Smokedaddy wrote:That's a impressive image. Since I'm not familiar with this lens, what does the A stand for? Did they make a non-A version? Also, what's the black strip (yes I lightened it up)? Are those chips available (just wondering).
-JW:
James,
It's a later version of the Printing Nikkor PN105 reproduction lens, the A is considered slightly better. They are not common and expensive, I purchased mine from Ray P, think he may have a few more.
The black strip is a reflection from the side of the chip. Silicon when cut on this plane is highly reflective, almost mirror-like. You can also see some aluminum wire bond reflections in both the substrate and chip.
No they weren't for sale, at least to the general public. This was the 1st RF/MW SoC, which was an evolution of another RF chip developed in the early 90s to include advanced digital electronics (FPGA & uP) on the same chip.
These all were way ahead of their time, and the fundamental foundation for our WiFi, Bluetooth and Cell phone wireless technology chips today.
I should add that Lou had the idea of using a TC instead of pulling the PN105 away from it's highly optimized 1X design point. Check out Mark's Coinimaging.com site to see how highly optimized the PN105 is for 1X, it has 0% loss in corner sharpness at 1X!!
"Conclusions:
This is an unusual and hard to find lens that is expensive and optimized for a narrow magnification range (optimized for 1:1) It is difficult to adapt to a camera, but it can be done either through a Rodenstock or through a custom adapter. The results are worth it, given a few caveats.
This lens has exceptional resolution and sharpness, outperforming every other lens that I have tried from about 0.60:1 to 1.5:1. There is a slight dip in the sharpness and resolution at 1:1. The field is dead flat at 1:1, but the corner sharpness suffers a bit above and below this magnification. There is almost a total lack of distortion and virtually no chromatic aberration. Since it has a focal length of 105mm, the working distance is very good across the magnification. It has very good contrast, similar to a modern macro lens.
"This lens it at its best at large apertures and this is what separates it from all the other lenses out there. If you are willing to forego significant depth of field and you like imaging at 1:1, this lens can't be beat. You can use this lens at smaller apertures and it still outperforms most macro lenses up to about f/5.6. But most of the big advantages of this lens go away once it is stopped down (except low CA)."
Lou's idea allows the PN105 to stay at 1X while the TC gives some additional magnification. The results are good but will show any weakness in the TC. The Nikon 1.4 and 1.7 TCs I have wouldn't fit this lens because of the well known "tab" preventing certain lenses from not working (safety factor since these TCs can damage or be damaged by certain optics that protrude into the TC interior). I modified a F mount adapter (created a slot) to allow the TC to work with this PN105 lenses, rather than the usual modification (remove the tab) to the TC.
Best,
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
~Mike
