Nikkor 50mm f/2.8N vs Mitutoyo M-Plan APO objective - Best 3X lens?
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- čas přidán 29. 01. 2023
- By popular demand the long-awaited 3X face-off between my favorite infinity corrected microscope objective and my favorite enlarger lens - both at 3X magnification. Which makes this a lens comparison as well as a tutorial on short-focus techniques and a mini review of the Raynox DCR250.
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The Raynox DCR 250 - does not appear to be available right now (I can't find one
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Well done Allan! Covered all the bases.
Thank you for all of your entertaining nuts and bolts approach. Have learned a lot from you. You're all that and then some ma man!
Really nice comparison. The Mitutoyo is still a dream lens for me at the moment. I took my first image yesterday with the 50mm EL Nikkor N and my ‘new’ PB6 bellows thanks to your help on Patreon.
Superb information delivered in an easily understood way - thank you! Ben following you since finding the Stewart Wood interview and been binging my way through. Truly great channel! I'm a macro togger from Northern Ireland
Great face-off Allan I enjoyed your detailed review, you are the Macro Master.😀
Brilliant! I'm impressed. I did grab my (old model) EL Nikkor 50/ f2.8N off enlarger & popped it on the Nikon PB-4 & D300s. All this time I was fiddling w/ different glass from dedicated macro and this one just does it easy & clean as well. I haven't even reversed it yet so I'm g4rabbing that ring to try next.
I've been binge-watching (and thoroughly enjoying) your videos recently, since bumping into your Zerene vs Helicon comparison a couple of weeks ago. This has re-ignited my interest in the genre (sorry, horrible word!) since the demise of Google+ about four years ago, where I used to share a quite a bit of high-ish magnification stuff. My setup was the Canon MP-E 65 attached to a Sony A7R. I'm curious to know whether or not you might have had any experience with that lens and, if so, how its IQ might compare with these two optics
Bravo Allan ! very interesting and educativ .The big difference is the price under Mitutoyo and Nikkor N !
Yes - there is and it is something I really should have mentioned (forehead slap!) - I will add something to the video description to that effect - thanks! Allan
Great video, thanks
If you wanted to achieve ultimate IQ at 3x of a subject filling the frame, would you consider shooting a pano set at 5x with the Mitutoyo and stitching? this wouldn’t be to have a bigger file to print, this would be to have a sharp image corner to corner
It's always a good idea to make a few test shots with different apertures before taking the full stack. ^^
You seem to be neglecting a minor but important subtlety here, Allan. Unless I’m mistaken, the Nikkor 50mm enlarger lens is optimized for a 10:1 magnification ratio. The ideal print size therefore, would be a 10x15 inch print from 35mm negative. Nearly all 50mm enlarger lenses are likely to be similarly corrected. (I recall 80mm lenses are 8:1, 105 being 6:1, and certain longer focal lengths dropping to 5:1 or 4:1. But don’t quote me). As such, your comparison here is using the Nikkor at a considerably longer working distance than would be optimal.......
What is your opinion of the Spiratone 75mm Flat Field Macro f3.5? Im awaiting adapters for my Sony.
Thank you for a very interesting comparison of the El-Nikkor 50mm/2,8 and a short focused Mitutoyo 5x. Have you ever tried to mount the El-Nikkor on a relay lens? E.g. using a 200mm relay lens would result in 4x magnification. Often a relay lens improves the optical quality. I do not know whether the El-Nikkor should be reversed or not in this case, but it might be worth a try.
Hi KIm, you are the second person this week to make that suggestion. I have never done that and to be honest, I am not sure how it would work. it seems that the stacking of these lenses would create a lot of distortion and a variety of aberrations - but I may be all wrong about that - I have a bunch of diopters and other 200mm options and I will give it a try this week. I will mention your comment at the livestream tonight - you may be on to something!
Allan what was the benefit of using the Raynox forward-facing instead of reverse-facing in this experiment; I don't believe you mentioned why? Cheers
I bought the Nikkor halfway through watching. Thanks. Had been considering the Mitotoyo or a Chinese clone.
You will love that lens!
How would these compare to the Mitutoyo short-focused with the DCR-150 but at 144mm? Now I’m also curious how these both compare to the Laowa 25mm at 3x….hmmmm
Complimenti, mi piacerebbe vedere la comparazione tra mitutoyo e laowa 25, magari sia a un RR 3 che 5, speriamo ci possa essere
Allan, a brilliant and extremely useful comparison! Firstly, could I please, respectfully, ask you to consider stopping all music (even your reduced volume background music) once you actually commence speaking in your videos? I, and I am certain all your viewers, simply hang on your every word and, for me, I find all music distracting in the extreme while you talk and as a consequence lose track of what you are saying? No doubt this simply reflects my age and declining hearing acuity! Nevertheless, I tremendously appreciate all your videos and want to hear your every word! Now, moving on, I have a question which your viewers may also find relevant for some of them: I am at the cross-roads in deciding which Mitutoyo to purchase; the 5X or 10X and presuming I will eventually purchase one of these Mitutoyo's? In Aussie $'s the 5X is approx, $1,300 and 10X $1700 (at today's rates which either one, is a huge outlay for me) and from our previous discussion regarding my interest in photographing crystal inclusions in transparent gems using microscope objectives (which at this stage, I have no experience using), think the 10X might be a tad too powerful a magnification, although a great many useful inclusions are
Thanks, very helpful. Have you abandoned the pvc shooting cage?
Not so much abandoned as reconsidering options. I am experimenting with more rigid materials and finding ways to brace the existing cage - I am doing a lot more high magnification stuff and that is very unforgiving of vibrations - My bet is you will see an iteration of the cage reappear before much longer!
Robert O’Toole says not to leave any infinity space between the objective and Raynox - to reduce aberrations etc, when short focusing at 124mm. Maybe that’s why some of the results were not stellar in the corners?
maybe the difference here is the 50 mm lens may cover full frame camera sensor.
You’ve been feeding the bear beer a gain I see.