Tons of fun.

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My kit. 135mm El Nikkor on the PB4
bellows. 80mm El Nikkor standing by. Remote
strobe trigger atop the Leica SL2S.

Heavy duty ball and socket head and
massive Linhof cantilevered tripod.

I have published several hardware articles detailing my approach to close-up and macro photography over the past few weeks, as well as many images. I continue working on improving my technique.

Click the image for a larger version.
Leitz Focusing Bellows II and 135mm Elmar lens head.
An early attempt with flat lighting.

Click the image for a larger version.
200mm Micro-Nikkor. Note the considerable
improvement in lighting technique.

My goal is to illustrate the beauty of everyday foods and flowers, from the simple red onion to the complexities of the Showy Milkweed.

Working mostly in the one half through two times life size range using a full frame sensor, I started my journey with the Leitz Focusing Bellows II adapted to my Leica SL2S mirrorless digital. Any mirrorless digital will work, obviously, and adapters are abundantly available to fit everything together. The Focusing Bellows II, a monorail design, worked very well and I discovered that the lens head of my Leitz 135mm f/4 Elmar, normally used in the RF focusing mount on my Leica M10, was a splendid performer in the close-up range. The one advantage of mirrorless versus DSLR camera bodies is the ability to magnify the image in the EVF for critical focus. Further, the short lens flange to sensor distance (no flapping mirror) makes adaptation of just about any lens out there a simple matter.

Leitz Focusing Bellows II.

Because I tend to prefer an ‘everything sharp’ rendering I procured a license for Helicon Focus image stacking software, which I has first used decades ago. It’s easy to use via a round trip of differentially focused images from Lightroom and is better than ever. The license fee is a bargain and I see no reason to try alternatives, given how good Helicon Focus is at the job. Apparently Photoshop has a focus stacking feature but from what I have read it’s a bit of a dog, and bog slow. HF is fast and (mostly) accurate.

Though I was perfectly happy with the Focusing Bellows II I chanced on the later Leitz Bellows R complete with a 100mm Macro-Elmar-R lens head, which delivered infinity through life-size focus. Also a monorail design it was, if anything, even more robust than the Focusing Bellows II and the minimalist design proved easy to use with the lens head. The Macro-Elmar-R delivered results indistinguishable from the 135mm Elmar.

The Leitz Bellows-R with the 135mm Elmar lens head.

Later still I discovered the Nikon PB4 bellows, the only one from Nikon’s extensive range which offered front panel tilt and shift, making for easier overall sharp focus with objects not plane to the sensor. This is a traditional four rail design, rather than monorail, and is the ne plus ultra of small bellows hardware. Immensely robust and, like the two Leitz bellows, it includes a rack and pinion focusing rail allowing the camera + bellows + lens assembly to be moved to or from the subject as one unit, making differential focus child’s play.

The 80mm f/5.6N El Nikkor on the PB-4 bellows.

For lighting I took a dual approach. Focus is aided with a JJC ring light which attaches to the lens. Image lighting is from my ancient Novatron studio flash and I find that I generally use three heads – a main umbrella light, a top umbrella light to light the innards and a no-umbrella strong side light to confer modeling and plasticity. The recharge time is a scant 2 seconds, less time than it take to rack the kit for the next image. An inexpensive wired remote makes doubly sure that there is no camera shake, though the brief duration of the strobe lights probably makes that accessory redundant.

The studio.

With the tilt and shift capability of the PB4 available, I quickly realized that the image circles of the 100mm and 135mm Leitz lenses were inadequate. Tilt the front standard of the bellows and the image circle is too small, so I put on the thinking cap and quickly realized that Nikon made a superb series of 6-element enlarger lenses which not only have very flat fields but also boast very large image circles. They are also insanely inexpensive and have proved to deliver very high resolution. I purchased the 80mm f/5.6N El Nikkor and the 135mm f/5.6 El Nikkor. These are computed to cover 2 1/4″ x 2 3/4″ and 4″ x 5″ negatives, respectively, and have no issue with even the maximum tilt of the PB4.

And that’s where I am today. The earlier experiments are for sale (though I’m keeping the 135mm Elmar for use on the M10 and SL2S in non-macro mode) and I’m delighted with the simplicity and quality of the remaining kit.

