FSUs and macro photography?

[Blake Werts]

Please forgive my "beginner ignorance" on the matter, I am interested in knowing what you all do for macro or close-up photography with your FEDs? Are there macro lenses available? Or are you using close-up "filters"? Or not doing macro at all?

Thanks!
Blake

 

[Nickfed]

There is a (very, and understandably, rare) macro Industar that focusses closer than normal by the simple expedient of removing the stop at 1m and screwing it out a bit more. Needless to say, the rangefinder doesn't work when used that way. Any supplementary close-up lens will work just as well on a FED as it does on any other camera. All you have to do is work out how to focus it correctly. Macro stands exist that hold the camera in position and and show the coverage of the lens. The Leitz NOOKY will probably work, but it might be better with a Leitz lens. I once had a reflex focussing housing that I used on the Zorki-6 for copying slides.

Nonetheless, all this is pretty pointless and has been for about 50 years. Nobody would enetertain it other than as a silly intellectual exercise, and if you want to do former Soviet macro, it's time to consider a Zenit. It is fundamentally suited to the job, which is exactly what the FED isn't.

 

[payasam]

Leitz had a considerable range of close focussing aids for their RF cameras, and it is my guess that at least some similar devices will have been made for FSU RF cameras too. However, as Nickfed says, an SLR is by its nature better for the job. This was the reason why, in 1975, I bought a Canon FTb rather than a much desired Leica M2.

 

[Blake Werts]

Nonetheless, all this is pretty pointless and has been for about 50 years. Nobody would enetertain it other than as a silly intellectual exercise, and if you want to do former Soviet macro, it's time to consider a Zenit. It is fundamentally suited to the job, which is exactly what the FED isn't.

You know. As I was reading your response it occurred to me that this would be an insanely impractical exercise "out in the field." I just wasn't thinking about the viewfiender issue--certainly an SLR strongpoint.

.... now time to find myself an FSU "SLR"...

 

[oftheherd]

If the Feds and Zorkis are like my Zeiss, they have no film plane mark. However, you could guess fairly accurately. Then with the use of a ruler that measured in small inch or mm increments, and close up filters, you could correctl measure, and decide what would be the center of the lens coverage. There are then formulas to use, or if lucky, charts with the close up lenses, to tell you the proper distance.

Much easier with an SLR, but it can be done. It used to be done. I have a close up filter for my Canonet QL 17 III. I think I still have a couple of photos of flowers in my gallery to show it does work. But again, SLRs make it much easier.

 

[Joao]

I'm aware of close-up attachments for the Yashica Electro 35 GSN, like this one
http://attachment.notlong.com
but, AFAIK,no such things were made for FSU RFs
As advised above, try a Zenit. Some M42 lenses allow pictures at a very close distance (Industar 61 L/Z,Volna-9) - and extension tubes are really cheap.
Cheers
Joao

 

[mcgrattan]

I wonder if the slight differences in focal length would stop close-up sets made for a Leica [I'm thinking of the eye-glasses + filter type arrangements that were made by 3rd party manufacturers] working?

Would a close-up set made for a 50mm Leica lens [summitar or whatever] work on a jupiter-8 or industar? or would the rangefinder coupling and a couple of mm of depth of field take care of that?

 

[Anupam]

Closer than normal focusing might work somewhat clumsily but "macro" which is generally understood as 1:1 and above is a lost cause with rangefinders, I'd say, unless you cheat and turn it into an SLR type thing with a visoflex etc..

 

[mcgrattan]

Yeah, true macro use would seem impractical.

However, I have some close-up prism/filter sets for fitting to my Flexaret TLR and they are very useful for when you want to focus closer than a metre. Nothing remotely like true macro, but good for tight close-ups on people's faces, or picking out some detail somewhere. Something similar would be pretty handy on a rangefinder.

 

[pschauss]

I have a set of m39 FSU macro rings which I bought for another application. They came with a table showing the magnification ratios for combinations of the rings, distance from film plane to subject and corresponding distances and exposure settings for the lens and shutter. I tried it and actually got one or two decent shots.

Needless to say, this arrangement does not lend itself to quick macro snapshots.

 

[Nickfed]

I wonder if the slight differences in focal length would stop close-up sets made for a Leica [I'm thinking of the eye-glasses + filter type arrangements that were made by 3rd party manufacturers] working?

Would a close-up set made for a 50mm Leica lens [summitar or whatever] work on a jupiter-8 or industar? or would the rangefinder coupling and a couple of mm of depth of field take care of that?

A low-power close-up lens can't be a problem and while, as I said above, it might be better to use a Leitz lens with Nooky, or the like, I'm not sure that one needs to get too precious about this either.

With a 20mm extension and set to infinity, a 51.6mm Leitz will focus at 184.7mm, and a 52.3mm Contax at 189mm. The depth of field would be about 6mm.

The 52.3mm lens would focus at 184mm if it was set to about 4.2m.

None of this is really worth pursuing, although ironically, the most comprehensive macro rig I have ever seen was an M1 + Visoflex + bellows with about 750mm extension, that was used to photograph crystals by transmitted light. Don't ask why they didn't use a microscope. I guess this thing was more versatile.