Playing with the Nikon BD Plan Apo 40/0.80

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Macrero
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Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:17 am
Location: Valladolid , Spain

Playing with the Nikon BD Plan Apo 40/0.80

Post by Macrero »

Truth be told, when I bought this objective I didn't have high expectations. Then I found this Rik's post showing that it is perfectly usable on APS-C.

Received it yesterday, and after some test stacks, I'm actually pretty happy with the result. As is to be expected from an old, finite, high-res objective, image circle is not huge, though bigger that I'd expect,
coverage on APS-C is "acceptable" down to 35X.

Given the short WD, in order to achieve acceptabe lighting, this objective needs some mod: the BD collar shoud be removed. I had quite hard time unscrewing the front part of the barrel, but I finally succeeded.
Unscrewing the BD collar was impossible (to me) though. So like Rik did here , I just cut it off.

Sorry for the low-quality, phone pics.

Stripped down and already operated:

Image

Ready to go with the BD lightpath blocked::

Image

The difference in lighting before and after the surgery was (logically) like night and day.

A quick, test stack at 37X on sensor. Shot in RAW, processed in Capture One, stacked in Zerene, DMap (unretouched), continuous light. Done with cars, buses and various vehicles, passing a few meters from the setup. Will do more tests tonight when there is no/less traffic.

https://images2.imgbox.com/11/4c/pVrdAnjL_o.jpg

Best,

- Macrero
https://500px.com/macrero - Amateurs worry about equipment, Pros worry about money, Masters worry about Light

seta666
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Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:50 am
Location: Castellon, Spain

Re: Playing with the Nikon BD Plan Apo 40/0.80

Post by seta666 »

To unscrew those bd plans I normally use a couple of drops of acetone and then use a couple of car oil filter grab tools. So far I managed to open all , including this one and infinite BD plans but it is true that some give a hard time

Macrero
Posts: 1166
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:17 am
Location: Valladolid , Spain

Re: Playing with the Nikon BD Plan Apo 40/0.80

Post by Macrero »

That's about the same method I use and I usually don't have a problem, but yeah, some units do gives me a hard time.

How did you like this objective? Pending on further testing, I'm finding this oldie to be a keeper. Resolution and color correction are about as good as it gets.
Contrast is a tad low, but nothing than can't be fixed with 4 clicks in the processing. The short WD is not a problem for me.
https://500px.com/macrero - Amateurs worry about equipment, Pros worry about money, Masters worry about Light

seta666
Posts: 1071
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:50 am
Location: Castellon, Spain

Re: Playing with the Nikon BD Plan Apo 40/0.80

Post by seta666 »

It does look promissing but I could not test it properly yet. I plan to use it on the microscope with other BD plans.I am going to be away for a couple of months, so that will have to wait

Macrero
Posts: 1166
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:17 am
Location: Valladolid , Spain

Re: Playing with the Nikon BD Plan Apo 40/0.80

Post by Macrero »

Oh, I thought you use it on camera / Bellows. Looking forward to seeing your high-mag stacks when you get back to stacking.

I plan to put it in a good use shooting scales in the winter when I will have more free time.

I would recommend this objective to folks looking for a good high-magnification optics for crop sensor cameras, just keep in mind the short WD (0.62mm) and the small mod required.
https://500px.com/macrero - Amateurs worry about equipment, Pros worry about money, Masters worry about Light

Pau
Site Admin
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Re: Playing with the Nikon BD Plan Apo 40/0.80

Post by Pau »

I use the non BD MPlan Apo version. I like its IQ for direct projection on APSC although the 0.7mm WD and wider tip prevents it to be used with "macro style" illumination, at least in my hands. I've used it in the microscope with transillumination (like an normal microscope objective but with no cover glass) and for epifluorescece. Maybe next winter would try it for insect scales...
Pau

Macrero
Posts: 1166
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:17 am
Location: Valladolid , Spain

Re: Playing with the Nikon BD Plan Apo 40/0.80

Post by Macrero »

Pau wrote:
Thu Sep 09, 2021 4:52 am
I use the non BD MPlan Apo version. I like its IQ for direct projection on APSC although the 0.7mm WD and wider tip prevents it to be used with "macro style" illumination, at least in my hands. I've used it in the microscope with transillumination (like an normal microscope objective but with no cover glass) and for epifluorescece. Maybe next winter would try it for insect scales...
Yes, the BD versions works best on camera, since usually they allow for a wider light angle (after the "surgery"), which is crucial when working with such short WD.

Image

Btw, I did a quite weird test with the objective coupled with a Sigma LSA + some separation, at minimum Bellows extension (21X aprox on sensor) and surprisingly it produces good image with very good coverage :?

This objective is certainly being fun to play with and test.
https://500px.com/macrero - Amateurs worry about equipment, Pros worry about money, Masters worry about Light

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