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09-17-2022, 12:21 PM   #1
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Pentax M42 Bellows slide copier

Hi all,

I recently picked up a vintage Pentax Bellows II with a slide copier.
I'd like to use it for that purpose as well as negatives as well.
It is really well made. Precise and sturdy.
The issue of course is that it is made for M42 and I want to use it with K mount stuff.
There are M42 to K adapters and extension tubes that I could use at least on the back end.
I doubt there is a K to M42 adapter that exists for the front.
Any advice on how to go about this?

09-17-2022, 01:22 PM   #2
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A combination of a K to EOS and EOS to M42 adapter will get your K mount lenses adapted to M42. I recommend you use an extension tube with a flanged (with locking pin slot) M42 to K mount adapter. The flush mount adapters such as the OEM Pentax will wiggle a bit no matter how tight you screw in the connector.

See here:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/430974-ada...ml#post5425031

The extra millimeter or two won't matter except changing the min and max distances of the lens to sensor. This may make a major difference if you are planning on using the rig on a crop sensor body. You normally cannot get the slide holder far enough away from the lens and sensor to get 1× magnification. The rigs were designed for full frame bodies.
09-17-2022, 03:25 PM - 2 Likes   #3
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Why not just get an M42 lens. Pic the SMC tak focal length you want.
09-17-2022, 03:33 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by Lloyd_Christmas Quote
Hi all,

I recently picked up a vintage Pentax Bellows II with a slide copier.
I'd like to use it for that purpose as well as negatives as well.
It is really well made. Precise and sturdy.
The issue of course is that it is made for M42 and I want to use it with K mount stuff.
There are M42 to K adapters and extension tubes that I could use at least on the back end.
I doubt there is a K to M42 adapter that exists for the front.
Any advice on how to go about this?
I've been down this path. Your best bet is to get M42 lenses.

09-17-2022, 04:18 PM   #5
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I'm with the others one this. You'd probably be better off buying a prime Takumar screw mount lens. You won't save much or may even pay more for adapters and tubes. And K-mount bellows and copiers don't go for much more than the M42 versions if you are patient or shop around.
09-17-2022, 04:44 PM - 1 Like   #6
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Many lenses actually perform better in reverse on the bellows, 28mm and 50mm lenses, so a screw mount 49mm or 52mm reversing ring will be quick and cheap
09-17-2022, 09:19 PM   #7
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Good advice. I may just do that.
ANother hard problem is to attach my APSC body to the other side of the bellows. The rig uses a simple ring where the old camera body screw mount flange slipped into the ring with only a tightening screw. I was thinking of getting a M42 to K adapter and then some M42 extension tubes to accomplish this. I may have to 3D print a custom piece of tube.

---------- Post added 09-18-22 at 12:31 AM ----------

I have a Manual SMC 100mm macro lens that I have for this. The end slips right into the slide copier. So out of the three interfaces, I have, at least, one easy one. I realize these were made for full frame and I'm inexperienced with these bellows. I assumed that I could just move the bellows in and out until I find a sweet spot?

09-17-2022, 10:16 PM - 1 Like   #8
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Lloyd_Christmas you may be able to just attach the slider duplicator to a 50mm macro lens then attach the lens to the camera without using the bellows. The duplicator seems to have it's own small bellows this should be enough to get the right distance. With a 100mm macro you made need extension tubes.

Nikon makes this $60 slide copier.With the A-series 50mm Macro since it is not 1:1 you need to use extension tubes.
09-18-2022, 08:55 AM   #9
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Sweet! Thanks. I knew this was the group of folks that could help me figure this out!


QuoteOriginally posted by Rico Quote
Lloyd_Christmas you may be able to just attach the slider duplicator to a 50mm macro lens then attach the lens to the camera without using the bellows. The duplicator seems to have it's own small bellows this should be enough to get the right distance. With a 100mm macro you made need extension tubes.

Nikon makes this $60 slide copier.With the A-series 50mm Macro since it is not 1:1 you need to use extension tubes.
09-18-2022, 09:04 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rico Quote
Lloyd_Christmas you may be able to just attach the slider duplicator to a 50mm macro lens then attach the lens to the camera without using the bellows. The duplicator seems to have it's own small bellows this should be enough to get the right distance. With a 100mm macro you made need extension tubes.
Sadly no the slide duplicator has to be supported by the bellows. It's just the way it's designed.
09-18-2022, 09:11 AM - 1 Like   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Lloyd_Christmas Quote
I assumed that I could just move the bellows in and out until I find a sweet spot?
In theory this would be true. However in order to cover the entire slide frame you need to move the slide further away from the lens on a crop sensor vs full frame. There practical limitation however. the rail with slide attachment is too short to move the camera and lens far enough away. And even if you are able to extend the rail the bellows on the slide copier is not long enough to reach the lens.

