MJKZZ Ultra - anyone tried it?

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mawyatt
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Post by mawyatt »

ray_parkhurst wrote:
mawyatt wrote:Do you think the collar is sturdy enough to mount the camera/lens combo like you would for normal telephoto lens use, and better than just mounting the camera by it's 1/4-20 base.

Please proved the collar details, I might give this a shot since I think the 200mm Nikon AI and "Q" use the same knurled section, at least they look like they might be the same.

Best,
Certainly mounting both camera and lens in a 2-point configuration will be far more rigid than either just camera or just lens.
Agree, but sometimes it's difficult to get both on the same horizontal plane without an adjustable mount, thus single point support which seems better to do somewhere midpoint with the heavy Mitty objectives hanging off one end and heavy camera body off the other.

That's one of the things I liked about the Hejnar ARCA plate, you would mount camera as usual to the ARCA plate and the "Y" adapter was mounted at the other end of the long ARCA plate and adjusted to engage the lens assembly to provide support. This worked very well for various 42, 52 & 58mm tube sections and should also work well for Nikon 200mm lenses, although I never tried it with the Nikon 200mm.

Best,
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
~Mike

clarnibass
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Post by clarnibass »

I'm not sure. On the AI it just grips, but not tight enough to grip by itself (i.e. I can slightly wiggle it if I try pretty hard). I guess you could glue something thin to it, but even then, gripping on the focus ring only, I'm wondering if there's any chance of the camera slightly rotating and changing focus during a stack or something like that.

It's only approximate but from specs I found the AI is 68 mm max diameter and the Q is 72mm max diameter, but a different collar might fit the Q. They also look very different.

mawyatt
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Location: Clearwater, Florida

Post by mawyatt »

clarnibass wrote:I'm not sure. On the AI it just grips, but not tight enough to grip by itself (i.e. I can slightly wiggle it if I try pretty hard). I guess you could glue something thin to it, but even then, gripping on the focus ring only, I'm wondering if there's any chance of the camera slightly rotating and changing focus during a stack or something like that.

It's only approximate but from specs I found the AI is 68 mm max diameter and the Q is 72mm max diameter, but a different collar might fit the Q. They also look very different.
Yeah I've had the "Q" version change focus during vertical stacks, took me awhile to figure out. The focus would slowly creep under the lens combo weight with the objective hanging off the front when in a vertical configuration. Ended up taping the focus ring in place at infinity focus and placing a couple rubber bands around focus ring to help holding with Gaffers tape. This has worked OK.

Sounds like this might not be good on the "Q" type lenses, don't have an "AI" so can't compare. 4mm difference is a lot.

The Hejnar ARCA plate with "Y" end adapter might be another choice, it's worked well on the other tube lens setups I have and is adaptable.

http://www.hejnarphotostore.com/category-s/135.htm

Best,
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
~Mike

clarnibass
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Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2016 11:33 pm

Post by clarnibass »

On my AI, if I grip the focus ring and pull the end, it doesn't budge (and I pulled pretty hard) since those parts need to be rotated compared with each other to change focus.

If I grip behind the focus ring and pull the end, it does slowly move and rotate the focus ring, since those parts stay aligned when changing focus, though it did require quite a bit of force.

So I think the focus change for vertical stacking is much less likely to happen if gripping this way. What I meant was that maybe vibration from taking photos or the rail moving might cause it to turn (even more if the camera is heavy on the right side, or vise versa for a tube lens with focus turning to the other direction).

Alternatively you might be able to grip on that silver area behind the focus ring. It is too thin on the AI and wouldn't give enough grip, but looks wider on the Q so maybe?

BTW when using a tube lens like that, have you found that focused all the way to infinity (i.e. until the lens physically stops) usually works good? Some lenses need to be focused just before infinity to actually be focused at infinity.

clarnibass
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Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2016 11:33 pm

Post by clarnibass »

Here is the setup so far. Works pretty well.

Image

mawyatt
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Location: Clearwater, Florida

Post by mawyatt »

That certainly looks like a good mount. What are the components you are using?

Sorry I didn't see the question at the end of your prior post. The Nikon 200 F4 "Q" lens I have (2) both focus just past infinity, so I have to set them at infinity by focusing on something far away (power tower), then secure the focus ring (tape).

Best,
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
~Mike

clarnibass
Posts: 130
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2016 11:33 pm

Post by clarnibass »

It's a regular long arca-type plate from ebay. The collar (also from ebay) is made for the Canon 70-200mm f/4 lens. The riser is just a rod that I turned to the right height, with some rubber cork glued to it (it's a "soft" material, much firmer than cork, but softer than the machined part itself, firmer than the rubber that the arca plates have). The riser is drilled and tapped to 1/4-20. I made a 1/4-20 threaded rod that connects the riser and the camera (it would be much simpler to just cut a screw but didn't have any and didn't want to make the drive to get one...).

The collar has enough material that in theory it's possible to cut it, drill and tap, then use a plate without a riser. The problem is I don't have a way to hold it for milling (filing it by hand more or less flat and parallel could work but would take far too long).
Last edited by clarnibass on Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:35 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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ray_parkhurst
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Post by ray_parkhurst »

Looks good and sturdy, and by default holds infinity focus. Nice solution.

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