Building a manual stacking macro focusing rack : Open for advice and discussion

[kaomoo]

Dear all

I have just started playing with macro photography and obviously still trying to learn the skills and tricks. I suspected I have chosen a route that is making it harder than it should be but it's so fun that I don't see a point of return.

I have sourced a PENTAX Auto Bellows M with 50mm macro lens on eBay. I paired this up with a Canon 58mm Macrolite adapter to bring the focusing distance a bit closer. The lighting is provided by the recently released Adaptalux macro lighting kid. Camera is my Sony A7RII.





I did a quick trial with stacking 30 photos with Photoshop.


Obviously I still have a lot to learn as far as masking and alignment in photoshop is concern. But this is so exciting. So much more to see at this magnification! (and yes, I also need to learn about calculating magnification).

One thing that pops out during the shooting process. The focuser on the pentax bellows is not exactly precise. One turn is about 30mm procession.

I am hoping to bring this down 1:10. One immediate idea came from my brief astrophography days. Dual speed focuser. A quick search on internet didn't turn out anything about this.

So, I took my focusing rack on my Pentax Bellows apart.



As it turns out, the centre pin is 4mm in diameter.

So this is where I am at right now. I will be sourcing for a dual speed focusing knob and find a way to adapt it onto my system.

From here on, I am open to suggestions, critics & collaboration.

 

[IlovePENTAX]

I just became interested in Macro Photography too. But don't have the budget for any real macro lenses. That is some interesting setup you got. All the best!

 

[kaomoo]

I just became interested in Macro Photography too. But don't have the budget for any real macro lenses. That is some interesting setup you got. All the best!

M42 system has a lot of well tested and very affordable systems. I sourced mine from ebay. Give it a go. M42 adapts to just about everything.

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk

 

[kaomoo]

Woohoo! My dual speed focuser is here. As the luck goes, the centre pin is exactly the same size! 4mm!!

Now I need to fabricate a mounting bracket to attach the focuser's hub to the sliding block.

 

[kaomoo]

Just designed this with tinkercad. Going to get it 3D printed out and test fit.

 

[kaomoo]

A quick update about the development.

So, I finally bought a 3D printer. And the first print was a perfect fit!

This is version 2 design of the mounting bracket with 0.25mm tolerance and it's a snug fit. I have added beveled screw holes in as well. Now the focusing rail has 3mm travel per turn of the microfocusing knob.