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Thread: Macro Lens on Linhof Technika IV

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  1. #1
    Scott Rosenberg's Avatar
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    Macro Lens on Linhof Technika IV

    good day...

    i got a sastifactory body of lenses for general field photography, however, i have found lately that i miss my macro lens from my 120 setup.

    my camera has just enough bellows draw to accomadate my 300mm lens, that said, what are my options for macro photography with this camera?

    i currently own:
    110 super symmar xl
    150 siranar-s
    240 fujinon-a
    300 fujinon-a

    would any of these lenses work well as macro lenses? i'd like magnification of around 2:1.

    thanks!
    scott

  2. #2

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    Macro Lens on Linhof Technika IV

    To get to 2:1, extension has to be about 3*f. I say about because when we talk about extension we usually mean flange-to-film distance, but the extension given magnification formula means rear nodal point-to-film distance. The formula is extension = f*(m + 1).

    So the only one of your lenses that will get close to 2:1 on your camera is the 110, and you should reverse it for best results. You might be happier with an ex-Polaroid CU-5 75/4.5 Tominon in Copal (not sure whether they're in #0 or #1, not that it matters) Press as turn up often on eBay and usually sell for < $35.

    Good luck, have fun, enjoy all the conflicting advice you're about to get,

    Dan

  3. #3
    Scott Rosenberg's Avatar
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    Macro Lens on Linhof Technika IV

    thanks, dan... conflicting advice is why i read threads on this forum! i appreciate the suggestion of the polaroid lens.

    scott

  4. #4
    Scott Rosenberg's Avatar
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    Macro Lens on Linhof Technika IV

    dan...


  5. #5

    Macro Lens on Linhof Technika IV

    I haven't tried this yet but it is on my to do list.

    I saw a view camera on Ebay one time that had a lens and shutter from a Kodak Signet 35mm camera mounted on a lens board.

    At first I thought it was some kind of scam but then realized that while that lens only covers 35mm at infinity at higher magnifications it will cover 4x5. It gives the added benifit of not putting more light into the camera then you need for the image.

    The shutter and lens unscrew quite easily from the camera and can be mounted on a lens board.

    I went so far as to remove mine from my camera and then found a good deal on a Polaroid Tominon on Ebay so canceled the project but sometine in the future I might do some compairisons. Kodak Signets can be picked up for around $10 if you watch close.

  6. #6

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    Macro Lens on Linhof Technika IV

    Scott, its the very thing. The MP-4 version will cover 4x5 from 2:1 to 4:1, which is the range that's possible on the MP-4. I have one (MP-4 flavor, screws into a #1). Mine isn't the best lens I have for that range of magnifications on my 2x3 Graphics but it ain't shabby. IMO, Tominons are about the best values going BUT their QC is somewhat variable. I have a pair of 35/4.5s, one is great, the other only ok.

    Neal, there are all sorts of taking lenses around that will cover 4x5 given enough magnification. The thing to remember when using them is that taking lenses are designed to have the big object in front and the small image behind. So when using them to shoot at high magnification, its best to reverse them. The same is true of enlarging lenses, which can work well as macro lenses. There's an important exception, 50/4.5 and 75/4.5 Enlarging Ektars. According to EKCo these work well as macro lenses facing normally, with the film behind 'em; my experience with a 50 is consistent with this.

    Cheers,

    Dan

  7. #7

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    Macro Lens on Linhof Technika IV

    Dan's idea of the 75mm Tominon is a very good one. They are quite a bargain at anything like the price he mentions and you would be using the lens in very much the magnification range for which it was designed. Neal's thought about the Signet lens needs a little elaboration. I don't have data on the Signet at hand, but I am guessing it is something like a 50mm Tessar type, or at any rate a highly asymmetric design. These produce poor results when the "front" cell is pointed at a subject smaller than the film. As Dan mentioned, reversing the lens is sometimes an answer to the problem. Most shutters (but not most size 1's have the same threads front and rear, so unless one cell winds up pushing against the diaphragm, the cells can be swapped. The diaphragm scale will no longer be correct, though. A lens of this sort will work better at high magnification than low.



    One point to keep in mind is that the shorter the lens the more difficult it becomes to arrange your lighting.

  8. #8
    www.thinknegative.com.au
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    Macro Lens on Linhof Technika IV

    As mentioned - the shorter the lens, the more difficult to light something. If using a reversed enlarging lens, try a 105mm or more.

  9. #9
    Scott Rosenberg's Avatar
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    Macro Lens on Linhof Technika IV

    thanks for all the information, fellas.

    enrico, to achieve 2:1 magnification, using dan's formula, the longest lens i could use would be a 100mm, as that would put me right at the 300mm limit of my camera.

    i think i'll give the tominon a try... if it's a bust, i haven't invested all that much in the project! i did see one of these lenses from rodenstock, not polaroid... am i to assume they are the same (ie, caltar)?

    thanks again, scott

  10. #10

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    Macro Lens on Linhof Technika IV

    Scott, the ex-Polaroid Tominons and Rodenstocks aren't quite the same thing. Each maker had its own designs. Rodenstock is still in operation, I think its parent company is named Linos. Tomioka is part of the Kyocera empire.

    Polaroid Rodenstocks shorter than 127 mm are mainly lenses for the Polaroid MP-3. Most were delivered in Prontor Press #1. I've had only one of them, a 35/4 Eurygon made to screw into a #1 shutter; when I got it, it was on a Prontor Press. Mine was a striking lens not very good, other examples may be better. I've heard good things about Ysarexes, including the 75/4.5 MP-3 lens, but have no experience with them. If the price were right, at worst an Ysarex wouldn't be a bad mistake.

    You might also look for an 80 mm enlarging lens, although one of these would have to be reversed above 1:1 and doing that may require a custom ($$) adapter. FWIW, I've tried 80/5.6 Minolta C.E. Rokkor E. and 75/3.5 Boyer Saphir B enlarging lenses as macro lenses between 1:1 and 1:8. Shot 'em at f/11, f/16, f/22. The Boyer, which cost around $9 delivered, is noticeably better than the Minolta, but there's no easy inexpensive way to reverse it. And mounted normally it isn't that good above 1:1.

    If you can live with a 4" lens that probably won't cover 4x5 below 2:1, look for a Wollensak 4"/5.6 Enlarging Pro Raptar. I've shot one wide open from 1:1 to 4:1 and at f/11, f/16, and f/22 from 1:8 to 1:1 against a known good 100/6.3 Luminar. The Luminar was marginally better wide open above 1:1, but not enough better to justify the difference between the going rate for them and the $12 plus delivery that I have in the Pro Raptar. Below 1:1 they tied. All these tests on TMX and Delta100, the results differ with a sharper emulsion. Note that I use the Pro Raptar mounted normally, rear to film, at all magnifications. Oh, yeah, my 100/6.3 Neupolar beats Wolly and Zeiss from 1:8 to 4:1. The Luminar scores high on coverage, though, Zeiss claims 4x5 from 0.8x up.

    Tominons, in shutter and for front mounting, are a lot easier to find than Wollensak's last hurrah.

    Cheers,

    Dan

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