Bellows and slide copier.

Has anyone out there got one of these to sell that will work on a K3ii or K1? As I'm on lockdown I though it might be a good time to copy all (some job) of my old slides and negs.
CHEERS Vic.

I don't have one to sell, but just last week I bought a BPM unit from LCE for (broadly...) the same reason. IIRC they had a couple more.

My (very brief, so far) initial fiddlings suggest you'll probably have less hassle with the K-1...

I've had a go at focus stacking macro using a set of Zenit bellows with m42 lens and camera mounts. I'd not necessarily recommend them, they seem a bit femma. I'm waiting for a BPM set with K mounts arriving, but I also saw these on Ffordes eBay site link . You can get the interchangeable mounts from Macro Bellows.com link which is linked to a guy called Peter Bargh, coincidence?

Slide copying with the BPM set involves mounting the slide on a platform at one end of the bellows slider, in the open with light hitting it from every angle. I presume the idea is to arrange for deliberate backlight. The Pentax version involves a separate bellows arrangement between the end of the bellows proper and the slide mount so the only light that can reach the lens is that coming through the slide.
That said, a lot of people are put off the BPM product because it looks flimsy in photographs. I can assure you that it is anything but flimsy! It is a superbly engineered system that will take whatever you'd care to throw at it, plus there are extra mounts for nearly every camera under the sun!

Did you get sorted Vic?

Yes, I was pleasantly surprised when I unboxed the BPM unit, and it came with 2 pairs of mount adaptors too - M42 and K mount - which, judging by the prices at macrobellows.com, makes my unit worth about 5x what I paid for it !

My current plan (subject to revision...) is to use flash from behind the slide. If stray light, and the gap between lens and slide holder, is a problem, I'm thinking I can use a black cloth draped over the whole thing, or maybe fashion something out of a Pringles tube or similar.

Early days yet, but I think the crop factor on the K-3 may be the trickiest thing to overcome...

The BPM shown on ebay has the basic 35 mm mounted slide holder. There is another piece of kit namely the Reprotran which has an optional copying bellows hood to prevent stray light as mentioned above by David. This can be used for mounted slides or cut film up to 6X6 ish

John

To JohnX. NO. But I have a slide/neg/print copier that I can use instead. Resolution may not be quite so good as a slide copier & bellows but it will have to do. IF & WHEN I get round to it. I'm getting lazy in my old age.
CHEERS Vic.

Thanks Vic. More fyi than anything else, but I have a "Panagor zoom slide duplicator", that magnifies from 1:1 to 2.5:1. T mount so can be used with various marques.

I've tried it with my K3, but fancy it'd work better with a K1 as it's originally designed for full frame. They go for around £20 on eBay so might be worth a try depending on what results you're getting with what you have.