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Belhrvs
Focusl

B'*v*9'/'
flikon INSTRUCTION
IVIANUAL

NOMENCLATURE

Whiteindicatordot

Lenspanel

Lensreleasebutton

Camerapanellockingknob

Lenspanellockingknob

S l i d e - c o p y i n ga d a p t e r l o c k i n g k n o b

Lenspanelslidingknob

Slide-copyingadaPtersocket

Redindicatordot

Camera panel

C a m e r ap a n e l s l i d i n g k n o b

Tripod head

Tripod head

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CONTENTS
Foreword
M o u n t i n g t h eb e l l o w s o nt h e c a m e r a
Mountingthelens
Choosingalens
Focusing
the reproducti onrati o
D etermi ni ng
D e t e r m i n i negx p o s u r e
W i th bui l t-i nTTL meter.
W hennon-TTLmeteri sused . . - .
Accessories...
Reproductionratiosobtainablewith PB-5
Reproductionratiosat differentbellows
extensions...
Exposurefactors
Features/specifications..

....5
.. -.. .6
......8
-.....9
.. . 10
. - 12
-.14
. . . 14
. . . . 14
...16
. - 18
....-20
..22
..-.26

t
i

t
I
L

iI

FOREWORD
The PB-5BellowsFocusingAttachmentis a simplified
version of the top-of-linePB-4 model. The bellows
extendsfrom 43 to 185mm for reproductionratios
rangi ngfrom 1:1.2 to 3.6X w i th the 50mm f 12l ens
(1.6X to 4.4X when the lens is mounted in reverse
using the accessoryBR-2 ring). The lens panel and
camerapanel move independentlyfor easyfocusing
and operatingconvenience.
And the camerabody can
be rotated 90" for horizontal or vertical format
picturesat any positionon the rails.
The PB-5 acceptsaccessoryslide copying adapters
PS-5and PS-4.

w#e'6

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MOUNTINGTHE BEIIOWS ON THECAMERA

Loosenthe locking knob on the camerapanel and slide
it back on the rails as far as it will go. Positionthe
PB-5 in the camera'sbayonetmount, lining up the red
dot on the camerapanelof the PB-5with the blackdot
until it clicksinto
on the camera.Twist counterclockwise
place.

The camerabody can be rotated 90" for horizontalor

v e rt ic a lfo rmat phot os at an y p o s i ti o n o n th e ra i l s .
Press
the spring catchon the camerapaneland turn the
c a mera
b o d y co unt er c loc k wisuen ti l i t c l i c k si n to p l a c e .
To remove,depressthe lensreleasebutton on the camera
andt wi st th e P B - 5c loc k wis e.
Note: When used in the vertical position, the camera can be
r e m o v e df r o m t h e P B - 5 i n t h e n o r m a l m a n n e r r e g a r d l e s so f t h e
c a m e r a ' sp o s i t i o n o n t h e r a i l s .

www.butkus.us

OUNTING
Positionthe lensin the bayonetmount on the lenspanel,
lining up the blackdot on the lenswith the white dot on
until
the lenspanel.Then twist the lenscounterclockwise
pl
ace.
i
nto
cl
i
cks
it
To remove, press the lens releasebutton on the lens
paneland twist clockwise.
To mount the lens in reverseposition, use the Nikon
Macro Adapter Ring BR-2. The ring has a bayonet
mount at one end that fi ts onto the P B -5,and a screw
thread mount at the other to acceptthe lens.lt can be
usedwith any lenswith 52mm attachmentsize'

Choosing a Lens
any Nikkor lensmountedon the PB-5in either normal
Thoughany of the Nikkor lensesfrom 20 to 300mm can or reversepositionand recommendedlensaperturesfor
be usedwith the PB-5,the Nikkor Auto 50mm fl2 and the bestresults.
the Bellows-Nikkor105mm tlq are most commonly
I used. For critical closeups,the Micro-Nikkor-P
Auto
55mmf 13.5is an excellentchoice.
For best results at reproduction ratios greaterthan 'l:'l ,
reversethe lens in its mount so that its front facesthe
film and its back is to the subject.
lf the bellowsextensionremainsthe same,the shorter
the focal length of the lens used,the greaterthe reproduction ratio. lf reproduction ratio remainsthe same,
increasingthe focal length increasesthe tens-to-su
bject
distance.When mounted in reverseposition,short and
normalfocal lengthlensesgivelargerreproductionratios
than when they are mounted in normal position. The
oppositeis true for long lenses.
At the maximum apertureof the lens,depth of field is
minimizedand some marginalloss of image definition
and illuminationis likely to occur. Thereforethe lensis
usuallyfocusedat its maximumaperture,sincethis gives
the brightestpossibleimageon the focusingscreen,then
stoppeddown for making the exposure.However, the
smallestapertureis not usuallyusedeither sincethis atso
resultsin imagedeterioration.The tableson pages18 and
19 show the rangeof reproductionratios possiblewith

