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    Housing for Nikon CoolScan 8000 ED lens

    Frustrated with the Imacon workflow, I switched to DSLR Scanning three years ago and built a stable system to work with my preferred formats, ranging from 35mm to 8x10.

    1. Copy stand

    Frustrated with the challenging fine-adjustments and leveling of standard copy stands (like the Beseler i used for a while), I decided to go the DIY route and decided to build a stand following these instructions. It is very solid and allows for easy attachment of accessories.

    2. Light source

    Kaiser Slimlite Plano. There may be better solutions, but I’m perfectly happy with this one.

    3. Novoflex Castel-XQ II rail + Nikon PB-6 Bellows

    The rail provides a sturdy connection between the vertical column of the copy stand and the bellows. The bellows and rail both provide independent fine adjustments. The bellows control magnification, while the rail allows for precise distance changes.

    4. Camera

    Nikon D810. A workhorse.

    5. Lenses

    After extensive testing and using the Rodenstock Apo-Rodagon-D 2x 75mm, the Rodenstock Apo-Gerogon 150mm, and the Micro-Nikkor 55mm 2.8 Ais, I decided it was time to try using the lens from my old Coolscan 8000ED (it has been collecting dust since 2011).

    The quality of this lens has been extensively praised, with the hundreds of negatives I scanned with the Coolscan serving as undeniable proof. However, the biggest challenge I faced was figuring out how to mount this lens on my system. The majority of solutions rely on epoxying the housing to a mount or cleverly mounted step-up/step-down rings to ensure the lens remains secure.

    Knowing how critical it is to ensure alignments and parallelism in the world of DSLR scanning, I started trying to design a housing that:

    1.  could be reversible
    2.  did not use glue
    3.  allowed the lens to be mounted in both directions
    4.  ensure alignment of the optical axis and parallelism

    My initial idea was to 3d print a prototype and do some testing, before trying something more robust (it’s a heavy lens).

    I initially thought about 3D printing a prototype of a lens housing to conduct some testing, before embarking on a more permanent and robust solution (it’s a heavy lens). After the first designs, I decided to browse rafcamera.com to see if they had any elements that I could use (a tube with the correct dimensions, a mount, something…). As I didn’t find anything, I decided to email them explaining my idea and asking if they had any suggestions (I knew they had made a housing for the lens of a Plustek 7200 when I needed it). Two days and 3 designs later, Raf confirmed that they would produce this housing!

    Three weeks later, and after putting it to use in my DSLR Scanning rig, these are my initial thoughts:

    • The quality of construction is superb (very close to Leica-level tolerances)
    • The dimensions are perfect, at least for my lens (I know there is a variation of this lens with slightly different case dimensions)
    • Each thread is meticulously aligned, creating a seamless and tight connection.
    • Being able to use the lens in both directions is a huge plus
    • If I wanted to put the lens back into the scanner, it would take me no more than 5 minutes

    This is now, by far, my favorite lens for DSLR scanning (for 1-1.2x magnification)!

    Review by Miguel Coelho, miguelcoelho.com

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