dkCambridgeshire Posted December 6, 2011 Share #1 Posted December 6, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have been experimenting with Leitz ELPRO lenses in order to 'get a bit closer' to smaller subject matter. I used a 49mm KIWI filter holder tube with 49mm to 52mm step up ring plus a 52mm to Series VII adaptor ring and Leica R 'ELPRO VIIa' . One experimental result is posted in the Photo Forum together with a pic of the apparatus. Now plan to use a polariser to try and kill the reflections if can find another Series VII adaptor. http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/nature-wildlife/212804-polished-ammonite-fossil-section.html Just an initial experiment to 'push' the X1 where I need it to go for large(ish) fossil photography. dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 6, 2011 Posted December 6, 2011 Hi dkCambridgeshire, Take a look here Experimenting with X1 plus ELPRO lens(es). I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
wda Posted December 6, 2011 Share #2 Posted December 6, 2011 I have commented elsewhere but, just again, thank you. I feel this is just the beginning although it is not quite 'field ready' yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted December 10, 2011 By adding an Elpro VIb plus an Elpro VIa to the Leica X1 compact camera it is possible to obtain approx. 0.25 magnification - a considerable improvement on the native magnification. There is no filter thread on the 24mm X1 lens but an aftermarket Kiwi filter holder tube with a 49mm thread can be attached to the camera. The VIb Elpro lens has a Series VI filter; I do not have a Series VI to 49mm adaptor ring so the Elpro was glued onto a 49mm to 52mm adaptor. There are other 55mm and 44mm thread Elpros available but they sell for more than the Series VI and VII types. ]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7019/6488121631_45c2d5988e_b.jpg The following 1797 Cartwheel Twopence coin photos are straight JPEGS at 0.25 mag. - no post processing apart from edge cropping. Camera was on a Kaiser copy stand and height above subject was adjusted until the limit of single beep autofocus confirmation was reached. Grazed side lighting via single £9.99 IKEA 'JANSJÖ' swan neck lamp. Lens to subject distance was 7.5 cm - plenty of room in that gap to use the swan neck Ikea lamp - the actual lamp head is 3.5cm diameter. The coin is 41mm diameter and on the sensor the image is 9.8mm diameter. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7168/6488109363_b6e0ec1cd0_b.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6488117171_07a96b0257_b.jpg The series VI and VII Elpros (first available in 1965 for the Leicaflex SLR 50mm to 135mm lenses) were not designed for a 24mm lens on APS C format but they do enable the X1 to be used for low magnification close-up photography - and they can be purchased relatively cheaply. Because the Elpros are achromatic doublets, they perform considerably better than ordinary single meniscus close up lenses. There is an interesting section about Leicaflex Elpro lenses, both the Series VI / VII and the 55mm types, in "Near Range", pages 163 to 167 of Günter Osterloh's 'Applied Leica Technique' book. Best wishes dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted December 10, 2011 Share #4 Posted December 10, 2011 Dunk, these are amazingly good pictures, thanks to your ingenuity. I have sent you a pm. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share #5 Posted December 10, 2011 Thank you David - I have replied to your PM And I forgot to mention that the exposures were 2 seconds at f5.6 at 100 ISO. Best wishes dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jippiejee Posted December 10, 2011 Share #6 Posted December 10, 2011 That's truly amazing... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share #7 Posted December 11, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) A couple more series VI Elpros should be on their way later this week; it is possible to use three of them together. I cannot get my head around the actual theoretical possible magnifications because the sums appear not to work with a 24mm lens - but I'm hoping that two VIb Elpros might give half life size. Three Elpros stacked together might be pushing the set-up a bit too much but will be worth a try. Adding relatively heavy Elpro lenses does not put any load on the X1's 24mm lens - the Elpros are supported by the aftermarket KIWI filter adaptor tube - they are not attached directly to the lens. You might wonder why I'm going to these lengths just to take a few low mag. pics of the coin. The reason is that although the Leica X1 has proved to be the best digital compact I have ever used for regular photography, it also has the worst native macro capability I've ever experienced. Leica have not made any filter adaptors available for the camera thus no dedicated filters or close up lenses are available either - which is a pretty poor show compared to the accessories made available for compact cameras by other manufacturers. I guess Leica have limited resources for this type of product development - but the potential is there if they care to investigate. Leica look after bird watchers by offering digiscope accessories for their compact cameras - but close up photography enthusiasts have to 'make do and