Not the adapter I was hoping for.

So I made a little error when purchasing a used adapter from B&H for the Pen FT. It said it was for attaching a Pen FT to a Bowen slide duplicator, and we had plenty of those 99% of the time they're T-mount on the top. But this was not the case rather what I received was a silver ring with the mark on where to put it on the pen FT. No threads (just black light baffle down the barrel) and a deep groove around the front portion of the ring.

My theory is that this allows me to attach the Pen FT to a macro bellow by inserting the grove in the back end and screwing down on a clamp to lock it into place. I was hoping for a T-mount so I could use some of the wide angle t-mount lens round the store.

I don't want to do just macro work....
Is there a potential idea I can put to use with this adapter (its the only adapter I managed for under 50$ for this camera so might as well hold onto it).

My co-worker seems to think I can put an enlarger lens on a small bellow and get infinity focus with it

All the Bowens slide duplicators I have come across used BPM (Butterfield Photo Manufacturing?) bellows. These use the grooved rings to adapt to camera mounts, or a T-mount. You can get BPM mount couplers, and T-mount adapters, but they don't keep the correct flange focal distance.

The FFD of the Pen F is 28.95 mm and that of a T-mount is 55.0 mm, so you should have plenty of room to cobble up an adapter from another T-mount camera adapter or an extension ring. Edmund Optics supply a variety of T-mount stuff, but you should be able to find cheaper bits.

Best,
Helen

Well I have an alternate idea. I removed the FD mount off an old AE-1 (basically all that was left of the AE-1 was the mirror box the prism on top and a bunch of wires). I noticed that if the lens were on the mount at the lip of the adapter I have above it was a little bit past infinity. So I proceeded to dremel down the edge of the front lip just enough so that I could slip on the FD mount until it stopped at the base past the groove. It's on so right now I just have to find the right dremel head to carve out a half or so of the inside of the flange (only bout half an inch in) to allow room for the prongs and pins and such typically on the back of an FD lens.

Once I got that I'll align the FD mount top to the red mark on the Pen adapter since it ends up straight up when turned on. Then mount a lens and see how much of a shim I'll have to put between the mount and the base of the adapter before sealing it shut. If the results work, I'll pretty much have saved myself 300$ since that what the typical olympus made "Adapter C" mounts are selling for, though they seem to be a bit of a collectors item. The only downside is my mount won't have the locking pin but rather just twist on tight and stay there but could be turned loose.


Wish I had a filing iron round here somewhere.

Well I don't know why I didn't think of that. I guess that I had forgotten you had that old AE-1 lying around, and that you wanted an FD mount instead of a T-mount.

Best,
Helen

Helen B said:

Well I don't know why I didn't think of that. I guess that I had forgotten you had that old AE-1 lying around, and that you wanted an FD mount instead of a T-mount.

Best,
Helen

Click to expand...

Well Thing is though, you can get T-mount adapters for FD cameras, and the registration distance would be corrected already via that adapter. And having an FD mount for less than 300$ would be nice too, so its a two-bird-one-stone thing. Also its a lil easier or so it seems to put a FD mount onto this bowen adapter thing than it is to try to couple or thread it specifically for T-mount.

I didn't think of it til late last night, I was gona try your idea before I thought of the FD.

PS: I re-read the first few sentences of my last post and seeing how you responded, and it seems my post sounded a bit condescending. I was not intending for this but rather to point out a realization I had late last night.