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FOCUSING
An alternatemethod is to lock the lenspanel in placeat
when the PB-5is mounted betweenthe cameraand the
the extreme front end of the rails and move the camera
lens, the automatic diaphragm control of the Nikkor
panelbackwarduntil the subjectis in focus.This method
Auto lens is lost. To focus on the brightest possible
distanceremainsunchanged.
is faster,sincelens-to-subiect
image on the focusing screen'open up the lens to its
lens must be brought very
the
when
useful
It is also
muximum aperture by turning the aperturering countersharply'
focus
to
subject
the
to
close
clockwiseas far as it will go. However,if the accessory
poseseveralproblems
to the lens,semi-automatic Close-upsand macrophotography
ExtensionRing E2 is attacl'red
One of theseis
photography'
general
not encounteredin
diaphragmcontrol is Possible.
of the image
magnification
the
vibrat'ton:
to
The PB-5hastwo knurledknobson the left hand sideto sensitivity
promidisplacement
image
slight
even
makes
fiim
the
on
control the back-and-forth movement of the camera
results'
best
For
image'
results in a blurred
panelor lenspanel.The lockingknobson the right hand nent and
entire set-up on a rigid tripod or support,
the
mount
focusing
when
rid. ur. usedto lock the assemblysecurely
and usea cablereleaseto trip the shutter'
iscompleted.An additionalknob locatedat the front end
pmayresu|tinvibration.Toav
of the PB-5is usedto clamp the slidecopyingadapterin A n u n b a l a n c e d s e t . uextra
tripod socket beneaththe
this, the PB-5 has an
place.
be balancedon a tripod
can
set-up
panelso that the
be done in two ways.First, lock the camera lens
Focusingcan
or when the set-upis
used
is
lens
long
a
when
panel in place by tighteningthe locking knob on the even
shiftedforward.
right side.Then turn the knurledknob on the left sideto
movethe lenspanel back and forth along the railsuntil N o t e : T y- pu es eBd , E o r M f o c u s i n g s c r e e ni s r e c o m m e n d e d w h e n t h e
rangewith the Nikon F or F2, since the central
the subjectis in sharpfocus.Retightenthe lockingknob P B - 5 i s
standard Type A screen blacks out at
o
f
t
h
e
a
r
e
a
f
i
n
d
e
r
the
when
position
especially
panel
in
to lock the lens
is used' focus on
u p " r t u r " , s m a l l e r t h a n f 1 4 . 5 .l f t h e N i k k o r m a t
PB-5is usedin the verticalposition.
t h e m a t t e a r e as u r r o u n d i n gt h e c e n t r a l f o c u s i n g c i r c l e '

Second

www.butkus.us

11

RATIO
THEREPRODUCTION
DETERMINING
ratio is the ratio of the imagesizerecorded
Reproduction
on film to the actual size of the subject.At life-size
, e
f or ex am ple,it i s 1 : 1 . F u rth e rm o reth
magni fi ca ti on,
their
proportional
to
subject and image sizes are
from the lens.lf lens-to-filmdistance
distances
respective
distancedecreases.
lens-to-subject
increases,
You can find out the reproductionratio for a particular
lens-to -fi l md is t anc eus ing t h e P B-5 ' sm i l l i m e te rs c a l e
engravedon the rail. The scalecan also be used to
pre-adjust
the bellowsto givea desiredreproductionratio.
To determinethe reproduction ratio, set the distance
s caleo n th e l ens being us ed a t i n fi n i ty . F o c u so n th e
subject,then read off the numberson the scalewhich
appearnext to the outer edgesof the camerapaneland
lensp a n e l .Su bt r ac t he s m a l l e rn u mb e rfro m th e l a rg e r
o ne t o fi n d t he ac t ual bello w se x te n s i o ni n mm a n d
consultthe tableon pages2O and 21 to find the reproduction ratio for the lensin use at that amount of bellows
ex t ensi o n .For ex am ple,if t h e o u te r e d g eo f th e l e n s
panel is at 140mm and the outer edge of the camera
panel is at 44mm, the bellowsextensionequals14O 44= 96mm. lf the lensusedis the 50mm f 12 mountedin
reverseposition,the tablegives2.5X as the reproduction
ratio.

