Photar
Down Under
Is anyone else using EL-Nikkor (enlarger) lenses for macro purposes? Please share your experience below.
I am using two lenses of slightly longer focal length, EL-Nikkor 135mm f/5.6 A and EL-Nikkor 150mm f/5.6 A, with a Leica bellows II and a Leica 543 195 Leica M extension ring. This rig gives me maximum magnifications of 1:2.15 (135mm) and 1:3.08, respectively. According to Nikon, these lenses were optimized for 1:10 to 1:2 (135mm) and 1:8 to 1:2 (150mm), so I am making the best use of their intended magnification range. Both of these lenses are beautifully made. They come with two mounts (L39 and M50). The L39 mount fits right into my Leica 16 590 bellows adapter. I plan to use these lenses for butterflies. Hopefully, I can post some pictures from the next butterfly season in a few weeks.
Note, there are hardly any good reasons for using such lenses instead of modern AF macro lenses. A modern macro lens is more convenient in practically any way. It's just about having fun with older accessories. Two small advantages: EL-Nikkor lenses and bellows units are often quite cheap, and the focal length of these lenses obviously remains unchanged whatever magnification is achieved, unlike modern inner focus macro lenses that exhibit a shorter than nominal focal length at close distance. Thus, enlarger lenses have a slight advantage in terms of working distance.
According to Michio Akiyama, these lenses were introduced in 1983 (the year of the FE2), which ranks them among the most recent enlarger lenses of any brand.
I am using two lenses of slightly longer focal length, EL-Nikkor 135mm f/5.6 A and EL-Nikkor 150mm f/5.6 A, with a Leica bellows II and a Leica 543 195 Leica M extension ring. This rig gives me maximum magnifications of 1:2.15 (135mm) and 1:3.08, respectively. According to Nikon, these lenses were optimized for 1:10 to 1:2 (135mm) and 1:8 to 1:2 (150mm), so I am making the best use of their intended magnification range. Both of these lenses are beautifully made. They come with two mounts (L39 and M50). The L39 mount fits right into my Leica 16 590 bellows adapter. I plan to use these lenses for butterflies. Hopefully, I can post some pictures from the next butterfly season in a few weeks.
Note, there are hardly any good reasons for using such lenses instead of modern AF macro lenses. A modern macro lens is more convenient in practically any way. It's just about having fun with older accessories. Two small advantages: EL-Nikkor lenses and bellows units are often quite cheap, and the focal length of these lenses obviously remains unchanged whatever magnification is achieved, unlike modern inner focus macro lenses that exhibit a shorter than nominal focal length at close distance. Thus, enlarger lenses have a slight advantage in terms of working distance.
According to Michio Akiyama, these lenses were introduced in 1983 (the year of the FE2), which ranks them among the most recent enlarger lenses of any brand.
