Originally posted by Ira So another question, and let's talk studio set-up and not walking around:
I have a Panagor 2X Macro converter. Considering that I'm going to be working with the bellows and tubes, I can leave this thing in the closet, right? When would I use something like this?
I have no MC and never felt a need for one. For a studio shoot with controlled lights and placement, it's like an extra nose, just something else to be wiped.
Quote: And looking at my lens line-up below, does dedicating my 105 to this, as a start anyway, make sense? Or is there another lens that would be better?
Experiment, yes. Dedicate, no. Some camera lenses work well on extension -- think, Industar-50 on tubes -- but most aren't optimized for close work. Reversed and extended, yes, 'cause lenses ARE optimized in that direction -- but then you gotta be within two (2) inches of the subject. Bother. Enlarger and macro lenses are built to be flat-field, edge-to-edge sharp, and are highly corrected.
Look at it this way: If you don't care about edge sharpness in your macro shots, like your subject is centered and the margins don't matter, then any Tak is fine. Beads, bugs, buttons, etc. If edges and flatness DO matter, you want a flatfield lens. Stamps, stains, cells, etc. And a flatfield lens (longer than 75mm) on bellows, used for general non-macro shooting, still delivers edge sharpness.
Slight correction: most non-antique enlarger lenses (with many exceptions!) have 39mm threads, not 37mm. M39-M42 adapter rings are sinfully cheap, or should be. My last lot of 10 cost ~$20 with shipping. WHY SO MANY?? Because I use them to mod other lenses to M42-dom. I just got some old Kodak Enlarging Ektars (US$4 each) with 1.5" threads, but a ring and a dab of Gorilla Glue puts things right. The adapters fit on Exakta bayonets too, with a little finessing.