Adapters rms to 42x1mm

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Fri May 21, 2010 4:24 pm

I have just received these, from seller "jinfinance" and am pleasantly surprised. Better made and finished than the average adapter from China:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT

The inside of the cone and the rear of the flat adaptor will need some antireflective flocking material, but that won't take long.

Nikon to 42mm :
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT

OzRay · Post by **OzRay** » Fri May 21, 2010 11:46 pm

I actually asked for those to be made and I'm still waiting for my cone to be delivered. I ordered one as soon as I got the e-mail saying they're ready.

Cheers

Ray

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Sat May 22, 2010 10:24 am

They were a bit slow - blamed the ash cloud. They'll have to think of something else for Oz!

ChrisLilley · Post by **ChrisLilley** » Sat May 22, 2010 1:55 pm

I have one on the way too (the cone type).

OzRay · Post by **OzRay** » Sat May 22, 2010 3:18 pm

Hopefully it's already here and it's just our mail system that's slow (I've had stuff sit in our local mail room for a week and not been notified of the arrival).

Cheers

Ray

OzRay · Post by **OzRay** » Tue May 25, 2010 10:34 pm

My adapter arrived today and this is what it looks like attached to my bellows on one end, with an LED ring light, and E-P2 on the other. The adapter is attached to a Soligor 2x extender from which the lens elements have been removed to give me an OM extension tube/lens adapter. The microscope objective is a cheap Amscope 4x that came with the Amscope microscope, so this is just a starting point for me. What I intend to do is rig up a diffuser for the ring light, but also intend to work with direct light. The other thing I want to do is get a solid base for the bellows (probably a heavy metal plate) and some sort of subject holder with a microscope type movement adjuster to enable, precisely positioned, stacked images. I think the internals of the adapter does need to be 'flocked', as it's just a smooth, anodised, interior, but this should be pretty easy to do. The adapter itself appears to be well made in all other respects.

Cheers

Ray

Craig Gerard · Post by **Craig Gerard** » Wed May 26, 2010 12:59 am

Looks good Ray

How are you set for 'flocking material'; let me know if you need some. I have a small amount of protostar to spare.

I haven't found a distributor for that material in Australia yet.

Craig

OzRay · Post by **OzRay** » Wed May 26, 2010 2:45 am

Craig Gerard wrote:Looks good Ray

How are you set for 'flocking material'; let me know if you need some. I have a small amount of protostar to spare.

I haven't found a distributor for that material in Australia yet.

Craig

Craig

I'm definitely interested in doing something to tone down the interior of the tube. How flexible is that material, as there's not really a lot of room to produce a cone if the base material is overly thick.

Cheers

Ray

Craig Gerard · Post by **Craig Gerard** » Wed May 26, 2010 4:48 am

OzRay wrote:

I'm definitely interested in doing something to tone down the interior of the tube. How flexible is that material, as there's not really a lot of room to produce a cone if the base material is overly thick.

You'll find it very accommodating.

It's the same material that some other members have been using for the Beljan cone as described at link below.
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... php?t=8249

*Note: The link to the cone flocking template file uploaded by ChrisS has expired but I also have a copy of that file which I could email through to you.

Craig

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Wed May 26, 2010 8:23 am

Ray,

Take Craig up on that offer. It's pretty easy to do with that material. I just did it with the "jin" cone myself. It really needs some type of internal "treatment", and this material is perfect for the job.

I'm not sure the Beljan template would be identical, but it is easy enough to make a paper template to cut the material appropriately. (And if you've never used the Protostar material before it might be easier to do it in several slightly overlapping sections).

Also, be sure to look out for the bright "ring" I mention here. With the cone adapter I found a plumbing washer that I inserted from the wide end of the adapter. It fits at the objective end of the cone, but with sufficient clearance so that it does not interfere with end of the objective, or obscure the rear aperture in any way. (Properly "blackened", naturally)

OzRay · Post by **OzRay** » Wed May 26, 2010 2:21 pm

Craig

I'll PM you so that we can work something out.

Charles

Thanks for the additional info. I reckon that I've still got a bit of work to do in this setup. My first task is to get a large(ish) piece of steel plate to use as a base and damper for the setup, and then find an old microscope stand with a functioning plate and controls that I can cut up to use as a focussing rail for subjects (especially for stacking).

This will end up being anything but a portable unit.

Cheers

Ray

OzRay · Post by **OzRay** » Sat May 29, 2010 2:23 pm

I've accepted Craig's generous offer, but I'm now also considering ordering some of the 20"x28" sheets to use as a dark background. Previously I've used black foamcore and also tried black velvet, but they all still require quite a bit of Photoshopping to get things even. This Protostar material looks like it could work much much better and create a better overall dark background. If anyone is interested in getting some in Australia, let me know and I can order extra.

Cheers

Ray

Craig Gerard · Post by **Craig Gerard** » Sat May 29, 2010 5:41 pm

Ray,

I've found numerous uses for this material. I also use it for holding butterfly wings to stage plates when shooting vertically; the wings just sit on the material without damage, the fine fibers of the Protostar provide sufficient grip (within reason) in this situation.

As a backdrop, this material swallows light like a black-hole; providing there is sufficient distance from the subject; an example can be found in the third image here.

Craig

OzRay · Post by **OzRay** » Sat May 29, 2010 6:12 pm

Craig

That's exactly what I'm looking for, as the other materials are really a compromise. What you're producing is great.

Cheers

Ray

ChrisLilley · Post by **ChrisLilley** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 1:15 pm

Mt ProtoStar light trap arrived today. I ordered two 28" x 20" sheets, because the postage was the same for two as for one.

I started with an easy cylindrical lens hood (for a 300/4) then slightly more complex shapes for my smaller lenses, and then did the cone and also the back of the Nikon 4x objective.

Its far more light absorbing than the flat black painted finish inside my hoods, which looks mid grey at some angles; and the inside of the conical adapter is semi-gloss black which is worse.