[Leica] IMG: Macro Experiment with Leica-R 60 Elmarit Macro Lens

[Jim Nichols]

Thanks for your comments, Richard.  I have no Apo lenses, so I've never 
considered the Apo extenders, having no way of knowing whether or not 
they would work with the older lenses.  The newer post-processing 
software gives me reasonably useful images for my purposes.  As my eyes 
continue to age, even after surgery, I'm finding that AF lenses are much 
easier to use.

On 10/19/20 8:19 PM, Richard Clompus via LUG wrote:
> Jim, both images are clear but I prefer the one with the extension tubes.  I have the 2X R Apo extender that produces sharper images than the non-Apo extender.  The Apo is a lot more costly but it does provide additional clarity and contrast compared to the non-Apo version.  Most people probably wouldn’t notice the difference if the image is sharpened a bit.
>
> Thanks for posting.
>
> Be well,
> Richard
>
> Richard Clompus
> California
>
>> On Oct 8, 2020, at 11:10 AM, Jim Nichols <jhnichols at lighttube.net> wrote:
>>
>> I've been using the Leica-R 60 macro lens for a few days and began wondering which gave the best results, adding the dedicated extension tube or the tube plus the Leica-R 2X Extender.  So, I did a kitchen counter experiment.  Using kitchen lights and a shiny dime, I first combined the dedicated extension tube with the 2X extender and mounted the assembly on an old Star-D tripod.  I adjusted the height so that the image of the dime filled the height of the frame, and took several exposures.  Here is the resulting image:
>>
>> http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/20201008-DSCF2180.JPG.html
>>
>> I then removed the 2X Extender and mounted the lens and extension tube as it was intended to be used.  I took several images of the dime, which now filled about half the height of the frame, and cropped the resulting image to match the first one:
>>
>> http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/20201008-DSCF2192.JPG.html
>>
>> It is my opinion that the lens/tube combination is sharper without the 2X Extender, even with enlargement.  I am ignoring differences in lighting with this setup.
>>
>> -- 
>> Jim Nichols
>> Tullahoma, TN USA
>>
>>
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-- 
Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA