Dive into the wonders of the Mexican Zinnia

Today I would like to invite you to a journey into the wonders of the Mexican Zinnia, which is one of my favorites for UV shooting, since it has so much to offer.

Equipment used was two Macro Nikkors 35+19mm, a modified Olympus variable extention tube and a 375nm UV LED light. All shots were done at ISO400 to capture the faint fluorescence, thus the higher amount of visible noise.

So this was the one from a previous session...[click on image yields a larger version].



Now let's dive in...



and deeper...



Now let's switch modes from "visible and fluorescence" to "UV and UV induced visible fluorescence":



and deeper...



and deeper...



and deeper....reaching about 14x magnification on CCD, on screen ca 160x...



So this wonderful little flower has it all, a nice visible appearance, a sharp UV pattern, fluorescent petals, pollen and stems (even in different color!)...

Lenses used were Macro Nikkor 35mm+19mm on a modified Olympus variable extention tube + RMS mount adaptor. UV LED 375nm. Camera used was the Olympus E-510.


Stay tuned, more will follow on that subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

UV and the Quantum Computer Research

UV seems to be important to researchers, too.

I have been asked for advice by the University of Ulm/Germany which is part of the European Quantum Computer Project. Single Calcium ions are catched and isolated into a special fabricated deep temperature trap and targeted by laser radiation which brings them to emit UV light at about 397nm. To record this very faint radiation, a special lens is needed which has enough working distance, highest resolution and UV transmission. After some tests in my lab my advice was to use a Carl Zeiss Luminar 63mm for that purpose, which still has some 70% transmission at this wavelength.

Regarding resolution, the 63mm Luminar has a resolution of about 330lpm using white light and about 600lpm at ultraviolet /UV) light.

So enjoy some pictures from the forefront of research with me here; courtesy and (c) Institute for Quantum Information Processing, University of Ulm, Germany.

Experimental Setup showing a deep temperature dewar and laser injection:




Deep temperature Ion Trap:



Carl Zeiss Luminar 63mm as recording lens for 397nm Ca+ emissions (rear):



Recorded UV Ca ion emissions @397nm:



[All images in this thread (c) Institute for Quantum Information Processing, University of Ulm, Germany, used with permission]

More on the (various) series of Zeiss Luminar macro lenses, pictures, data etc. may be found on my site http://www.macrolenses.de together with some 300 other special macro lenses.

Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

Canon DSLRs for UV?

I was a Canon shooter, always, for many years. Then something happened, I got infected by that "UV Photography Virus" and I switched to Nikon. Why? Easy answer, some Nikon DSLRs are pretty sensitive to UV, but Canons are not. Are they really?

So I did a test after some years of having neglected my Canon gear and shot using the Canon 20D and the Nikon D70 under otherwise identical conditions.

And the winner is...??

Here's the Canon 20D result:



And here is the Nikon D70 result:


Not much visible difference, right? But the real difference gets visible when we have a look at the exposure data:

- Canon:  EOS 20D, ISO3200 (!!!), 30sec, f5.6, UV Rodagon 60mm, Baader 2" U-filter, UV LED

- Nikon: Nikon D70, ISO200, 2sec, f5.6, UV Rodagon 60mm, Baader 2" U-filter, UV LED

which is about 8EV (!!!) in favour of the Nikon D70 - a clear winner for UV shooting.

That now does not mean you can't use a Canon DSLR at all, it is just that ISO3200 and 30sec exposure are not really that convenient if you shoot somewhat ambitiously UV, irrespectively of the much higher noise which occurs at that high ISO level.

(Remark as of 2017: Canon cameras also use SONY sensors now, no own developemnts, so also Canon cameras have useful UV sensitivity from what I have read and seen)

Ultra Achromatic Takumar 300mm for UV

So I also have this ultra rare Pentax Ultra Achromatic Takumar f5.6 300mm sitting in my cupboard and I wondered how that would perform in UV.

Just opposite my house is that little mountain about 2 kilometers away and just ideal to take some shots from the upper window of the Windeck castle. It turned out that this lens is razor sharp and produces nice differentials (difference between the visible and the UV shot).

It was slightly sunny, around noon (not ideal for shooting UV actually).




The second shot is the differential and shows how the UV shot differs from teh visual obe. Colors were somewhat adjusted to taste.



The detail resolution is quite astonishing for that lens, which may be seen here on the explainatory plate which is about legible from 2ooo meters!



So I guess I like that lens!

Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

Carl Zeiss Jena 60mm UV-Objektiv and Rudbeckia

So today I dug out my old Carl Zeiss Jena f4 60mm UV-Objektiv (a simple triplet actually, made of UV transmitting glass) mounted it with a suitable helicoid to an Olympus E-510 DSLR, and repeated the reflected UV and fluorescence shots as yesterday.

As light source a 365nm UV LED was used here and no other modifications were done. Here the UV shot using the Baader 2" U-filter (320-390nm), just color balanced to taste, no other modifications done. Interesting to note that since this lens is a simple, yet sharp triplet design, quite some massive focus difference between visible focus and UV shows, nearly 50mm in this case (closer for UV). [actually also the reason why the UV image is somewhat larger]




The second shot I used the same UV LED, but the filter used was the Baader UV/IR Cut filter, to suppress UV and to allow for fluorescence.



Oh, and if someone wondered how that flower looks like in normal white light, there you go...



Did you notice these aphids wondering around...? It seems to grin right into the lens on that last shot!

Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

Steinheil Quarz f1.8 50mm and UV LEDs

So since the UV-LEDs for UV photography seem to work quite nicely, here now some results using very old (1933) and very recent (2007) technology hand-in-hand. It is (again) that Steinheil f1.8 50mm Quarz Objektiv (quartz lens) mounted with a suitable helicoid to an Olympus E-510 DSLR, which I start to like more and more. The life preview, also in 7x and 10x digital zoom, works acceptably well also in UV.

My favorate target was used again, that nice Rudbeckia flower which is known to sport some sharp UV pattern. Plus this time also UV fluorescence will be tested out.

As light source a 375nm UV LED was used here and no other modifications were done, not even an filter was used. Here now the UV shot using the Baader 2" U-filter, just color balanced to taste, no other modifications done.




The second shot I used the same UV LED, but the filter used was the Baader UV/IR Cut filter, to suppress UV.




Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

A new apochromatic 60mm UV lens

Just today Coastal Optics has officially announced that they will release soon a new "UV-VIS-IR 60mm 1:4 Apo Macro high performance UV-VIS-IR lens for forensics, science, and fine art" in Nikon F mount (w. built in chip) for UV-VIS-IR covering a wavelength range of 315-1100nm.
It also sports an advanced floating element design for excellent close-up reproduction up to 1:1.5 magnification and consists of 10 lens elements in 9 groups. The chromatic error in the 315-1100nm range is said to be virtually zero. The design covers the full 24x26mm format which would make it suitable for all available UV capable cameras like the Nikon D200, D40, D70(s), the Fuji S3UVIR and S5UVIR. [Lens Image (C) Coastal Optics]


Informed sources mentioned, that the lens will be available in production quantities first quarter 2008.

Here is the link to download the published document on that new lens:
http://www.coastalopt.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=29&Itemid=68


****** NEWS as of June 2009 ******
It has turned out a few days ago, that this high rated lens has a  serious hotspotting issue (UV+IR) from 1:1.5 to about 1:3 magnification especially at small apertures. It hasn't been noticed before by Pro's and ambitioned amateurs, so that comes as a big suprise. Coastal Optics made this issue public and is working hard to get that issue fixed which hopefully turns out not to be a design issue.
It will be reported here as soon as a solution has been found, so stay tuned!
****** NEWS as of January 2010 ******
Informed sources have stated that a solution has been found, yet officially Jenoptik (Coastal Optics new owner) was not willing to make a statement (yet),  if and when a lens without that hotspot will be available.
*********************************
In case you wonder about that hotspot and how that might look like, here an image shot at mag 1:1.5 and f11  (that hostspot is most prominent between 1:1.5 - 1:3, stopping down makes it more prominent)
Read more about it here.

(c) Andrea G Blum

 ****** NEWS as of  July 2013 ******

It has been found out that a very narrow sunshade is able to solve the hotspot issue satisfactory. The lens has not been modified in any way by the manufacturer so far.


Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos>

Rudbeckia and the Steinheil Quarz Objektiv

So another try, today using that f1.8/50mm Steiheil Quarz Objektiv I was lucky to find some time ago. An Olympus E510 served as 10Mpix camera, used at ISO400 
and the shot was at f22.

As light source a 375nm UV LED was used plus that wonderful Baader 2" U filter to allow shots in daylight conditions. The image is unaltered except some modification of the white balance to allow for some sepia colors, which I currently find quite pleasant.




The second picture is a 1024pix crop from the above shot to demonstrate the nearly 3D resolution of that fabulous lens.



Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos>

Rudbeckia and the UV LED

I'm still mumbling around about making use of UV-LEDs for Uv photography.

So this time the target was a nice Rudbeckia flower which is known to sport some otherwise invible sharp UV pattern. The macro lens used was a calibrated 130mm lens.

As light source a 375nm UV LED was used here and no other modifications were done, not even a filter was used.




The second shot I used a filtered 365nm UV LED, also no lens filter and the colors were somewhat adjusted to taste.



So I would say, that there is quite some potential in these UV sources and thus will be studied further.

Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos>