Search found 3211 matches

by Chris S.
Fri Oct 20, 2023 7:53 pm
Forum: Equipment Discussions
Topic: Printing Nikkor
Replies: 32
Views: 5854

Re: Printing Nikkor

. . . people swear by the Nikon AF Micro-NIKKOR 200mm f/4D IF-ED, as the best lens ever? The copy I tested had pretty severe CAs (CAs and LoCAs) even at f/8 at 1x. Funny. My specimen of that lens was fuzzy at macro ranges, and a disaster at infinity. After I remarked on this in the forum, a member ...
by Chris S.
Fri Oct 20, 2023 5:54 pm
Forum: Equipment Discussions
Topic: Printing Nikkor
Replies: 32
Views: 5854

Re: Printing Nikkor

. . . the performance gap between the PN105A, the best ever, and a consumer market macro lenses is narrowing to the point its pretty shocking how close high-end macro lenses have come in a few years. Just a decade ago the PN held a significant lead in strict CA correction and center to corner consi...
by Chris S.
Fri Oct 20, 2023 10:17 am
Forum: General Discussion Forum and Community Announcements
Topic: Lab uses dead spiders as robotic grippers by injecting air
Replies: 3
Views: 2059

Re: Lab uses dead spiders as robotic grippers by injecting air

I sent the piece to a friend who studies spiders at a university. Will quote a portion of his response here: "The study referenced basically proves the theory of how spider legs were thought to move—nobody had explicitly tested it." Cool! I wonder if there is a photographic application, here. I've b...
by Chris S.
Wed Oct 18, 2023 10:12 pm
Forum: General Discussion Forum and Community Announcements
Topic: Highest Serial Number 105PN?
Replies: 70
Views: 15939

Re: Highest Serial Number 105PN?

Robert, thanks for speaking up about this particular lens specimen. While I agree with all of Lou's points, I did notice in the listing that this exact lens specimen had been tested by you. If I were a potential buyer (am definitely not, since I have a very good, tested specimen of the better A vers...
by Chris S.
Wed Oct 18, 2023 9:19 pm
Forum: Equipment Exchange
Topic: FS: SOLD X-Y linear motion, X-Y tilt, and rotation positioning platform
Replies: 4
Views: 2916

Re: FS: X-Y linear motion, X-Y tilt, and rotation positioning platform

Looks like a nice item for the right person. If I understand this piece, it's a compact equivalent of an x/y stage, a rotation stage, and a goniometer pair, already integrated in a stack. My own subject stage is home-made collection parts to accomplish the same thing, at greater cost and with the ne...
by Chris S.
Wed Oct 18, 2023 8:59 pm
Forum: Community Members and Friends
Topic: The problem with Microscopes is...
Replies: 18
Views: 5987

Re: The problem with Microscopes is...

Nice stuff!

Lucky you, Alan. In my studio, it's cast off optical/mechanical parts--potentially useful in future macro rigs--that breed. To the unenlightened, it looks an awful lot like junk.

--Chris S.
by Chris S.
Wed Oct 18, 2023 12:00 pm
Forum: General Discussion Forum and Community Announcements
Topic: Lab uses dead spiders as robotic grippers by injecting air
Replies: 3
Views: 2059

Lab uses dead spiders as robotic grippers by injecting air

Perhaps macabre, but interesting, use of dead spiders as "necrobotic" grippers in a robotics research lab. Relies on spiders' not having antagonistic muscle pairs, but "flexor muscles to curl their legs inward toward their body and hydraulic pressure to extend their legs outward." The researchers in...
by Chris S.
Sun Oct 15, 2023 7:18 pm
Forum: General Discussion Forum and Community Announcements
Topic: Seeking an expert in electrostatics
Replies: 6
Views: 1924

Re: Seeking an expert in electrostatics

Steve, thanks for your summary. It's making me re-think some unexpected behavior I've experienced in the past with small, low-mass items.

--Chris S.
by Chris S.
Thu Sep 28, 2023 9:37 pm
Forum: Equipment Discussions
Topic: Laowa Aurogon Super-Micro lens test and comparison (versus Mitutoyo etc.)
Replies: 36
Views: 6891

Re: Laowa Aurogon Super-Micro lens test and comparison (versus Mitutoyo etc.)

Jason, no need to apologize. Take a bow for the excellent work you've done. :D If Laowa's design has been updated, testing on the obsolete kit won't inform us about the improved version readers might eventually buy. Here’s hoping that Laowa acted on feedback from you and others. The need to reduce i...
by Chris S.
Wed Sep 27, 2023 9:45 pm
Forum: Equipment Discussions
Topic: Laowa Aurogon Super-Micro lens test and comparison (versus Mitutoyo etc.)
Replies: 36
Views: 6891

Re: Laowa Aurogon Super-Micro lens test and comparison (versus Mitutoyo etc.)

Jason, nice work testing this Laowa set against your Mitutoyo objectives. =D> And I see that in the end, you couldn't resist buying one of those exquisite Mitutoyo 50x/0.75 HR objectives. I can only envy you--wish I could justify one myself. It would be informative to see the Laowa at 50x NA 0.50 te...
by Chris S.
Sat Sep 09, 2023 10:56 am
Forum: Equipment Discussions
Topic: Laowa 25mm ring light not working on power bank
Replies: 10
Views: 1663

Re: Laowa 25mm ring light not working on power bank

Possibly I should ask those YouTube guys who use the Laowa ring flash in the field. One known-good solution has been documented by photography blogger Walter Sanford, who makes this ring light work with an Anker PowerCore+ 26800mAh PD 45W power bank. Why not just purchase a known-good solution that...
by Chris S.
Wed Sep 06, 2023 10:15 pm
Forum: Equipment Discussions
Topic: Laowa 25mm ring light not working on power bank
Replies: 10
Views: 1663

Re: Laowa 25mm ring light not working on power bank

I have a few of these batteries, and generally there is a small button on them. You can plug them into led lights (I use USB led lights), and ... nothing. But push the tiny button on the battery, and bingo, the leds light up. Thanks, Mark! And you may be right. I have no power banks similar to your...
by Chris S.
Wed Sep 06, 2023 9:21 pm
Forum: Equipment Discussions
Topic: Laowa 25mm ring light not working on power bank
Replies: 10
Views: 1663

Re: Laowa 25mm ring light not working on power bank

Dieter, Just a guess, here—I have not used this ring light. Before we go further, you’ve made certain your power banks are fully charged, right? I'm sure you have. :D ---- If so, my guess is that neither of your power banks has sufficient wattage to power your ring light. The numbers you’ve given—50...
by Chris S.
Sat Sep 02, 2023 8:57 pm
Forum: Equipment Discussions
Topic: NIKON D5200 + LAOWA 25 mm F2.8 / 2.5-5.0 X macro lens: not working
Replies: 6
Views: 1466

Re: NIKON D5200 + LAOWA 25 mm F2.8 / 2.5-5.0 X macro lens: not working

Mounted on my camera (without any problem) its monitor blinks to me: "No Objective" ! Hence nothing to see, nothing to focus on ... except a black preview. Despite the NIKON-fit connection is this objective wrong for my camera?, or what I am doing wrong? Dieter, I have not used either a Nikon D5200...
by Chris S.
Mon Aug 21, 2023 7:48 pm
Forum: Equipment Discussions
Topic: Tethered stacks with Nikon Z possible?
Replies: 2
Views: 914

Re: Tethered stacks with Nikon Z possible?

Andreas, I can’t fully answer your questions. But you might look at ControlMyNikon software, which lists as supported the Nikon Z5, Z50, Z6, Z6II, Z7, and Z7II camera bodies. (Note that the newer Nikon Z8 and Z9 cameras are not yet listed as supported, nor are the Z30, Z50, or Zfc APS-C cameras. And...