Focus Close, Real Close with Your Micro Four Thirds Camera Using a Bellows from the 1960s

Mar 22, 2025

David Prochnow

The subject of our bellows demonstration: a small LED night light.

Is your Micro Four Thirds camera lacking in the macro photography department? Do you need ultra-closeup photography and your macro lens equipped with a set of extension tubes isn’t cutting it? Never fear; just take a trip back to the 1960s and use a bellows that was made for M42 thread mount Asahi (Honeywell) Pentax Spotmatic cameras.

Although a modern bellows can be purchased from Fotodiox, these eight models lack a native Micro Four Thirds camera mount. Sure, you could opt for one of these alternatives and purchase a lens-to-camera adapter thereby equipping yourself with a working bellows system. But, where’s the fun in that option? A more adventuresome idea, however, is recycling a bellows from the last century.

The Asahi Pentax Bellows II with 100mm f4 SMC Bellows-Takumar lens.

Now, make no mistake about this bellows solution–you’ll still need to purchase a lens-to-camera adapter, but the vintage bellows could turn out to be a real treasure. Case in point, a recent trip to a thrift store yielded an Asahi Pentax Bellows II in its original box. Furthermore, this particular purchase hid a wonderful surprise inside the box. Attached to the bellows was a 100mm f4 SMC Bellows-Takumar preset lens…in near mint condition. The asking price of $90 for the complete bellows/lens/box was a steal.

The Asahi Pentax Bellows II box purchased at a thrift store.

More Than Meets the Eye: Add Vintage Camera Bellows!

Naturally, an M42 to Micro Four Thirds lens-to-camera adapter was needed for converting this recycled bellows into a modern macrophotography workhorse. A Fotodiox M42 Screw Mount SLR Lens to Micro Four Thirds (MFT, M4/3) Mount Mirrorless Camera Body adapter was the answer. This isn’t to suggest that this jury-rigging apparatus was difficult to setup and use. Far from it. Once the bellows was mounted on a stable tripod, connecting the adapter configured camera just required a simple threaded attachment.

The LED night light at a 10cm bellows extension.

The test subject at a 15cm bellows extension.

Magnification up to 2.84X is possible with the 100mm Bellows-Takumar lens operating from a remarkably comfortable 16-inch sensor-to-subject distance. Furthermore, the Pentax Bellows-Takumar lens uses a preset diaphragm. Unlike a modern aperture ring, you will focus and compose your exposure at the maximum f4 setting and prior to exposure rotate the aperture closing dial to the desire setting. Remember, for maximum depth-of-field you’ll need a small aperture. Likewise, this small setting (e.g., f22) will lengthen your exposure. And a lengthy exposure time can produce unwanted camera vibration–even on a sturdy tripod. Therefore, you should consider using the camera’s self-timer for releasing the shutter.

The subject with an 18cm bellows extension.

The LED circuit at a 20cm bellows extension.

Mixing vintage bellows equipment with a modern camera can give your macrophotography a boost in magnification, convenience, and flexibility. Remarkably, with this Asahi Pentax Bellows II and lens, only one adapter was needed for achieving incredible close-up photographs.

Enjoy.

Filed Under:

Gear

Tagged With:

David Prochnow

Our resident “how-to” project editor, David Prochnow, lives on the Gulf Coast of the United States in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. He brings his expertise at making our photography projects accessible to everyone, from a lengthy stint acting as the Contributing How-To Editor with Popular Science magazine. While you don’t have to actually build each of his projects, reading about these adventures will contribute to your continued overall appreciation of do-it-yourself photography. A collection of David’s best Popular Science projects can be found in the book, “The Big Book of Hacks,” Edited by Doug Cantor.