How is this for a set of bellows?
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This is two sets of Nikon PB4 bellows, connected together via a set of small Novoflex bellows and a few extension rings. DSLRs need an additional ring(PK-13 works fine) to mount and also require some maneuvering. That's for something like a D8xx series DSLR-you'd probably need a longer tube and would lose some flexibility to mount a single digit DSLR.
I built this set-up for a specific project-I was trying to photograph GC capillary columns with an inside diameter of .10-.50mm. It would have been easier with a good microscope, but I didn't have one. I put enough time and thought into this that I've just left it, and I have pulled it out a few other crazy times. I did accomplish what I was trying to do, and quite well(aside from almost no DOF) but that's a subject for another thread. Effective apertures are so small that I ended up using two Norman power packs, one firing a head at 2000 w-s and the other firing a second head at 1250 w-s. I've never used that much power on another shot-in fact I'm often fighting with being able to turn them down low enough even in macro work.
In any case, both of the PB4 bellows are mounted to a piece of aluminum box section(I think 1/2" but don't quote me on that-I actually asked by civil engineer brother in law to look over my sketches and make sure it would handle without flexing). I have one of the big Arca Swiss plates bolted to the center. The PB-4s have their mounting feet on nicely geared rails, so the whole set-up can be moved forward and back along the aluminum rail for focus. Of course focus can also be by moving the lens or the camera, and yes extension of all three bellows can be adjusted. At even minimum extension, any lens you stick on here is going to have more than enough circle to tilt and shift the the lens as much as the bellows allow.
I show the Nikon 105mm bellows mount on here, although it really needs to be reversed to be useable with this much extension. Really, for a Nikon lens, I actually found the 135mm bellows mount to be a bit more comfortable to use, especially when taken out of its dedicated extension tube and used with an M39 mount adapter. For the project I built this for, I ended up using a 150mm Rodenstock enlarger lens-I wasn't QUITE able to fill the frame like I could with a 135mm Nikkor, but it was a lot sharper so I could crop comfortably using my 45mp D850. I'd be interested to compare the 105mm Nikkor side-by-side sometime at the same magnification, but it was just too short for such a tiny subject.
BTW, I know I've talked a lot about using this with a DSLR, and hope I'm not running afoul of the rules by mentioning that I've used it there. Note that in the photo, I have an F2 hanging off the back. This is an F2 I put together YEARS ago for this sort of project, and did use it just because. This particular F2 body actually originally had a DP2 prism(the whole reason I bought the body in the first place) but at first it was flaky and then quit working completely. This body had battery leakage somewhere along the way, and I think the internal wiring to power a meter prism is shot. The DP2 ended up on another body. This one became the home for my moderately rare Type M focusing screen paired with the 6x chimney. The M screen gives an aerial image, has 1mm graduations on it, and a center reticle used for parallax focusing an aerial image. It's not an easy screen to use(and don't think about it unless you're using the 6x chimney) but is one of the few that will let you see much more than a shadow with this much magnification, and done properly parallax focusing is the best way to focus with this kind of work. I lucked into the M screen-if you're thinking about this sort of set up, the C screen is also an aerial screen with a reticle, but has a clear field otherwise. On a DSLR, life is easier with live view, and something with at least a hinged screen(like the D850) is welcome. I've also used my Fuji XT-5 on this.
I may end up buying another set of PB4 bellows, because as impractical as this unit is, I spent a lot of time planning and building it, and it's still just a really interesting piece...