l_

the aboveprocedure,the reproductionratio

By reversing
predetermined.
After consultingthe table,adjust
can be
the PB-S'scameraand lens panelsto give the correct
amountof bellowsextensionfor the desiredreproduction
ratio" Then focus by moving the subjector move the
entire assemblyback and forth until the subject is in
sharpfocus.
A nother si mpl e method of determi ni ngreproducti on
ratio is by usingthe scaleon the oppositepage.Placethe
scalein the sameplaneas the subject,look throughthe
cameraviewfinderand read off the length of the area
whi ch i s i n sharpfocus.D i vi dethi s numberi nto 36 or 24
(dependingon whetherthe camerais usedin the horizonta l or verti calposi ti on).The resul tw i l l be the reproduction ratio. For example, if the horizontal scaleimage
w hi ch' i s i n focus i s 18mm i n l ength,the reproducti on
rati o w i l l be 36118= 2X . For qui ck referenceusethe
table on the oppositepageto find the reproductionratio
at any scalecoverage.
N o t e : W h e n u s i n g a N i k k o r m a t c a m e r a ,t h e r e p r o d u c t i o n r a t i o
obtained by this method must be multiplied by 0.9 owing to its
s m a l l e rv i e w f i n d e ra r e a .

I
i
I

II
I

Scale
0s

3s 40

F*{*

ength.r rse

Reproductron

rcad

ratlr

45 50

ss 60

6s

-7o -t5
80 8s 90

32t33t34 3 s 1 3 6 1 3 7 1 3 389 - 4 2

43-4A

49--55

0.9

0.8

0.7

l.l

56-- 65
0.6

66 -80

0.5

9s loo tos llO ils tzo t2s t3o t3s t4o

8 | - t 0 3 r 0 4 - t 4 4r 4 5 - 2 4 02 4 r - 3 8 0
0.4
U.J
0.2
0.1

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EXPOSURE
DETERMINING

Nikon F or F2-series
cameras

Nikkormat cameras

With built-in TTL meter

The i nserti onof the P B -5 betw eenthe l ens and the
c amerabreaksthe l i nkageof the l ensdi aphragmto the
finders or
thru-the-lensmeters of the Photomic-series
Ni kkormat cameras.H ow ever,thesemeterscan sti l l be
u sed to measureexposurevi a the stop-dow nmethod.
Wi th the P hotomi cfi nders,fi rst pushthe coupl i ngpi n up
i n to the P hotomi cfi nder w i th a coi n or si mi l arobj ect.
or the N i kkormat E L camera,
Wi th the N i kkormat FTr..r
p ush the camera' scoupl i ngpi n to the ri ght as far as i t
on
y the camera
s
w i l l go. Mount the l ens/bel l owassembl
a nd sw i tch on the meter i n the usualw ay. The next
procedurefor eachcamerais asfollows:
Nikon F2 Photomicand Nikkormat FTN cameras
Sel ectthe desi redshutterspeedand stop dow n the l ens
m anual ty unti l the meter needl ei n the vi ew fi nderi s
centered,
Nikon F2S Photomiccamera
Sel ectthe desi redshutterspeedand stop dow n the l ens
manual l yunti l the tw o si gnall i ghtsgl ow .
Nikkormat EL camera
S et the shutterspeeddi al at " A " (A utomati c)and turn
the apertureri ng unti l the bl ackneedl ei n the vi ew fi nder
i ndi catesa shutter speed appropri ateto the subj ect.
When non-TTL meter i s used
l i ght meteri s used,exposurecompensati on
l f a separate
is necessaryat reproductionratios Sreaterthan 1 : 10.

