Nikon ES-1 Slide Copying Adapter

This adapter is designed to be used with the Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 AIS lens + PK13 extension tube. Together, they provide 0.81x to 1.0x reproduction ratio. It can also be used with AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8 with the BR-5 step-down ring. With lens reversal attachments (BR-2A and BR-3) lens can be reversed to achieve a larger reproduction ratios.

The body of ES-1 consists of two sliding tubes, one end threaded into the filter thread of the lens (52mm in diameter, need a BR-5 ring for the AF 60 Micro lens), the other end holds the slide. The sliding of the tubes allows the change of the distance of the slide from the lens, as well as the orientation. The minimum and maximum distance from the slide to the end of the lens' filter thread is 45mm and 69.5mm, respectively. When copying a slide, a flash is used as the light source and is directly fired toward the translucent diffuser.

This is the most straightforward, the simplest and the cheapest way of duping slides in the Nikon's accessory lineup. And yet, it is darn expensive! The two metal tubes plus a plastic plate cost almost $50!

The followings are the reproduction ratios (given by Nikon, in the instruction manual for the ES-1) can be achieved with various setups:

Attachment	Lens position	Reproduction ratio with Micro- Nikkor 55mm f/2.8	Reproduction ratio with AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8
PK-13 ring	normal reversed	0.81 -- 1.0 1.4	0.90 -- 1.6 1.2 - 1.3
PN-11 ring	normal reversed	0.95 -- 1.2 1.8	0.88 -- 1.5 1.7
K-ring set	normal reversed	0.81 -- 1.2 0.99 -- 1.7	0.86 -- 1.8 1.0 -- 1.6
PK-ring set	normal reversed	0.81 -- 1.2 1.0 -- 1.8	0.86 -- 1.8 1.0 -- 1.7
PB-6 Bellows	normal reversed	0.87 -- 1.2 1.8 -- 3.8	0.86 -- 1.3 1.7 -- 4.1

Aside from above reproduction ratios, I found that BR-2A and BR-3 can be coupled to form a 20mm non-automatic-diaphragm extension tube. With the PK-13 + BR2A + BR-3 combined as an extension tube, the normally mounted Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 lens gives 1.0 -- 1.2 reproduction ratio. I think it is important to have a slightly larger then 1.0 reproduction ratio since the slide mount's aperture is usually smaller than 24mm x 36mm. The 1.0 reproduction ratio often results in black borders. See my review of BR-2A and BR-3 for more information.

Nikon has another (discontinued) macro lens AF Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8, which has 62mm filter thread as the 60/2.8. This lens is not listed in the ES-1 instruction manual, but I found that it could only achieve 1:1 reproduction ratio due to its tight working distance. See my review of AF Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8 for more details about using ES-1 with that lens.