may not be the right tube to get 1:1. May need a different length tube or stack tubes to get the right length? Any thoughts on that? Thanks.

Thank you David. I'm liking the ES-2 kit, because of the 35mm film strip holder. I have a digitizing project where I will be using that first. I also like the old 55mm Micro Nikkor. I understand that it resolves very well and has the desired flat field... is that your experience? I suppose with the 55, I will need a step up ring (52-62mm) to attach the ES-2 to the front. What would be the purpose of the PK-13 tube with that set up? I found this image of the set up we are talking about. It's amazing how complex some folks set ups can be for digitizing with a camera. I happen to know a very well known photographer who recently had a life retrospective of his work. The bulk of his work are 35mm chromes and they used this very, straight forward set up (with D850's) to produce the very large prints for that show. As long as you are careful, accurate and use an even, color corrected light source, I've seen fantastic results with high resolution cameras. I think we're finally beyond scanning.

Hi All, I am researching camera/lens set ups in order to digitize film. I'm an experienced photographer, but am not so experienced, in macro or repro work. Perhaps some of you who are, can help me out with the idea I am considering, with the gear I already have on hand. What gear I have: 1] Nikon Z7 2] Nikon FTZ adapter (for mounting F lenses on Z cameras) 3] Zeiss 50mm f/2.8 Makro-Planar, F mount (1:2 reproduction) 4] Nikon F bellows extension unit With this set up, would I be able to achieve 1:1 reproduction of 35mm film? 120 film? In other words, will the bellows extension get the 50mm 1:2, to 1:1 with excellent film to raw file results? Thanks!