[Brightcolours]

While I have a Canon DSLR, the first SLR I used, and which I still have in good working condition, is a Nikon Nikkormat FTn with 5 lenses. 2 not so special ones (50mm f2 and 35mm f2.8), a nice-ish lens (135mm f3.5) and two nice lenses (55mm f3.5 1:2 micro and 85mm f1.8).



But I always forget that I also have a mint condition, boxed Ultra-Micro-Nikkor 55mm f2. It is an industrial use lens with very high resolution (500 lines per mm in the 12mm center circle, ZERo distortion and no vignetting wide open. It has a Leica screw mount.

It is a nicely crafted all metal lens, with no ficus ring/possibility and an aperture range from f2 to f8, in half f-stops.



Used on Leica-screw-mount it is an 1:4 micro lens, with biting sharpness, even wide open. With the right adapter it should/will work fine on a 135 format SLR to, I do not know what reproduction ratio it will have then (more close up, but I do not know how much). Photo samples I have seen show this lens to have a very nice bokeh quality



These Ultra-Micro's are highly sought after, prices sky rocketing after Michio Akiyama wrote about them in his Red book Nikkor.



I am wondering what path best to take... find/figure out a Leica screw mount adapter for Canon EOS mount for close up small DOF photography, or something like a Sony NEX with appropriate adapter and 1:4 lens, for bitingly sharp flower stuff?

[finaldesignrb]

[quote name='Brightcolours' timestamp='1300752801' post='7001']

Ultra-Micro-Nikkor 55mm f2...Leica screw mount...figure out a Leica screw mount adapter for Canon EOS mount for close up small DOF photography, or something like a Sony NEX with appropriate adapter and 1:4 lens, for bitingly sharp flower stuff?

[/quote]



Here's a $140 (yikes) M42 focusing helicoid for the Nex.

http://cgi.ebay.com/21MM-FOCUS-STROKE-HE...1161wt_957



But this thing, and also buy a M42-to-Leica-39 stepdown ring for about $4, and you can probably focus any-Leica-thread-lens-over-44mm-focal-length on a Nex. A $6 dollar set of Gissin M42 extension tubes, 3 pieces totalling 49mm length, from Ebay, might also be relevant to the project.



The minimum length of this 21mm long focuser on the Nex brings you to about 18+21=39mm from the sensor plane, don't know if that's the flange-to-film distance you need or not.



This is not to say that you should mount the lens on a Nex. Am simply documenting the economics of doing so.

[Brightcolours]

[quote name='RussellB' timestamp='1300765802' post='7005']

Here's a $140 (yikes) M42 focusing helicoid for the Nex.

http://cgi.ebay.com/21MM-FOCUS-STROKE-HE...1161wt_957



But this thing, and also buy a M42-to-Leica-39 stepdown ring for about $4, and you can probably focus any-Leica-thread-lens-over-44mm-focal-length on a Nex. A $6 dollar set of Gissin M42 extension tubes, 3 pieces totalling 49mm length, from Ebay, might also be relevant to the project.



The minimum length of this 21mm long focuser on the Nex brings you to about 18+21=39mm from the sensor plane, don't know if that's the flange-to-film distance you need or not.



This is not to say that you should mount the lens on a Nex. Am simply documenting the economics of doing so.

[/quote]

Thanks for the very interesting idea of the focusing helicoid. There are also focusing helicoids of different lengths for M42, which then could be combined with M42 to EF-mount and M42 to for instance NEX or NX mount... I will have to study what the different flange/film distances will mean for the lens application. If there would be a Panasonic GF with the GH1 sensor it might also be interesting.. not a fan of the 4x3 image format.

[Brightcolours]

Here is a photo of this little gem.

[Yakim]

[quote name='Brightcolours' timestamp='1300752801' post='7001']

I am wondering what path best to take... find/figure out a Leica screw mount adapter for Canon EOS mount for close up small DOF photography, or something like a Sony NEX with appropriate adapter and 1:4 lens, for bitingly sharp flower stuff?[/quote]



Is infinity focus important for you with this lens? Have you considered the GH2?

[Brightcolours]

[quote name='Yakim' timestamp='1301259241' post='7157']

Is infinity focus important for you with this lens? Have you considered the GH2?

[/quote]

There is no infinity focus with this lens, it is designed with fixed focus. You have to move the camera to focus. It is designed to be an 1:4 lens, when you reverse mount it a 4:1 lens. The GH2 is very expensive and I don't like it cheap plastic fake DLSR look, I was hoping for a GFx with GH2 sensor in future.

Problem with the micro 4/3rds cameras still is that there is no adapter that puts the lens at the "right" distance to the sensor, even the LSM mount to micro 4/3rds put it further away. So.. using it as designed, it will need a custom made M39 to micro 4/3rds adapter which does not act as an extension tube. At this distance, though, not even on micro 4/3rds the entire frame will be covered by the image circle!



It needs some puzzling and figuring out what is the best setup/application for this crazy sharp gem...

[Yakim]

Fixed focus? Yikes! That puts severe limits on your perspective, doesn't it? But then again, you're probably have grown accustomed to that by now.

[karlmera]

[quote name='Brightcolours' timestamp='1301753133' post='7325']

There is no infinity focus with this lens, it is designed with fixed focus. You have to move the camera to focus. It is designed to be an 1:4 lens, when you reverse mount it a 4:1 lens. The GH2 is very expensive and I don't like it cheap plastic fake DLSR look, I was hoping for a GFx with GH2 sensor in future.

Problem with the micro 4/3rds cameras still is that there is no adapter that puts the lens at the "right" distance to the sensor, even the LSM mount to micro 4/3rds put it further away. So.. using it as designed, it will need a custom made M39 to micro 4/3rds adapter which does not act as an extension tube. At this distance, though, not even on micro 4/3rds the entire frame will be covered by the image circle!



It needs some puzzling and figuring out what is the best setup/application for this crazy sharp gem...

[/quote]



Today I bought this lens. But after some tests I find that the quality of quite normal 60mm AF-S is better.

[Brightcolours]

[quote name='karlmera' timestamp='1302984453' post='7686']

Today I bought this lens. But after some tests I find that the quality of quite normal 60mm AF-S is better.

[/quote]

You bought this lens? Where? And what did you pay for it?



And how did you use it? And in which areas was the 60mm better?

[karlmera]

[quote name='Brightcolours' timestamp='1303043572' post='7698']

You bought this lens? Where? And what did you pay for it?



And how did you use it? And in which areas was the 60mm better?

[/quote]



Paid 2200€. In all areas away from 1:4.