Can I buy a meniscus lens for my Nikon?

gone · Jan 28, 2022

I bought a LF meniscus lens from a member here, but I'd like to try my hand at this w/ my Nikon first. Can you buy a meniscus lens in mount for a SLR? Or use one as an aux lens on an existing lens, like you would put a close up lens on a TLR?

AgX · Jan 28, 2022

momus said:
Can you buy a meniscus lens in mount for a SLR?

Not to my knowledge. (But here are fellows that know obscure sources better than me.)

The easiest way with means at hand would be to use a bellows apparatus with slide stage, to take off the diffusor screen and to mount that meniscus on that stage.

abruzzi · Jan 28, 2022

I'd probably start with the nikon macro bellows--that will allow you to buy a lens element from Edmund Optics or similar, glue it in a PVC tube, and tape it to the front of the bellows, and still focus. You could cut a slot in the tube, and do aperture using homemade waterhouse stops.

I haven't seen anything specifically designed for a nikon, so DIY may be your only option.

bdial · Jan 28, 2022

Depending on which body you have, various models of Nikon bellows attachments are available relatively cheaply. Nikon's "K" extension tube set has male and female lens mounts and 52mm threaded tubes which might give you enough range to focus, albeit pretty limited. There are various helical adaptors around, but not exactly cheap. Nesting PVC tubes hot-glued to something like a BR2 reversing ring should get you going with a minimal investment.

gone · Jan 28, 2022

abruzzi said:
I'd probably start with the nikon macro bellows--that will allow you to buy a lens element from Edmund Optics or similar, glue it in a PVC tube, and tape it to the front of the bellows, and still focus. You could cut a slot in the tube, and do aperture using homemade waterhouse stops.

A bellows would be OK (Nikon n8008s SLR), but maybe buying a Holga would be the quick and easy solution. I just want to get a feel for this, make some prints before dealing w/ the LF aspect. Apparently they have 35mm Holgas now as well as the 120 cameras I've used before.

Years ago I had an Agfa 35mm folder that the lens elements accidentally got flipped on (can't remember if it was the rear one or both). It made some great shots that were very swirley, like a Helios Gone Wild, but I never printed them. Thanks, I'll ck out the Holgas. Looking at the price of a single lens on eBay, wow, they seem to start at $100 and go up really fast from there.

Nitroplait · Jan 28, 2022

Wasn’t the original Lensbaby a meniscus? And didn’t they also come in Nikon mount?

TheYoungPretender · Jan 28, 2022

Hi,
You have some options.
Jim Galli sells meniscus lenses on eBay with or without bellows.
Another option would be to buy one of the "monocle" lenses sold by various eastern european sellers. Often these come in M42 mount so you would have to use an adapter.
I do believe that "monolens" also sell them with a "native" nikon mount that you wouldn't have to adapt.
If you are willing to diy a solution there are some tutorials online - most in russian - that you might have a go at following such as

AgX · Jan 28, 2022

But a mounted lens element as such would be fix-focus. Moreover, the term "meniscus" does not say anything on the focal length, which would be decisive on the mount, be that fix-focus or not. Thus the advise of a bellows as this gives some leeway concerning focal length, and might be obtainable locally, in contrast to a helicoid, unless improvised..

reddesert · Jan 28, 2022

You can get a +10 closeup lens, that should be a 100mm focal length positive meniscus lens. You'll want to reverse it. For closeup use the convex side is towards the subject. But for imaging use with the lens alone, the concave side should be toward the subject, and the aperture stop should be in front of the lens (use pieces of cardboard with different size holes to vary aperture, or maybe a matte box with vignettes). Another place to buy inexpensive positive meniscus lenses is Surplus Shed.

To mount and focus the lens, you can do anything that works - two sliding cardboard tubes, some combination of extension tubes or bellows, adapters, and the focus helicoids for M42 mount that you can get on ebay for $20, etc. Another option would be to find a junk lens, take the elements out, and mount the meniscus on the front (use a male-male filter ring to reverse the close up lens).

Sirius Glass · Jan 28, 2022

Aren't meniscus lens also called Holgas and Dianas?

AnselMortensen · Jan 28, 2022

Look for a Sima Soft Focus lens.
It's a 100mm f2 (?) meniscus lens that focuses via a sliding tube.
It is adaptable to various 35mm SLR's via readily available T-Mounts.
They originally came with 3-4 interchangeable aperture discs, or you could shoot wide open.

ciniframe · Jan 29, 2022

Lomography sells a 75mm glass Diana lens with an adapter for Nikon mount for $50. It has its own focusing provision via scale down to 1 meter.

(f)leef · Jan 29, 2022

Nitroplait said:
Wasn’t the original Lensbaby a meniscus? And didn’t they also come in Nikon mount?

Yes, and I think the "Cinatar" lens is also a meniscus.

Can I buy a meniscus lens for my Nikon?

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