A few weeks ago, I found this vintage Hansa 50mm f3.5 on eBay at a very reasonable price. It was new in the box, and the seller told me that it was an enlarger lens and that I’d have to find some kind of step-up adapter to get it to fit on M42 Pentax thread mount. That was puzzling, but a little bit of research told me that it was probably a M39 mount enlarging lens. This means I would have to find a ring that would step it up to the M42. (The M42 is a 42×1 pitch thread while a T-mount has a 42×0.75 pitch fine thread.)
After a little searching, I found this little aluminum adapter ring from a seller in the Ukraine, so I took a chance. Once I got it, I fitted it on the Hansa lens, and voila, it was just right size to mount on a M42 mount. I figured that it should also fit on a regular T-mount lens, since the pitch is so close. It works, but it wont thread in all the way because of the pitch difference, so don’t force it. As long as it grips a thread or two, it’ll be fine. Besides, the Hansa is so small and light, it does not matter.
Hansa 50mm f/3.5 lens |
M39-M42 Adapter Ring |
A note regarding macrophotography on the cheap – as an amateur, I cannot spend large amounts of money on specialized equipment, so I am always on the lookout for “cheap awesome lenses” and other accessories. One such example is Spiratone macro equipment. Spiratone sold 2 types of bellows – the single rail rack and pinion bellowscope with T-mount fittings and the double rail Macrobel with camera mount specific fittings.
Spiratone also marketed a tiny 35mm Macrotar lens, a 75mm Flat Field Macro lens (for copying, possibly) and a 150mm Macrotel lens, all with a T-mount, and designed to be used with their bellows and copy systems. They appear with some regularity on eBay, and if one is really interested in real close up macrophotography, it’s possible to put together a macro kit cheaply. It’s possible, with a little bit of luck. I can attest to this.
Patience is key here, and one has to be willing to wait for the right price. My goal was to acquire a full set of bellows macro equipment – bellows, bellows lenses and adapters for less than $200. I was never able to ascertain if Spiratone also sold a 50mm bellows macro, so when I found the Hansa 50mm f/3.5, I was very happy. Check out the Macro section for pictures of the equipment.
I mounted the Hansa to a Spiratone Bellowscope and with a Minolta AF -T mount adapter on the other end, I mounted the Sony Alpha 700. The Bellowscope gives an extension of about 160mm and is pretty light.
Here’s what the Macro set-up looked like –
bellows setup for Macro |
bellows setup for macro |
bellows setup for macro |
These are pictures I took with the Sony Alpha 700 and the Hansa 50mm f/3.5. Regarding the macro enlargement – the Sony Alpha 700 has a APS-C size sensor (23.5mm x 1.5.6mm) so at full extension, I think I was able to get approximately a 4:1 magnification. That’s not bad at all.
Scale Image 1 |
Scale Image 2 |
Sony A700 and Hansa 50mm f/3.5 |
Sony A700 and Hansa 50mm f/3.5 |
Sony A700 and Hansa 50mm f/3.5 |
Sony A700 and Hansa 50mm f/3.5 |
Sony A700 and Hansa 50mm f/3.5 |
Sony A700 and Hansa 50mm f/3.5 |
I’ve also included a couple of pictures with the Spiratone Flatfield 75mm f/3.5 fitted on the Bellowscope. Again, the magnification is around 4:1 at full extension. Second picture is about 2:1 magnification. I’ll post some pictures soon with the 35mm Macrotar and 150mm Macrotel bellows lenses.
Sony A700 and 75mm Flat field Macro |
Sony A700 and 75mm Flat field Macro |
Sony A700 and 75mm Flat field Macro |
Sony A700 and 75mm Flat field Macro |
Sony A700 and 75mm Flat field Macro |
Sony A700 and 75mm Flat field Macro |
Photographed with a Sony Alpha 700 DSLR, Hansa 50mm f/3.5 and Spiratone Flatfield 75m f/3.5 on Spiratone Bellowscope.
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Not sure how to go about this inquiry.
I’m interested in accomplishing the same thing you’ve done. I also have an A700 (love it!) and would like to get back into macro photography. Could you please give me a list of what I want to search for on eBay and any advice you think would be helpful? I’d really appreciate it.
Had a macro setup for my Canon Pellix about 35 years ago and enjoyed what I was able to do with it.
I remember there was something about lens reversing adapters etc. But am at a loss as where to begin now. Thanks. Jon
Jon – sorry about the delay in replying. You might start by looking at the MACRO section on this site, https://alphamagic.wordpress.com/macrophotography/
I have some description and use of equipment that you will need for macrophotography. It depends on the type of macro work that you are interested in, of course. It isnt necessary to have the most expensive lenses, there are plenty of low cost alternatives.
It depends on the type of macro work that you are interested in, of course. It isnt necessary to have the most expensive lenses, there are plenty of low cost alternatives.
For occasional enlargements, you can use a set of screw-in macro lenses – they come in a set of 3, and are good for occasional use. They are cheap, but tend to distort. If you have a 50mm normal lens, you can get a “reverse mount” that will give you some nice enlargements upto 1:1 or better, but its a little clumsy.
For most close up photography, a lens that has a macro function of 1:2 is sufficient, and can be obtained cheaply – such as the Sigma 28-80mm https://alphamagic.wordpress.com/2008/02/09/wild-water-at-great-falls-md-sony-alpha-700/
For real close up macro work, you will need a dedicated macro lens such as a 50mm f/2.8 1:1 macro. You can get a 3rd party lens like a Sigma for a reasonable price – such as this one. https://alphamagic.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/sigma-50mm-on-sony-a700/
If you want to go to higher ratios, like 2:1, 3:1 or 4:1, I’d recommend a bellows with an ordinary 50mm normal lens or a 75mm enlarger lens with a 49mm thread (not 39mm) – Spiratone made a neat 75mm f/3.5 – if you can get a 135mm enlarger, that would be even better, since you can get high magnifications from a couple of feet away, which will make things easier, especially in ordinary daylight situations.
I hope this helps. Please email me if you have any more questions. I generally find what I need on Ebay. Its good to be patient, though, and acquire the pieces you want slowly.
AJ
Great setup ! Where did you found bellow to sony alpha ? I cant find annywhere ! 😦