Nikon 80mm f/5.6 EL-Nikkor: old metal version

[photoni]

Thanks @ulf  I tried the bellows for focusing, it works well but it's big and uncomfortable.

With my helicoid tube (25>55mm) M42 plus ring M42 > M39 it works infinitely but not close.

I should get a longer helicoid.

 

... but the question was .... which filter stack to use instead of ZWB1+TSN575 to have a deeper view ?

(BG39 thickness 2mm or S8612 not found)

[Yves W]

 

I own 2 EL-Nikkor 80 F5.6 metal, one in normal and 1 in reverse. From memory, the optical part is symmetrical.

I mount them on helical ring or on Novoflex bellows.

I only use them in macro, I'm very happy with it. I also use the 105 F5.6.

[dabateman]

4 hours ago, photoni said:

Thanks @ulf  I tried the bellows for focusing, it works well but it's big and uncomfortable.

With my helicoid tube (25>55mm) M42 plus ring M42 > M39 it works infinitely but not close.

I should get a longer helicoid.

 

... but the question was .... which filter stack to use instead of ZWB1+TSN575 to have a deeper view ?

(BG39 thickness 2mm or S8612 not found)

Could try either a Baader venus u filter,  as these lenses being near telephoto,  the side stray light shouldn't be an issue.  Or for deeper UV light try an 8mm thick ZWB1 filter, if still available. The peak max on the 8mm is around  330nm, the peak max on the Baader venus u is around 350nm. Both will trail off to 400nm, but the 8mm ZWB1 filter will be deeper in UV, with less of the 380s and 390s than the Baader venus.

[Ming]

Is this lens known to produce UV hotspots?  Here is what I got:

 

Canon R5, El-Nikkor 80mm f/5.6, ZWB2+TSN575, f22, 30 sec, ISO 100

 

I had painted the shiny lens mount and the helicoid interior with BLK 3.0.  The black paint lessens the hotspots but doesn't completely eliminate them.  They appear only in non-closeup images.  Will premium filters help with this issue?  Thank you.

 

[ulf]

10 hours ago, photoni said:

 

... but the question was .... which filter stack to use instead of ZWB1+TSN575 to have a deeper view ?

(BG39 thickness 2mm or S8612 not found)

Sorry, I misunderstood

The ZWB1 8mm glass rounds are still available, but must be mounted in a functioning filter cell:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004225397266.html?

I asked Jason to custom make the ZWB1 8mm with the odd outer diameter above and ordered five of them.

I sold four complete filters after mounting them in filter cells and kept one for myself.

 

I had problems doing a proper white balance with that filter on the EL-Nikkor 80mm with my FS converted Sony A7iii.

The filter worked well WB with a single fused silica lens and also with a UV-Nikkor 105mm.

 

Have you asked Jasson at Tangsinuo if there are any BG39 or QB39 2mm or if they could be made?

Sometimes the information at their website is not complete and also with some luck they might make a custom filter for you at some extra cost.

 

[ulf]

13 minutes ago, Ming said:

Is this lens known to produce UV hotspots?  Here is what I got:

 

Canon R5, El-Nikkor 80mm f/5.6, ZWB2+TSN575, f22, 30 sec, ISO 100

 

I had painted the shiny lens mount and the helicoid interior with BLK 3.0.  The black paint lessens the hotspots but doesn't completely eliminate them.  They appear only in non-closeup images.  Will premium filters help with this issue?  Thank you.

 

I have not seen that problem myself, but most of my images are close-ups.

 

You could experiment with a lens shade.

My guess is that a premium filter will not help as hotspots normally are caused by internal structures and interaction of reflections between sensor, lens surfaces and iris.

 

Hotspots are much more common for IR-photography, especially when increasing the contrast in post processing and normally get worse when stopping down.

 

[nfoto]

Very few lenses produce a UV hotspot on their own. Off hand I can only recall an old 135/3.5 rangefinder Nikkor and perhaps the odd lens from ancient times.