Thegraphson pages22to 25 showexposurefactorsand

exposurecorrectionsin f-stopsfor any Nikkor lens at
any aperture.Readjustthe lensdiaphragmaccordingto
t heind i ca te dn um ber s .
To calculateexposurecompensationin terms of shutter
speedrather than f-stopsfind the exposurefactor from
t he gra p h sa n d m ult iply it b y th e e x p o s u reti me . F o r
ex am p l ei,f n or m alex pos ur ea t 1 : 1 re p ro d u c ti o nra ti o
w it ht he 5 0 mm f l2is 1/ 8 s ec o n dth
, e c o rre c te de x p o s u re
w ill be 1 /8 mu lt ipliedby 4, or 1 1 2s e c o n d .
Note: When using a lens of retrofocus or telephoto type, the
d i f f e r e n c ei n p u p i l l a r y m a g n i f i c a t i o n m u s t b e t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t
t o e s t a b l i s h t h e c o r r e c t e x p o s u r e .T h e p u p i l l a r y m a g n i f i c a t i o n i s
the ratio of the exit pupil diameter to that of the en1ran"" pupil.
The folfowing formula is used to calculate the exposure factor
when a retrofocus or telephoto type lens is used in normal
position:
Exposure factor = (1 + Mlv12
(where V = pupillary magnification)
W h e nt h e l e n s i s i n r e v e r s ep o s i t i o n :
E x p o s u r ef a c t o r = ' l l v 2

(l + vw12

T o a v o i d c o m p l i c a t e d c a l c u l a t i o n s ,u s e t h e g r a p h so n p a g e s2 2 t o
2 5 t o d e t e r m i n e c o r r e c t e x p o s u r e i n a p e r t u r e v a l u e s .T h e g r a p h s
arecomputed to take into account the pupillary magnification.

www.butkus.us

15

ACCESSORIES
EyepieceMagnifier
Fits the threaded eYePieceof the
Nikon F or F2, Nikkormator Photomic'
series fi n der. Magnifies the central
finder area2X f or greater accuracyin
viewingand focusing.

6X FocusingFinder
Thisfinder magnifiesthe entireviewing
field six timesfor pinpointfocusingin
and other
closeups,macrophotography
applicationswhere critical focusingis
Eyesightadjustmentfrom -5
essential.
to +3 dioptersis possible.

Repro-Copy
Outfit PF-2
Sturdyand convenientset-upfor copyingdocuments,booksand other small
objectswhich are more or lessflat.

ExtensionRing Set K
Consistsof five rings used in various
combinationsbetween the PB-5 and
lensto provideextraextensions
ranging
from 5.8 to 46.6mm.
ExtensionRing E2
Usedwith the PB-5to increaselens-tofilm distance.Offers semi-automatic
diaphragmcontrol for easierfocusing
and composingand also servesas a
l e n sh o o d .
SlideCopyingAdaptersPS-4& PS-5
Both attach to the front of the PB-5
f o r d u p l i c a t i n g3 5 m m t r a n s p a r e n c i e s .
The PS-4(shownbelow) provideshorizontal and vertical shifts which facilitate cropping.

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17

WITH PB-s
RATIOSOBTAINABTE
REPRODUCTION
Note: Lenset at infinity
Rorodudlm

Rario Flngt

F.ffikt

LrE
P6ltim

ol

Nm
2(}fli

Rdru

2am

f/2.8

28tnm|/2
2&nm f/3.5
?,ffit12.8
28mm t/a FC

Rwffi

"'I

Bwd9

t/2.8
Rd6s

ot

3.9

lm86 quglity ii b6t at t/8 snd dotsiorat6

opsturE
sdltr

lo"

lrog quality is bar ot l/8 and dotqio.stG ot

salltr aprtur6. Cnnot bo usd in norml
ffiition
Tho furthg the 163 is stoppd down, tho
bettq th irogp qualily Ucuitabl tq

olo.e

Norml

lmag6 quEtity i! b6t at apertur6 from t/8 ro

f/l I , and dre,ioratG at sall$ aportur6

6'O

I,i

ol

Nro
35'm

tho botte.'
is sloppd
dom
th lfls
Th furthq
fq copying.
UBuitrblo
the imag quality

,.2

f/a

I
a.o
I

the lens is stoppd

The fu.thq
tho qu6litV
bottd

ol

lhe

lroge qualilv is b6t at l/8 and detqioratE

smll{ apgtutG

.7

N m

down.

