In article
>I plan to purchase PB4 bellow for use with my Nikon F. I cannot fins any
>locally and will have to mail order. If anyone has used the unit, please
>email me with advice on these questions:
>- would PB4 fit Nikon F with a Photomic finder?
It should - it is from the same era...
>- Would any Nikon lens fit it? (I have 58/1.4 pre-AI, 85/2 AI, 28/2.8 AI)
These would provide fairly high magnification at a minimum, due to their
short FL relative to the longish minimum extension of the bellows (which
is why bellows are not as popular as they used to be...). BTW, the lenses
you name are not particularly good for close-up work - a symmetrical-design
enlarging lens (which may also provide lower magnifications, or even infinity-focus if long enough in FL), or a lens more suitable for good
close-up performance (a cheap old 50mm f2 Nikkor would do...) would be
better, even at relatively small stops.
>- Is auto aperture preserved?
No.
>- How likely am I to run out of lens coverage when using movements?
As the magnification is increased, so is the circle of coverage - more
likely a problem is running into shading from internal surfaces if extreme movements are used.
>- Has the extent of movements been useful, in your experience.
Yes.
>-- Any other caveats/advice?
The PB-4 is big and awkward, especially if turned sideways to use the tilt
in the most commonly used direction (a release at the camera bayonette end allows rotation) - a sturdy tripod is necessary. For more information, see
my web page - go to "Ritingz" or "I babble...", then to "SUBJECTIVE Lens
Evaluations (Mostly Nikkors)", then to "150mm".
Hope This Helps
(David Ruether - http://www.fcinet.com/ruether )