 

However that being said, the issue tends to be caused by unwanted light leaks and/or reflections from metalwork around the optics. for example, a sun shade that is too shiny on the inside, filter rings, etc. etc. Wrap the rig in thick black fabric and try again, with the lens hood removed in an initial stage (but ensure the front is shaded by flags or other means). If there is no hot spot, you have solved any problems using your spare time for a day or two !!

[photoni]

 

 

thanks friends

I will probably use it very little, I love the Meritar 50mm f 2.9, it's smaller and faster

ZWB1 - 8mm is too much for my curiosity

[Doug A]

I've never seen a hotspot with my El-Nikkor 80.  It is the most perfect lens I've shot in UV. I do have the problem, at times, with the El-Nikkor 135. Early on I had to shoot it, and the filter stack, mounted totally inside a Pentax bellows. As @nfotomentioned the reflections inside the helicoids were the problem. The 135 needs a lot longer helicoid vs. the 80. Had to resort to short helicoid for focusing and two Pentax extension tubes to reach infinity. I still carry a black sock cut to slip over the whole lens assembly. Really long exposures invite light leaks. Good luck.

Thanks,

Doug A

[Nate]

I get the same hot spot with mine, I put a 2 in hood on the end. It's actually a 2in metal telescope eyepiece part that I glued a 52mm adapter to so it screws on. The contrast went up and the hot spot totally disappeared.

 

Reading back at your comment @Ming F22 might just produce hot spots anyway, I don't think I've ever been past F11 with the EL Nikkor 80

[lukaszgryglicki]

In UV - smaller apertures are OK, maybe not 22, but certainly f 16 looks very very good.

 

[StephanN]

2 hours ago, Nate said:

I put a 2 in hood on the end.

 

 

Not using a hood is asking for trouble in a lot of cases. Not for nothing most companies sell their lenses with hoods

[Akira]

You don't really need to bother to mount the filter on the lens.  All you need to do is to attach the UV-pass-VIS-cut filter on the light source (or use the UV light), focus, tuen the ambient light off and shoot away.  The filter can be attached to the light source with the Permacel tape.

[Ming]

I thank everyone for the insights.  I have banished the hotspot.  First, I made sure there was no light leak by wrapping two layers of black fabric around the rig and holding them in place with rubber bands.  They made no difference.  Next, I tried various combinations of lenses, helicoids, and focusing distances.  I suspected that the hotspot came from light reflecting between lens innards and the helicoid.  For example, there was no hotspot when I replaced the El-Nikkor with Soligor 35mm f/3.5; similarly, there was no hotspot when I took out the M42 helicoid -- just El-Nikkor, M39-M42, M42-EF, EF-RF, and camera.  In the end I got a new helicoid.  That solved the problem.
 

[Andy Perrin]

Ooh shiny (or maybe leaky) helicoid problems! (Black fabric is not always black out of visible light. For testing leaks, foil is probably better.)

[photoni]

On 5/20/2023 at 8:04 PM, Ming said:

Is this lens known to produce UV hotspots?  Here is what I got:

 

I did a test with this 80mm + ZWB2 + TSN575 ... it has no hot spots at f5.6 or at f22 or at f45
I have no still images, there was wind. I used a bellows, there is a small entrance of light on the top right.

 

Photos of Echinopsis

 

QB39 1,5 thick f:22

 

ZWB2+TSN f5,6

 

QB39 1,5 thick f:22

 

ZWB2+TSN f5,6

 

 

 

[photoni]

I did a comparison between EL-Nikkor 80 f:5.6 and Meritar 50 f:2.9 It seems to me that both are fine with this configuration

 

I used a pink geranium flower, the only interesting one of my 8 types, which had a signature in the top 2 petals

 

EL-Nikkor

 

 

.

Meritar

 

 

 

[Ming]

16 hours ago, photoni said:

I did a test with this 80mm + ZWB2 + TSN575 ... it has no hot spots at f5.6 or at f22 or at f45
I have no still images, there was wind. I used a bellows, there is a small entrance of light on the top right.

Thank you for the beautiful images.  The lens is impeccable.  The issue was with my rig, which I have fixed.  I don't get hot spots any more, even at f45.