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Yashica Slide Duplicator
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 11:35 pm    Post subject: Yashica Slide Duplicator Reply with quote
Can anyone explain how this works?

Click here to see on Ebay

Does it attach to the front of a lens, and have a helical for setting the distance or something? Or is it pre-configured for a Yashica macro lens? Or?


PostPosted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 3:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hopeful bump. So, nobody's ever used one of these, or knows how it works? I'm wondering if it threads into the front of a macro lens or something similar -- in which case it wouldn't require a Y/C camera to use it.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
If it's not one of those that screw into the front of a lens, then it could be one that attaches to a bellows unit....I'd need to see more photos to be certain ,although from the one photo, I'd say it is a lens mounted unit


PostPosted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 7:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
cooltouch wrote:
Can anyone explain how this works?


It's a slide copier for Yashica M42 screw mount cameras. It is used in conjunction with extension tubes or bellows.

At the bottom end there is a 52mm filter mount thread which mounts the copier to a 52mm thread lens, which is the commonest size for Yashica lenses. The filter thread on the adapter is on a small tube about an inch in length which can be unscrewed from the adapter, leaving a male M42 thread, so that the adapter can be mounted directly on extension tubes or bellows. There's no point in mounting it directly on the camera. If you mount the adapter on a 52mm lens, you need to mount the lens on extension tubes/bellows. Obviously, you could also use stepping rings.

There are two knurled screws. The one nearer the camera end is for orientation (portrait, landscape, or in between) and the one at the slide end is a locking screw for the adapter's extension capability. Undo this and you can extend the length of the adapter by up to 3/4". It's not on a helical, it just slides in or out and the locking screw fits in a groove along the length of the inner tube.

You can mount it on the 55mm Macro's filter thread (mine is the CY 2.8/55 ML), but you'd still need extension tubes ; even the Yashica 55mm Macro's barrel doesn't extend far enough at close focus to be used without an extension ring.

Obviously, if you're mounting the adapter on a lens, it doesn't matter if the lens is M42 or CY or anything else for that matter, you just need the extension tubes that correspond to your camera mount. If you're not mounting it on a lens, and your tubes aren't M42, then obviously you'd need a mount adapter, from M42 to CY or whatever.

I can't see the light diffuser in the adapter in this auction ; the slide mount end of the auction adapter doesn't seem to have the swing-out light diffuser. It could be a different model, the picture's not that clear, but I'll post a picture or two of mine, just to avoid a possible mistake.


My Yashica slide duplicator adapter, in the three sections, separated out.


From the slide end, the swing-out light diffuser, in closed position.


The adapter on its end, diffuser open. The slide carrier assembly also slides up and down (in the direction of the short side of the frame) for alignment purposes. There is no adjustment in the horizontal position (along the long side of the frame), you just move the slide itself in the horizontal direction.

As mentioned, I can't see the diffuser in the auction picture. It could be that the auction picture has the 'retaining clip' end pointing down and the hinge side up (see my third picture for what I mean), in which case the diffuser is perhaps just obscured. A question to the seller should settle it.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 7:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks very much for the explanation, Alex. I have a 55mm f/3.5 Micro Nikkor (52mm filter size) and a set of extension tubes, plus adapter, that I can use to mount to my Canon DSLR. That's why I was interested in this -- hoping that it might be a lens-mounted unit. I think I'll drop the seller a note and see if the diffuser is included.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 11:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
cooltouch wrote:
I think I'll drop the seller a note and see if the diffuser is included.

In my first picture, you can see the word 'Yashica' on the tube, and the retaining clip for the diffuser screen. The rectangular slide mount assembly is held on the tube by four small screws, and having a look again, I see the slide mount can be attached to the tube the other way, 180 degrees, which would mean that the retaining clip was on the opposite side to the word 'Yashica'. If that's how it is on the auction model picture, it could explain why I thought the diffuser screen was missing.

It's a solid and well engineered little piece. I've never mounted it on my own Canon DSLR, but I do have the adapters, and may give it a try. I've already copied all my slides via a scanner, but it'll be interesting to see how a DSLR copy compares.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 6:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have made the comparison between scans done on my Epson 4990 at 4800 ppi and using an Opteka duplicator I bought on eBay a while back, attached to the front of a kit lens for my 1.6x crop body Canon. At 10mp, the camera delivers images that are about 2600ppi, roughly half what the Epson claims to deliver. However, my Epson's actual resulution is about 2000ppi. I have tested it to confirm this.

As for the differences between the Epson scans and dupes taken with my Opteka/Canon rig, the dupes are noticeably sharper, plus I have the advantage of being able to manipulate the RAW images in preproduction, which results in little if any manipulation required in post-production.

I also have a T-mount style zoom slide duplicator, which I use for slide crops. Because it's T-mount, I cannot dupe full frame with my 1.6x crop body camera. I have noticed, however, that the optical element in this older T-mount duplicator is not quite as sharp as the combination of the Opteka's optical element plus the kit lens it is mounted to.

Still, I'm not fond of having to use a kit lens, or the Opteka's optical element, so I'm working on a setup where neither will be necessary hopefully. I mentioned in my previous post that I have some extension tubes -- actually they're being shipped to me as I write this, and I hope they'll be arriving today. Anyway, I'm hoping the right combination of tubes and lens will allow me to use this setup -- or possibly the Yashica, if I bid on it -- without any additional intervening glass.
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