Vivitar 90mm w/ Olympus Auto-Bellows for Slide Copying?

[ethics_gradient]

I picked up a Vivitar 90mm f/2.5 Series 1 in OM mount for our 5D2 at work, which has been working out great (LiveView at 10x magnification is a godsend). We have a ton of old slides we'd like to digitize, so I was thinking setting up a copy stand, since the full-frame sensor should allow us to do 1:1. I was reading up on the Olympus Auto-Bellows and saw that it's designed around Olympus's 50mm and 80mm macro lenses. Does anyone know if the Vivitar 90mm will also be possible to use for copying a full 24mmx36mm slide?

 

[douwe]

You have a very good macro lens. The Vivitar 90mm f/2.5 goes to 1:2 on it's own, but there is a dedicated macro teleconverter for it that allows it to go to 1:1. The converter actually has 3 elements, so it corrects for some aberrations at close range.
I hope you can find one!

 

[ethics_gradient]

Oh, forgot to mention, I do have the 1:1 converter, it came with the lens.

 

[Dean Cho]

I have the Series 1 90mm f2.5 with the 1:1 adapter in OM mount. It is an extremely sharp and flat field lens. Can't really think of any other lens that would be better for copying slides. I recall that when it was tested by Modern Photography years ago, it had the highest resolution numbers ever tested -- peaking around 108 lines per mm. My extensive experience with it is that it has lovely colors, bokeh, and is at least as sharp as (or perhaps sharper) than the famed OM Zuiko 90 f2.0 and OM Zuiko 100 f2.0, but is perhaps somewhat more prone to flare. Build quality is as good as you will find in any lens anywhere. Overall, I would have to think it is one of the finest lenses ever made by anyone.

 

[ethics_gradient]

I have the Series 1 90mm f2.5 with the 1:1 adapter in OM mount. It is an extremely sharp and flat field lens. Can't really think of any other lens that would be better for copying slides. I recall that when it was tested by Modern Photography years ago, it had the highest resolution numbers ever tested -- peaking around 108 lines per mm. My extensive experience with it is that it has lovely colors, bokeh, and is at least as sharp as (or perhaps sharper) than the famed OM Zuiko 90 f2.0 and OM Zuiko 100 f2.0, but is perhaps somewhat more prone to flare. Build quality is as good as you will find in any lens anywhere. Overall, I would have to think it is one of the finest lenses ever made by anyone.

It's definitely a nice lens, we've been using it for some very basic copy stand work and I've been really happy with the results. The next time I have it in the field I'd like to take it for a more thorough test-drive, as I've been thinking about picking up an older manual-focus macro lens myself.

I think I should have worded my question a little more clearly. Will I be able to get a full slide in the frame with the 90mm on Olympus's Auto-Bellows + Slide Copier? I'm not certain if it's possible, as Olympus designed it with their own 50mm and 80mm macro lenses in mind.

 

[hans voralberg]

If you have the 1:1 extender why bother with the bellow?

 

[ethics_gradient]

Wanted to make it easier to get things lined up with the copy stand attachment. The cost of the bellows really isn't that much, and it'd likely be useful for other applications in the future.

 

[sreed2006]

I have the Tokina 90mm f/2.5 with the 1:1 adapter, and have the exact same question as you do. I believe the Tokina is a twin of the Vivitar (not exactly the same, but close).

Here's why I think the Vivitar/Tokina 90mm Macro cannot be used on the Olympus bellows, though I don't have the bellows equipment to be sure. I believe the camera attaches to the bellows at one end, and the lens attaches to the other end of the bellows. Then, a double-cable release fires the camera and the lens diaghram at the same time. Obiously, the whole bellows mechanism is going to be in the way, since the 90mm lens attaches directly to the camera. The 1:1 adapter has glass elements, so cannot be properly replaced with just a bellows extension.

You can probably rig up a mechanism to hold the Olympus slide holder part of the set-up, but I have a feeling you can make a home-made slide holder fairly easily with a few trips to the hardware store (I can never make just one trip, it seems like).

The critical part is the distance from the camera to the slide. Too far away, you get too wide of a view, and too close, you don't get all of the photograph. So some sort of mechanism to exactly place the camera at the right distance is needed. Plus, when you re-focus the lens, the field-of-view changes (if even just slightly), so then you have to reset the distance between the slide and the camera (again, maybe just slightly).

But, it seems to me, after you have that all set up and working, duplicating slides should go very quickly.

I would recommend the lens front be shielded from stray light sources to cut down on flare. I almost got rid of the Tokina because it gets terrible flare. Then I read how good the lens was, and used it where it wouldn't flare, and it is a very nice lens indeed.

One other option, of course, is to get a Olympus 80mm Macro lens, which is also a very fine lens, and is known to work for this application.

Whatever you do, please let us know how it turns out. I have several rolls of Velvia 50 in the freezer, and a processed one down at the lab right now.

 

[ethics_gradient]

The double release won't be necessary with the 5D, correct? As far as getting the lens to stay stopped down, I imagine some tape or something on the lever on the back should work.

I'm getting my own little room to convert into a macro studio sometime in the next two weeks or so, when I get it set up I'll try some experiments with just the 90mm and a slide. It seems like we might be able to get away with just getting the slide copier attachment (which includes a built in bellows that secures to the filter ring of the lens, eliminating flare between the lens and slide) and building a custom board out of plywood for mounting the camera and slide stage. I'll definitely update on my progress.

 

[Trius]

I may have a bellows and the slide copier accessory should you need them. You can PM me.

 

[ethics_gradient]

I appreciate the offer, but since it's for work it'd be a huge headache to do all the paperwork for a private sale versus somewhere like Adorama or KEH :-\ I asked if we could just buy from KEH and return the bellows if it didn't work, and my boss said the man-hours involved in doing the paperwork just for a simple return would probably make it more economical just to throw the bellows in the trash!

 

[sreed2006]

@ethics_gradient - It looks like I had a completely incorrect idea of the configuration of the slide copier equipment. If the bellows attaches to the front of the lens, then that is not at all what I was thinking it was - which is good!

I'm still interested in what you come up with, since copying slides with a 5D Mark II sounds like a great idea.

 

[sreed2006]

@ethics_gradient says:

my boss said the man-hours involved in doing the paperwork just for a simple return would probably make it more economical just to throw the bellows in the trash!

Would you mention to your boss that is non-optimal? Donate to Goodwill, or some such place. They don't make this equipment anymore - making each piece pretty much irreplaceable. So it goes beyond economics into what is truly the best thing to do.

 

[hans voralberg]

LOL that is some insane bereaucracy you got there. How about just send them to some lab and get it done?