Close Focus Lens For Fed

[ryueikyo]

Hi,

Could anyone help me?

I am trying to find a lens for my fed 3 camera which will focus closer then 3.5ft (1m).

I know that Nikon have produced one, but I can't find them anywhere, also they cost loads. So does anyone know of a lens or way of converting a normal lens?

Any information would be grateful.

Thanks in advance.

R.

www.ryueikyo.com

 

[rolleistef]

You would also need a close focus adaptor and I don't know if it has been done for a Fed... ask its president Oscar Barnank? (cheapo pun sorry...)

 

[Joao]

Hi
The only FED lenses I am aware for very close focus will be VERY hard to find ; they are mentioned in JLPrincelle's book (attachment copied from there). Maybe they are prototypes or rare items.
Let us know if you find something !
Joao

 

[rbiemer]

Here is one FED Macro lens. Not cheap though.
FED Macro Lens(ebay)
There were also extension tube sets made. ( I have a set that I use for pinhole photography with my LTM cameras) the set I got came with instructions in Russian about how to use the tubes with a 50mm/f3.5 lens.

And the lens you have is focusing to about 39 inches, a bit shorter than 3.5 feet.
Rob

 

[Nickfed]

FED had a macro version of the collapsible that simply screwed out further. You could use close-up lenses or extension tubes and set up a stand for the field of view, the distances andcoverage being derived by simple calculation. The Leitz NOOKY and the like would go on a FED collapsible.

None of this stuff would be easy to find and LTM extension tubes likely to be expensive. A principle reason for it being hard to find is that it is a truly dumb idea.

You would be far better off using an SLR. If you feel the need to stay with FSU, get a Zenit . They are simply more appropriate for the job, which goes some way to explain their popularity - and the rarity of RF cameras.

You would be off and running for less than a set of Leica tubes and a hell of lot more quickly to boot.

 

[Joao]

Here is one FED Macro lens. Not cheap though.
FED Macro Lens(ebay)

Interesting, I don't remember having seen one of these being sold. It looks like the one in the right in the picture I took from Princelle's book.
Regards
Joao

 

[John Robertson]

you also need the finder attachment to use the Fed macro lens, (even rarer!!)

 

[rbiemer]

None of this stuff would be easy to find and LTM extension tubes likely to be expensive. A principle reason for it being hard to find is that it is a truly dumb idea.

The FSU tubes aren't too expensive. But there are at least two different kinds of sets; one for the RF cameras and another for the early 39mm mount SLR cameras. Not a lot of difference between them but the SLR sets will not have the instruction sheet that the RF sets should. Those instructions have several tables with field of view and mag. ratios with the various combinations of tubes, and camera to subject distances. As you say, not such a good way to do this.

If the O.P. is simply looking to get moderately closer--.7 or .8 meters then maybe the CV 50/f2.5 lens would do?
The other thing might be to rely on depth of field: use a fast film in good light, slowish shutter speed and f16. That gets one a little closer--DOF would cover from about 34 inches to 46 inches. I'd have more worries about framing at that close distance than focusing. Another reason for using an SLR camera for close work.

Interesting, I don't remember having seen one of these being sold. It looks like the one in the right in the picture I took from Princelle's book.
Regards
Joao

I remember seeing that picture and thinking it was one of the more attractive 50s. Except it's not RF coupled.

Rob

 

[pvdhaar]

If the O.P. is simply looking to get moderately closer--.7 or .8 meters then maybe the CV 50/f2.5 lens would do?

You just have to make sure the rf mechanism doesn't decouple at under 1 meter.

 

[mh2000]

My Fed 2 will couple all the way down to .75m with my Color-Skopar 50/2.5.

Zenits are kind of fun cameras and after you realize how difficult the tubes are to use on your Fed you can use them on a Zenit.

 

[oftheherd]

Here's another that came up on the side panel when I followed the macro link above.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...BWR%2BUCI%2BIT%2BUA%2BSI%2BUS-BWR&otn=5&ps=31

Less expensive, but I didn't notice a viewfinder though.

