SM1 Threading vs Mitty vs Nikon M26

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ray_parkhurst
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SM1 Threading vs Mitty vs Nikon M26

Post by ray_parkhurst »

This has probably been discussed before, but I was going through some equipment I bought at a surplus sale, and there are a couple of Thorlabs SM1 pieces that were very interesting, including some fine focus items. I was not sure initially what the items were, so I tried attaching a Nikon BD objective to see if it was compatible. It almost is, but the Nikon M26 is clearly a coarser thread, though indeed it will thread in several turns before it begins to bind. I then tried a Mitty MPlan Apo and it seemed to work perfectly. Looking at the thread specs for the Mitty, I see they are 26.0-36tpi. The SM1 spec is 26.3-40tpi, which is pretty darn close. So it seems SM1 components can support Mitty lenses nicely. The components I picked up were an SM1 helicoid (0.5mm per turn) and a couple SM1ZA Z-Axis flexure mounts with 50um per turn adjustments, along with some extensions and rings for mounting 1" optics.

Is anyone using SM1 components with their Mitty objectives?

RobertOToole
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Re: SM1 Threading vs Mitty vs Nikon M26

Post by RobertOToole »

Hi Ray,

Thats good to know Ray, thanks, Mity M26 compatibility crossed my mind and I have a bunch of SM1 stuff including a couple of iris units with round apertures. I've been collecting SM1 adapters of all types, like RMS > SM1 and SM1>SM2 of course.

SM1 pieces seem to be easy to find on the used market for way less than retail.


Best,

Robert

ray_parkhurst
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Re: SM1 Threading vs Mitty vs Nikon M26

Post by ray_parkhurst »

The helicoid I have is same as this one on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175027253427

Looks like it will make a perfect fine focus mount for M26.

Chris S.
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Re: SM1 Threading vs Mitty vs Nikon M26

Post by Chris S. »

As a reminder, Thorlabs sells adapters that go from SM1 to a wide variety of things, including Mitutoyo [M26 x 0.706(36tpi)], RMS, and many others.

Thorlabs adapter chart

--Chris S.

ray_parkhurst
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Re: SM1 Threading vs Mitty vs Nikon M26

Post by ray_parkhurst »

Chris S. wrote:
Tue May 24, 2022 11:13 pm
As a reminder, Thorlabs sells adapters that go from SM1 to a wide variety of things, including Mitutoyo [M26 x 0.706(36tpi)], RMS, and many others.

Thorlabs adapter chart

--Chris S.
Thanks. I use M42 for most intermediates, and since SM1 is pretty close to M26, the M26 to M42 adapters I use for the objectives work well enough with SM1. The SM1 components just give more options to stay in 1" space for more of the system.

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