How to reverse mount enlarging lens on bellows?

mlackey · Post by **mlackey** » Fri Mar 02, 2012 10:43 pm

I have an older Vivitar M42 bellows, and a Componon 50/1.8 enlarging lens. Have all the cheap adapters to mount the lens on the bellows with the lens "facing forward", but I like to try as an experiment and reverse mount the enlarging lens on the bellows.

The lens filter size is 43mm. I have a 43-52 step-up adapter attached to the ring. This leaves me with problem of mating 52mm adapter ring to 42mm bellows thread. The real problem is that the exposed 52mm threads are female, while the bellows threads are 42mm, also female. I need a 52 male to 42 male adapter, or some combination that can provide this, and and have not had much luck on ebay.

I am really hoping somebody else has already figured out this problem and is willing to share. Any other thoughts or suggestions?

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Fri Mar 02, 2012 11:03 pm

I believe you're looking for one of these:

www.ebay.com/itm/49mm-to-42mm-Male-Macr ... 0649397237

It's 49mm, not 52mm, but that's easily fixed with another ring.

The eBay search terms are m42 reverse adapter.

These screw mount adapters are getting hard to come by. I found only that one listing for new manufacture.

--Rik

Craig Gerard · Post by **Craig Gerard** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 12:12 am

Or this one for use with your existing step rings.

Male 52mm/Male 42mm

This one is also in India:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/260949933717

One from Hong Kong:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/260776778422

This is a Male 42mm (1.0) to Male 52mm Macro Coupler, also known as Reverse Ring.
These rings can be used to connect 52mm filter-threaded lenses reversely on M42 mounted cameras.

Craig

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 2:54 am

Good catches. A more productive search is for 42mm reverse . One unit is $2.98 with free shipping from China. How is this possible??

--Rik

ray_parkhurst · Post by **ray_parkhurst** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:13 am

rjlittlefield wrote:Good catches. A more productive search is for 42mm reverse . One unit is $2.98 with free shipping from China. How is this possible??

--Rik

I think the Chinese government is 100% subsidizing shipments to the US. It's a form of dumping. I decided to purchase some LEDs from an eBay seller and saw that the price was $2.98 each pair, free shipping. Wanting to help the seller out, I bought 8 pairs from same seller. About 3 weeks later I received 8 separate packages from China. Each one had a pair of LEDs inside, very well packed in bubble wrap and a rubber band to hold it together, in a small outer box with customs form stuck to it. Now, I don't believe the seller was either stupid or lazy, so my best guess is the Government is paying a small premium perhaps for each package of trade goods that ship abroad, thus it is to the seller's advantage to ship product in separate packages...Ray

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 3:23 am

Somehow I'm reminded of the old line that "Sure, we lose a little on each one, but we make it up in the volume."

Economics was never my best subject.

--Rik

mlackey · Post by **mlackey** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:38 am

rjlittlefield wrote:How is this possible??

I've wondered the same thing. Either they are making very little (if any) profit, or somebody else is making it up for them, as mentioned, government subsidy.

To everybody else, thanks for the replies. That is exactly what I need.

Tesselator · Post by **Tesselator** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:50 am

ray_parkhurst wrote:
rjlittlefield wrote:Good catches. A more productive search is for 42mm reverse . One unit is $2.98 with free shipping from China. How is this possible??

--Rik
I think the Chinese government is 100% subsidizing shipments to the US. It's a form of dumping.

Yes, that's what is happening! It's been happening for the past 2 years (maybe three, I'm not exactly sure.) But it's not to the USA only, it's all international destinations. In country destinations don't qualify tho so this is clearly a form of dumping - which is supposed to be illegal. China much like the USA+UK is set on taking over the world! I kid you not.