mend'. If the X1 does in fact originate from somewhere other than Solms then surely it is not beyond the realms of possibility that some dedicated filter holder/filters/close up accessories could be offered. Best wishes dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share #8 Posted December 15, 2011 Additional Elpro VIa and VIb close up lenses arrived this morning. This is a preliminary experiment using two Elpro VIb plus two Elpro VIa c/u lenses with the X1. Firstly, this is the native magnification without any close up lenses: Best native magnification Leica X1 with Churchill Crown by s4sargent, on Flickr This shows the four Elpro c/u lenses in use: Series VI Elpro c/u lenses on Leica x1 by s4sargent, on Flickr And this is the 0.4 mag. (on the sensor) result with the four Elpro lenses: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6516164485_33539c7fe4_b.jpg [/url] Churchill Crown approx 0.4 mag - Leica X1 with Elpro c/u lenses by s4sargent, on Flickr Exposure was 1/13 sec. f4.5 100 ISO.'Grazed' illumination was via one £9.99 Ikea Jansjo lamp fitted with a cardboard snoot. Camera on a Kaiser copy stand - 38mm Churchill Crown coin supported on a 120 film spool above black velvet. Straight JPEG - no sharpening or post processing but sides of the frame have been cropped to square-ish format - the height has not been cropped. I am surprised that 4 Elpro lenses can be stacked onto the X1 and produce a reasonable result. I might try with another Elpro added (5 in all) just to see if feasible. The three Elpros that arrived this morning were just £19 plus postage. I think the X1 has some potential for close up photography and I am planning to make some exhibition prints using the Elpro lenses. Best wishes dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted December 15, 2011 Share #9 Posted December 15, 2011 Dunk, these results are astonishingly good. Well done! I could be tempted to try. The only Elpro I have is for my Digilux 2. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyukie Posted December 15, 2011 Share #10 Posted December 15, 2011 If you stack 10 more ELPROs maybe ur X1 will become a microscope Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share #11 Posted December 15, 2011 Dunk, these results are astonishingly good. Well done! I could be tempted to try. The only Elpro I have is for my Digilux 2. Thanks David; the combined diopter strength of the 4 stacked Elpros is 4.92 + 4.92 + 2.51 + 2.51 = 14.86 ... and according to text book advice stacking 4 close up lenses is not recommended and gives an inferior image ... but these are c.1965 Leitz achromats I wonder if Leitz actually manufactured the original Elpros or if they were 'contracted out' to another manufacturer? I wonder what sort of results modern Raynox c/u lenses might give with the X1? I took photos at every aperture from f2.8 to f16 and they are all decent images and usable. No need to stop down because there is minimum depth to the subject. Now I need to try some oblong shaped subject matter to test distortion. The sides of the frame have not been used in the coin photos. If anyone else is considering trying Series VI Elpros with the X1 please note that some form of adaptor will be needed to attach the first Elpro to the filter tube. I glued the stronger 4.92 diopter VIb Elpro to a 49mm stepping ring. Best wishes dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share #12 Posted December 15, 2011 I have used the four Elpros because I have them - but would be better to use eg three VIb Elpros each 4.92 diopters rather than two VIb plus two VIa. dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share #13 Posted December 15, 2011 If anyone is interested in trying Elpros with their X1 there are at least three UK used Leica dealers listing them . Do a search using 'Elpro' and 'Macrotar' on their websites. The Series VI are usually cheaper than the 55mm . dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpattison Posted December 21, 2011 Share #14 Posted December 21, 2011 Hi Dunk, Are the Elpros 55mm? Your 49-52 converter seems to be the only conversion? Thanks, John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share #15 Posted December 23, 2011 Hi Dunk,Are the Elpros 55mm? Your 49-52 converter seems to be the only conversion? Thanks, John My Elpros are Series VI and Series VII. I have glued a Series VIb Elpro into a 52mm to 49mm adaptor and I have a Series VII to 49mm adaptor. The Series VI and VII Elpros are much cheaper than the 55mm Elpros; over the last two weeks I have paid less than £10 each for three Series VI Elpros. Best wishes dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpattison Posted December 28, 2011 Share #16 Posted December 28, 2011 Thanks! I guess that's why they are called Elpro V1a and b, and V11b ... doh! By the way, I've just picked up one of these... http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/249133-REG/Leica_18609_49mm_Lens_Adapter_for.html I hope it will have the correct thread at the X1 end, but I could always resell it. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpattison Posted January 3, 2012 Share #17 Posted January 3, 2012 No, the adapter was too small to fit around the lens. Ah well... John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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