Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/04

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Macro lens
From: Marc James Small <msmall@infi.net>
Date: Mon, 04 Mar 2002 23:36:35 -0500

At 07:48 PM 3/4/02 -0800, you wrote:
>I'm looking for a macro lens for my M6 to be attached
>with the visoflex III and bellow.
>
>Can someone recommend me a good performer within the
>Leica stable ?

The 3.5/65 Elmar is pretty good and also allows infinity focus.  Many of
the lens heads will fit on a Bellows II, ranging from that of the 2/5cm
Summicron (rigid and DR) to the 5/40cm Telyt, though the latter seems to be
more than a little overkill!

Finally, there are a slew of true macro lenses, generally either microscope
objectives or duplicating lenses reworked.  The prizes here are the Carl
Zeiss Luminars and the Leitz/Leica Photars -- and a truncated range of
Photars are still in production, though Zeiss Winkel in Gottingen flooded
the Luminar market so thoroughly a decade or more back that they took these
lenses out of production.  There are also a number of Macro Nikkors (VERY
rare and QUITE expensive when you find them, thanks to the Nikon
collectors), Carl Zeiss Jena Mikrotars, Bausch & Lomb Micro-Tessars, and
Leitz Micro-Summars and Milars.

Most true macro lenses come in Royal Microscope Society screw-thread, the
so-called "Royal Screw".  This was adopted in 1862 for microscope
objectives and is 0.7965" (20.1mm) x 36 t.p.i.  To fit this to a Bellows
II, you will need an Edmund Scientific 52301 adapter or the like -- this
fits the Royal Screw to T-Mount.  And, since the later Bellows I and all
Bellows II use a thread-mount in 42mm by 0.75mm, the same standard later
selected by Tamron for their T-Mount, this adapter can be fitted with some
adapters to the Bellows.  Or you can use an LTM T-Mount screwing into one
of the LTM adapters, of which Leitz made quite a variety.

For getting started, the 3.5/65 Elmar is the way to go -- used only on the
Visoflex, this really isn't a "Macro" lens, as it only focuses down to
0.33mm (13.2"), but extension tubes and the Bellows can be added to spice
things up a bit.  There are two versions of the Elmar -- the first one is
extremely good, rather common, and relatively inexpensive, while the later
version is even better optically, but is not common and costs substantially
more, barring a lucky hit on e-Bay or the like.

Marc

msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +276/343-7315
Cha robh bąs fir gun ghrąs fir!

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