Along the way I added a Nikon BR2A reversing ring for use with the 80mm El Nikkor in larger than life settings and also a 200mm Micro-Nikkor which goes down to half life-size without bellows, or one-and-a-half times life-size on the bellows with both lens and bellows full racked out. I’m not too sure I really need this lens but in addition to its macro capabilities it’s also a fine general purpose 200mm optic with Nikon’s butter smooth and light Internal Focusing movement.

Did I mention these focus stacked images are high resolution? Here’s a 24″ x 36″ print made at the local Postal Annex on a Canon 12-ink inkjet printer. A serious piece of hardware. The bloom is maybe 1/2″ across:

Flax wildflower print.
55 images focus stacked.

Superb on the Nikon PB4 bellows.

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The 135mm f/5.6 El Nikkor on the SL2-S and PB4 bellows.

History:

Nikon went all out with the design and execution of the 135mm f/5.6 El Nikkor enlarging lens. Only the seriously disturbed use darkroom enlargers any more but enlarging lenses of that era are perfect for macro photography. They have no automation, and none is desired in macro work, and are computed with a very flat field. They are also an exceptional value on the used market.

Mine is from the third of four batches, with the last batch sporting a 52mm filter diameter, compared with 43mm for the first three. I would guess it was made around 1980. There appear to be little if any other changes between batches, though the fourth may have added multi-coating.

Why 135mm for macro work?

The 135mm focal length provides ample subject-to-lens separation making even the use of bulky strobe lighting easy. The downside is that the maximum reproduction ratio with this focal length and the PB4 bellows is 1:1, meaning life size. If you want to go bigger either additional extension tubes or a shorter focal length are required.

The image circle:

The 135mm f/5.6 El Nikkor was computed to enlarge up to 5″ x 4″ negatives, meaning the image circle diameter the lens projects in macro mode is 7.1″/180mm, meaning very large indeed, and it’s this large image circle which comes into its own with the Nikon PB4 bellows when the bellow’s front panel tilt and shift features are being used.

Here’s a simple illustration:

Maximum tilt with the 135mm Leitz Elmar (left)
compared with maximum tilt usable (right).

Compared with the 135mm Leitz Elmar:

The Leitz 135mm Elmar lens head is an outstanding performer in the macro range but its image circle is computed for a 2.1″/53.9mm diagonal, that of the 24mmx36mm full frame digital sensor or film stock. The right image above shows the maximum tilt that can be used on the Nikon PB4 bellows before the image circle runs out. That measures at 11 degrees. By contrast the left image, above, shows the full tilt available, which is 25 degrees, at which point the viewfinder is completely black. There is no image.

Perform the same calisthenics with the 135mm El Nikkor fitted and there is no issue. At full tilt of 25 degrees the image remains bright and evenly illuminated across the full frame. That’s the benefit of a large image circle.

Cost and build quality:

And that’s not all. First, the lens cost me all of $65 in mint condition including the original Nikon ‘bubble’ case and front cap. Second, the focus range on the PB4 is from infinity to life size, meaning a 1″ x 1.5″ object fills the frame at the closest focus distance. Third the build quality is out of this world, all glass and metal with a massive removable rear ring with takes the 45mm enlarger mount tread down to the standard M39, or Leica Thread Mount, which is 26 threads per inch and 39mm in diameter. And, sparing no detail, Nikon has fitted the lens with a diaphragm which sports no fewer than 12 leaves for the smoothest rendering of out-of-focus areas, This lens comes from the great Metal Era of Nikkors. There are click stops from f/5.6 all the way down to f/45. The lens has a symmetrical design with 6 elements, arranged thus:

Reversed use:

The front filter thread is 43mm so adding a 43-to-52mm step-up ring allows use of the lens reversed on the BR2 or BR2A Nikon lens reversing ring when magnifications in excess of life-size are contemplated. (The BR2A was a minor redesign to avoid damage to microchips on chipped Nikkors). If you decide to purchase a 135mm El Nikkor make sure it comes with the 45mm to 39mm rear chrome step-down adapter ring which converts the lens to Leica Thread Mount, as these seem impossible to find in the new or used markets.

The lens with an M39-to-Nikon F adapter at left,
the chrome Nikon 45-to-39mm step-down ring,
a UV protective filter, a 43-to-52mm step-up
ring and the BR2A Nikon lens reversing ring.

The BR2A can be mounted in any of three 120 degree apart orientations to ensure that the aperture scale is clearly visible. That’s not as nice as the eleven click stop orientation feature in the 80mm f/5.6N El Nikkor, but it does the job.

