Dovetail on the bottom of a BH2 1.25 condenser. 

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dolmadis
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Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2018 6:06 pm

Dovetail on the bottom of a BH2 1.25 condenser. 

#1 Post by dolmadis » Thu Jul 02, 2020 7:18 am

I am going to have to commission a custom adapter for my BH2 Condenser Mount.  (The purchased item must have been purposed for another Olympus stand !)

I  have measured the dovetail on the bottom of a BH2 1.25 condenser. 

As best I can with electronic "calipers".  

But I would appreciate it if a couple of other members could measure their  dovetail and verify my dimensions please.

46.5 mm, 39.5 mm and height 8mm. 

Or does someone have the Olympus machine drawings in an archive.  I can't find one.  

Thanks, John 

PeteM
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Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 6:22 am
Location: N. California

Re: Dovetail on the bottom of a BH2 1.25 condenser. 

#2 Post by PeteM » Thu Jul 02, 2020 7:28 am

John, I have them just under 47mm (46.97mm on two examples) at the widest point, with a bit of a cylindrical section at the bottom (to avoid a sharp edge). There's surely some variation out there in various samples.

Then a 60 degree angle down that 8mm or so, with a bit of a recess where it means the condenser body. If the max diameter is right, and the angle right, and that bit of recess cut it should be right. I'm not sure if the 8mm is exactly right; but that should be easy enough to verify with the depth rod on a digital caliper. You typically won't get a good measurement of the minor diameter with calipers - jaws will often not quite fit.

There's typically some room for adjustment. If you have a spare BH, BH2 or BX condenser with those dimensions, you just might provide it as a model to whoever is going to make your adapter. Less room for errors of interpretation.

photomicro
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Location: UK

Re: Dovetail on the bottom of a BH2 1.25 condenser. 

#3 Post by photomicro » Thu Jul 02, 2020 8:10 am

It might be worth mentioning that the Nikon and Olympus dovetails are very similar, with the Nikon being slightly smaller.

Hence, a Nikon condenser will fit an Olympus stand, but not vice-versa.

There are a *lot* of similarities between say the BH2 and Optiphot (and others) stands of these two makers. Perhaps someone knows if this is plagiarism, good sense, or shared manufacturing...

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