There are several threads on work around for these practical limitations. Some are quite clever.

From my calculations one needs 0.66× magnification to cover an entire slide frame on a crop sensor. According to my Bellows II manual the following lenses work with that magnifcation (lens followed by film-to-subject distance cm/in):
Super-Takumar 55mm f/1.8 - 22.9/9.02
Super-Takumar 85mm f/1.9 - between 36.6/14.41 and 33.9/13.42 (0.55 and 0.8×)
*Takumar Macro 50mm f/4 (0.72×) - 21.3/8.39

*Note: this is the 1× version that does not require an extension tube to reach this magnification. However you will not get the entire slide frame. The lens is somewhat rare or much sought so prices are higher.

I have been unable to find complete close-up tables for any of the 0.5× 50mm macro lenses, e.g. SMC Takumar Macro 50 f/4, Pentax 50mm f/4 Macro K,M or A. However Murray O'Neill's Pentax Macro and Close-up Accessories eBook has some partial tables with the K-mount lenses and extension tubes. Unfortunately the tables for the K-mount bellows don't include the minimum bellows extension of 38mm.

According to the tables for extension tubes (I'm unsure what the values in parenthesis mean):
A 50mm f/2.8, M 50mm f/4 macro with tube 1 = 12mm: 0.72(0.68)× - 21.6(21.8)/8.50(8.58)
K 50mm f/4 macro: 0.73(0.68)× - 21.3(21.5)

However, these tables are with the lens set at the minimum distance of 0.245 meters so it might be possible to use these lenses set at infinity. Maybe I can be motivated enough today to test the SMC Takumar at infinity. Update: see edit note below.

The minimum extension on the Bellows II is 37mm and the K-mount bellows is 38mm. Adding adapters and extension tubes would increase the minimum extension.

If the sensor to subject (slide) in any of these combinations exceeds the maximum of the bellows and slide copier than they won't work without modification.

Edit: Well so much for that. With the macro set to infinity I was still unable to fit the entire frame on the sensor.

Last edited by Not a Number; 09-18-2022 at 09:48 AM.
09-18-2022, 11:05 AM   #12
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I've used something very similar to this set up successfully for getting 35mm slides to fill an APS-C sensor. I used a 50mm Takumar 1:2 macro rather than a standard 50, but the other aspects of the set up were pretty much the same. I used a length dowel with a screw through it, threaded into the camera's tripod socket. I attached the slide copier to the dowel, bypassing the need for a bellows altogether.

It's more work, but another option would be to shoot partial frames and combine them in post. I've done that, too. "One and done" is much easier.

Last edited by Thagomizer; 09-18-2022 at 12:22 PM.
09-18-2022, 03:12 PM   #13
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Declaring my total ignorance of this topic, why doesn't using a 35mm lense work for getting a wider angle to get the whole frame in?
09-19-2022, 11:01 AM - 1 Like   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by Wheatfield Quote
I've been down this path. Your best bet is to get M42 lenses.
I don't have one of these bellows but it does look like there is enough room to move the bellows on the rail as far away as possible from the end the slide copier attaches with enough room to attach the camera and lens directly to the slide copier. This would be the simplest solution.

I do have the Nikon copier which works very well. I have used a light box and copy stand for larger format film. The K1MKII using pixel shift creates excellent files easier than using a scanner both on time and quality of results.
09-19-2022, 02:55 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rico Quote
I don't have one of these bellows but it does look like there is enough room to move the bellows on the rail as far away as possible from the end the slide copier attaches with enough room to attach the camera and lens directly to the slide copier. This would be the simplest solution.

I do have the Nikon copier which works very well. I have used a light box and copy stand for larger format film. The K1MKII using pixel shift creates excellent files easier than using a scanner both on time and quality of results.
The problem with what you are suggesting is that the slide holder is attached to a carriage that mounts to a rail. The rail then mounts to the front of the bellows, and the short bellows on the slide copier then clips to the lens. Without the bellows, the only attachment point is the lens, which means the slide holder is being supported by cooked spaghetti. There would be no rigid attachment between the slide copier and the lens.

---------- Post added Sep 19th, 2022 at 03:56 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by Joetitch Quote
Declaring my total ignorance of this topic, why doesn't using a 35mm lense work for getting a wider angle to get the whole frame in?
You can't get the focus point right.
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