My E300 based Slide Copier

I needed a slide holder and tried to make something out of clothes pins and a Pringles can,
but quickly decided to buy one. Not only do they hoid my slides, but they have a frosted glass
backplate to better illuminate the slide. Here are two of the more popular types.

I've seen these between $10-20 on ebay, but I bought them mail order from KEH.camera, a
camera store with a stellar reputation. It was easier than trying to oubid others and it turned out
to be less money because you get charged the true shipping rate, not $10 or $15 which is
sometimes typical on ebay.

I bought both of these.

This was $4.00 This was $16.00
 
   

I also needed macro capability for my camera. My Olympus E300 with the 14-45 zoom can focus down to 16 inches. Not enough. The Olympus EXT-25 extension tube for the Olympus was $125..

I decided to use my non-digital Olympus lenses since I had an adapter for them. While I got my Olympus adapter for free, I understand they now cost $100. You would need it to fit the Olympus extension tubes made for the OM1 and OM2 film SLR's..

So an Olympus manual 25 mm extension tube was $4 from KEH. Not much demand for them. I also bought a set of Vivitar extension tubes for another $15. The different tubes allowed diferent focus distances. After some tests, I found the 25 mm tube and 50mm lens just right.

 

 

I built a simple stand that would allow me to easily slide the camera back and forth. I mounted the $4 slide
holder on a little micropositioner that I had. Without the micro positioner, I would have used my
$16slide holder which is mounted on a slide. It would have been a little harder to focus.

 

Here's the rig with the bellows extended.

 

Tech Notes using an E300:

  • 50mm f1.8 OM lens and a 25 mm OM extension tube (manual)
  • Halogen lamp as a light source. Sunlight is better for getting the proper color .
  • With halogen, used 4300 for wbite balance.
  • Best detail with lens stopped down to f22. Exposures around 1/10 second.