I4

,2

I'

.8

Sams

at

abov

taffitl2
4.9

Fffi

Norml
36flr

f/r.a
Rwd$

@rnt im8os quElity dotqiorat6 ot lw

roproduction rati6. Un3uitoble tor copyim

I'

o.'l

f/2.8 PC
Rffi

lmge
mdlr

5.5

a.8

7,7

3.t

Ndrol

a6mm f/2.8 GN
Rffi

,.uI

Nru

1,."

@ffi112
Rwqs

4.8

6.8

quslity

b b6t

at l/8

and

dstqiqai6

at

op6tur6.

lnu3 qulity is b6t at spertur6 from t/8 to

f/l l-and dotsiorat6 whs tfi l6m h stoppd
down fu.thtr thln f/l | .
lmge quslity i3 b6t ot l/8 and dtoriorat6 al
srulltr aptrturB.

6.8

16

th

lmags q@lity i! b6t at f/l l o.|d dottrioratG

at smlld apenu16.

5,1

Norrol
36m

Th furthq tho lru is ltoppd dM,

battq th imlp qulitY.

Th funhq
th
botrs

is stoppd
iho los
im80 quolity

down'

lho

imogo qullity
At high rop.oduciion ratio! orr
whsn the lss i3 ltoppod
deraioratc rcmshll
down fu.th6 than l/8

- distance between subiect and front edge of the lens barrel.

Note: Figures at both ends of the tines indicate working distance in cm
18

Note: Lens
Flp.odctlon

Rstio Rrng.

The furrher rhs lns is stoppd down, the

biler the imag qEliry Un$irable for copying

@pyirE. Sinc csmr

imaga quality is !mr,

it is

lmage qualiry is bst at l/8 and delerioral6 al

saller aortum

Th lunhr the lens is stoppd dom,

btr6r the ima96 q@lity.

tn

The lurthr th lss is stoppd dom,

better rh im4 quality

the

The furiher th6 lens is sroppad dom,

berter the imee qwlity

th

The lurthe.
the lens is stopped
bener the image quality

Ihe

down,

lmage qualily is good al high reproduction

rati6 bul coanerimagequalily deteriora16at
inlinitv

The lunher the lens is stoppd dom, th

better the imag quality
The lurther th lms is stoppd dom, th
beltor the imag qualiry
The furttr the lffs is stoopd dom, th
better the imee qlity

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t9

BEIIOWSEXTENSIONS
RATIOSAT DIFFERENT
REPRODUCTION
Note: Lens set
Read off Values on Scale

28mmf 12
28 mm f/3.5
28mmf 12.8
28 mm ll4 PC
35 mm f/2.8
35 mm f/2
35 mm tl2.8PC

45 mm f/2.8 GN

20

Lens set at inf ini

Read off Values on Scale

105mm f/2.5

1 3 5m m f / 3 . 5
1 3 5m m f / 2 . 8

300 mm f/4.5

Figuresin parenthesesindicate distance from the subiect plane in focus to the lens barrel edge in cm.

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21

FACTORS
EXPOSURE

24mmtl2.8
20mm f/3.5

22

35mm f/2
35mm f/3.5 PC

R e p r o d u c r r o nr a t i o 5 0 m m

f/1.4

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23

- continued
FACTORS
EXPOSURE

Reproduction
ratio 45mm f/2.8 GN
55mm f/3.5 Micro-P
1O5mm f/4 Bellows
105mm f/2.5

24

Reproduclion ratio

180mm

f/2.8

ry
*

E6

25
2
175
l5
t25
I
0.9
08
07
0.5
05
01
035
0.3
0.25

n2ffi

l0

ll

2OOmmll4
300mm f/4.5

www.butkus.us

25

FEATURES/SPECIFICATIO NS
B el l ow sE xtensi on:

U sabl eLenses:

D i mensi ons:
W ei ght:

43mmto 185mm;thi s
reproductionratio
represents
from 1 : 1.2 to 3.6X w i th
5 0 m mf 1 2 i n n o r m a lP o s i t i o n
and from 1 : 1.6 to 4.4X i n
reverseposition
20mm f l4 through 300mm
f 14.5,pl usZoom-N i kkor
A uto 43-86mm f 13.5
209mmx 109mm x144mm
950g

t:

26

&