Macro studio lens

[P. Chong]

This is the Alpa FPS kit as I used it. Different watch, but same setup when I photographed the Krayon Anywhere above. The setup is a bit cumbersome, and the FPS shutter speed (1/125s for flash sync) is not communicated to the back’s exif, a problem which is known to and acknowledged by the Alpa folks.

That's clear – but in this context here, we are talking about using this lens in a MFD macro setup. There's no alternative to mounting it on a novoflex bellows attached to an Alpa FPS which will give you flash sync of 1/125. There is no global shutter MFD back available to consumers and that's the whole point here.

Copal doesn't fit the lens and neither does the x-shutter.

The most practical solution is the FPS route – in fact, you can just order the Alpa Macro kit which includes both.

020.020.010 ALPA Focus Stacking Kit FPS/105 float | ALPA Product Page

All the details and images of the ALPA product 020.020.010 ALPA Focus Stacking Kit FPS/105 float; article no 020.020.010; May 13, 2024

www.alpa.swiss

 

[MGrayson]

I didn't test it. But it's just how lenses that do not change their focal length when focusing work. The Linos Inspec.x L 105mm Float (industrial original of the Rodenstock branded photo lens) was designed to cover 82mm line-scan sensors from 1:3 and higher magnifications. Through bellows extension the image circle gets spread over a larger area. You can calculate the IC at a given magnification M for such a lens if you know the infinity IC with this formula:
IC = IC (infinity) * (1 + M)

I just used this formula for a very conservative approximation by assuming the IC is 82mm at 0.3x.

It is a pleasure to read informed and intelligent opinions. I was planning diagrams, but you said it all succinctly.

 

[Phase V]

I think on the Novoflex Balpro you can also mount a XF and use the Focal Plane Shutter.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

I think on the Novoflex Balpro you can also mount a XF and use the Focal Plane Shutter.

I didn’t know that - can you point me towards the adapter? That would be a great solution as the XF also triggers profoto

 

[cunim]

That's clear – but in this context here, we are talking about using this lens in a MFD macro setup. There's no alternative to mounting it on a novoflex bellows attached to an Alpa FPS which will give you flash sync of 1/125. There is no global shutter MFD back available to consumers and that's the whole point here.

Copal doesn't fit the lens and neither does the x-shutter.

The most practical solution is the FPS route – in fact, you can just order the Alpa Macro kit which includes both.

Whoa there. I agree that the FPS is a lovely system, but not practical for someone invested in AS. Actually, I like to just set the Rollei shutter or a copal shutter at fixed aperture. I then find parameters that produce no latent image (e.g. 0.8 sec, f11) and trigger the strobes manually in time with the electronic shutter in the IQ4. We don' need no steenking sync. I can use any aperture lens that way, with my existing Monolith system and strobes. I'd like to try continuous at some point.

Of course, the monolith is a PITA for manual stacking, but this is not about stacked images. For those, I use the XF and the 120 macro. This is about movements for a selective POF, as opposed to getting it all sharp.

Why use movements instead of stacks? My targets are highly specular, moderately large (eg. 10 cm) and contain very different materials, each of which needs it's own optimal lighting. The final image is composited from multiple optimized exposures and stacking software does not accommodate that. In doing that composite, I accept some softness in areas of the moved image, to get the type of illumination I want. That brings us back to the initial point, which is the movement capability of the 105 float. I never considered the change in IC with reproduction ration and that is a very interesting point.

Here's a sample image, created by moving with the 120 macro Rodenstock. The standards on the monolith are set to almost vertical, the back is moved to recenter, and the lens is tilted. Lights are optimized for the book (Kepler's Mysterium Cosmographicum 1597, soft focus), the stainless steel frame, carbon steel blade edge, and the meteorite inlays and blade back. It's a bit big for a macro lens but you get the idea.

 

[Phase V]

I didn’t know that - can you point me towards the adapter? That would be a great solution as the XF also triggers profoto

It´s called MAMPRO, altough no longer available from Novoflex (because of too little demand they told me) some
Alpa dealer still seems to have it for order:

ALPA / Novoflex MAMPRO Adapter

ALPA / Novoflex MAMPRO Adapter

www.macconsultshop.de

 

[Kuky]

I didn't test it. But it's just how lenses that do not change their focal length when focusing work. The Linos Inspec.x L 105mm Float (industrial original of the Rodenstock branded photo lens) was designed to cover 82mm line-scan sensors from 1:3 and higher magnifications. Through bellows extension the image circle gets spread over a larger area. You can calculate the IC at a given magnification M for such a lens if you know the infinity IC with this formula:
IC = IC (infinity) * (1 + M)

I just used this formula for a very conservative approximation by assuming the IC is 82mm at 0.3x.

TL DR: At 1:1 magnification Rodenstock 105 has a huuuuge circle of illumination of which a huuuuge part is usable. At 145mm IC I did not reach the circle of illumination.




Ok, I was curious about this and did a test at 1:1 magnification, f/5.6.

Cambo Actus-XL can shift horizontally 25mm left/right and 20mm top/down on both standards. What I did for this test I shifted both standards 25mm to the right as the starting shot. Then I shifted the rear standard 25mm to the left (basically resetting it) and took another shot. Then I shifted the rear standard 25mm again to the left and took a shot. So I got a 50mm shift in total to the left. I also took shots on all positions with vertical shifts of 20mm up and down. So in total I shot 9 movements.

Every movement was focus stacked to avoid user error on focus. Stacking is done with RAW-in-DNG-out in Helicon Focus. The resulting 9 DNG files are merged in Lightroom into a final DNG. DNG is exported as TIFF with default sharpening in LR (40). Guidelines are done in Photoshop and the result is exported as JPG maximum quality, sRGB.

All small errors on image (small blurred areas,halos, missing parts) are due to focus stacking procedure and were not painted out because I am only concerned with checking sharpness and vignetting.

So, in conclusion, at 50mm horizontal left shift (which is maximum capability of the Actus-XL) and 145mm IC I could not reach the full circle of illumination. How much of it is usable? You have to download the full resolution files and play with it. Link is >>> HERE <<<

The JPG is best seen in Photoshop to verify sharpness.
If you want to have a final verdict you can download the DNG file and play with it.

 

[daz7]

Thanks Kuky!
I somehow assumed that the manufacturer's specs of 82mm IC related to 1:1 ratio and disregarded that lens altogether. With 145mm+ IC that's a whole different story.

 

[Kuky]

Thanks Kuky!
I somehow assumed that the manufacturer's specs of 82mm IC related to 1:1 ratio and disregarded that lens altogether. With 145mm+ IC that's a whole different story.

Yest, but don't make your decision only based on my test. Sometimes it is hard to gauge sharpness from only one image. Rodenstock quotes 82mm IC on all magnifications in his tehnical data. I assume they base their decision on their own MTF charts. So I think more real life shots should be done to check what IC is usable.

 

[cunim]

Kuky, that is very interesting. The reason I first asked about this lens was that I am not happy with the outer circle performance of the Rodie 120 macro. The worst thing is a tendency to comma aberration, though softening is also an issue. Clearly, the 105 can give us a larger image circle than the specification suggests, but we need more real world examples to see how useful that is - as you suggest.