Performance:

How’s the performance? In a word exceptional at all apertures down to f/32 in the center and down to f/16 at the extreme edge with no tilt applied. At full tilt the extreme edges stay almost the same with the very small loss in resolution only visible at huge enlargement ratios. Overall, tilted or not, the sweetest of many sweet spots is found at f/16.

Here are the extreme edges untilted and tilted 25 degrees (the maximum available) – view this on a 32″ display and you are looking at the equivalent of an 72″ wide print:

Extreme edge with no tilt on the PB4 (left)
and maximum tilt (right). Apertures are
not reported correctly – f/16 was used.

How does the El Nikkor’s performance compare with that of the 135mm Leitz Elmar?

The comparison here is with no tilt or shift as the Elmar cannot handle much of either. The El Nikkor was at f/16 and the Elmar at f/11 – the sweet spots for the respective lenses:

Center resolution – El Nikkor (left) vs. Elmar (right), no tilt or shift.

Extreme edge resolution – El Nikkor (left) vs. Elmar (right), no tilt or shift.

The El Nikkor shows marginally higher resolution than the Elmar in the center, while there is nothing to choose at the extreme edge. Given that a good used Elmar typically retails for $150-200, the El Nikkor is the better buy, and the best choice if tilts and shifts are contemplated using a Nikon PB4 bellows. On the other hand you can happily use your 135mm Elmar in its rangefinder mount on a film or digital Leica M, or even on a screw thread Barnack Leica if you have the M39 version.

Use at normal distances:

You can always use this lens and bellows combination for images at normal subject distances, all the way out to infinity. This is about as sane as using a darkroom and enlarger but a quick check confirmed that the central definition is on a par with the 135mm Elmar at f/5.6 and f/16 but with considerable corner smearing at f/5.6 and still some at f/16. The Elmar is clearly superior. Stick with a regular 135mm lens for regular distances.

Going larger than life-size:

With the PB4 bellows fully extended the largest magnification ratio possible with the 135mm El Nikkor is 1:1, or life-sized. If you need greater magnification then the 80mm f/5.6N El Nikkor is recommended. Also a six element design it is easily reversed for larger than life images and every bit as good. While the third version of the 135mm El Nikkor (above) is single coated, the ‘N’ version of the 80mm El Nikkor is multi-coated. I doubt that makes any realistic difference in the results. The 80mm also sports a large image circle to allow full use of the tilt and shift functions of the PB4 bellows and costs about the same as the 135mm on the used market. The one downside is the shorter subject-to-lens distance.

A handy combination.

For an index of all Leica-related articles click here.

Read about the 200mm Micro-Nikkor AiS IF here.

Read about the Nikon PB-4 bellows here.

Unlike the optical unit of the 135mm Leitz Elmar or the 100mm Macro-Elmar-R, both of which permit infinity focus all the way down to a 1:1 reproduction ratio, the optical unit of the 200mm Micro-Nikkor AiS IF is not detachable. But that does not disable it for higher reproduction ratio macro photography. The focus range of the lens mounted directly on a camera body is from infinity to 1:2, or half life-size. So I thought it would be interesting to see what that focus range becomes when the lens is mounted on the PB-4 bellows, which requires no adapters.

The 200mm Macro-Nikkor AiS IF on a fully
extended Nikon PB-4 bellows on the Leica SL2-S.

a) With the PB-4 collapsed and the lens set to infinity, the reproduction ratio is 1:2, or half life size. That’s exactly as close as the Micro-Nikkor can focus mounted directly on the camera without the bellows.

b) With the PB-4 fully extended and the lens set to the closest focus distance the reproduction ratio is 3:2 or 1.5 times life size. If needed the lens can be reverse mounted on the PB-4 using the Nikon BR2 or BR2A reversing adapter, which it fits directly, owing to its 52mm filter thread size.

Thus the combination of Micro-Nikkor without or with the Bellows PB-4 gives you a continuous focusing range from infinity to 1.5 times life-size. Nice.

The above image also shows the subject to lens distance at the closest focus distance, which is 11″ with the lens hood retracted, making proper lighting a simple matter.

So this is a handy combination of a state-of-the-art bellows with a tack sharp macro lens. Some images to come, later.

To keep weight down I removed the tripod collar from the Micro-Nikkor. It also bears adding that this is not a lightweight rig so a solid tripod with broadly splayed legs and a heavy duty ball head are called for.