I don't know if it would work with an RF, but an old trick with SLR's, when you didn't have a reverse adapter, was to remove the lens, reverse it, and hold it against the lens mount. It's an emergency measure, but it does work. I have used it. Of course I was able to move the camera until what I wanted was in focus, using the SLR viewfinder. That would not be possible with an RF. But you might be able to experiment with a tissue or ground glass on the film plane, measure where it is in focus, then build some device to keep you at that distance.

Sure seems like a lot of trouble when an SLR makes it so much easier.

 

[John Robertson]

Here's another that came up on the side panel when I followed the macro link above.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...BWR%2BUCI%2BIT%2BUA%2BSI%2BUS-BWR&otn=5&ps=31

Less expensive, but I didn't notice a viewfinder though.

I don't know if it would work with an RF, but an old trick with SLR's, when you didn't have a reverse adapter, was to remove the lens, reverse it, and hold it against the lens mount. It's an emergency measure, but it does work. I have used it. Of course I was able to move the camera until what I wanted was in focus, using the SLR viewfinder. That would not be possible with an RF. But you might be able to experiment with a tissue or ground glass on the film plane, measure where it is in focus, then build some device to keep you at that distance.

Sure seems like a lot of trouble when an SLR makes it so much easier.

Only problem with this one is its NOT a Macro, just an ordinary collapsible Fed!! Wrongly described.!!

 

[Nickfed]

Here's another that came up on the side panel when I followed the macro link above.
.

Yes, this is the macro lens that I alluded to. It is nothing more than a plain-vanilla I-10 with an extended scale. You unscrew the stop pin to use it for close-ups. Any I-10 could be adapted to do this and a scale marked up. For document work, the coverage could also be marked out on an easel. The maths for all this is easy enough, but why would you do it?

Sure seems like a lot of trouble when an SLR makes it so much easier.

Indeed

 

[Veloman]

Please!

Please!

... I have a set ... with instructions in Russian about how to use the tubes with a 50mm/f3.5 lens...
Rob

Hi Rob [rbiemer], would You mind to scan that instruction leaflet and post it here? I'm looking for one just out of curiosity since I saw that collapsible makro on *bay! Thank You in advance! Sanyi.

For those interrested, here are the two macro Feds:
1. dedicated macro lens
2. collapsible macro

Other Fed macro lenses.

 

[rbiemer]

Not sure where the sheet is but I have a scan of the instructions. As soon as I find it I will be happy to post it. I'm just heading off to work but will look later tonight.
Rob

Hi Rob [rbiemer], would You mind to scan that instruction leaflet and post it here? I'm looking for one just out of curiosity since I saw that collapsible makro on *bay! Thank You in advence! Sanyi.

 

[Al Kaplan]

Most 85 and 90mm lenses focus as close as one meter (39 inches) just like 50's do. At that distance they cover exactly the same area as the Dual-Range Summicron does in close-up mode.

 

[Veloman]

Thank You!

This is the only photo of the finder attachment which I found by surfing across various sites.

Not sure where the sheet is but I have a scan of the instructions. As soon as I find it I will be happy to post it. I'm just heading off to work but will look later tonight. Rob

 

[rbiemer]

OK, I found the scan I have of the instruction sheet. Two sided and on very thin paper so one can see the printing from the other side as well as the side you're reading. I tried to minimize this. And the ink was very faint on parts.
The scans need to be big to be readable, so they are too big to post here. Instead, I put them in a Picasaweb album. Here:
MACRO INSTRUCTION SHEET
And I'm happy to email the scans to who ever asks.

Thanks for the photo of the VF attachment; I'd not seen that before!
Rob

 

[Veloman]

Thank You!

Thank You!

Thank You again, Rob! Now I have to take my dictionary and to try to figure it out what is written on it... "What a pity", that I had to learn russian only for a few months before the fall of the Iron Curtain... я не понимаю!

 

[Veloman]

Here is something interesting. After using the proper keywords, the search engines returned this hit. Its a Russian book by I.V. Minenkov about reproduction photography. It is plain text only, no photos, sketches... (If your browser can't display it, change the character code to cyrillic, win-1251).