Macrophoto Group
Extension units comparison
A set of three Extension Tubes (7,14,25mm) provides the extensions 7,14,21,25,32,39 and
46mm.
The Telescopic Auto Tube can stepless be extended from 65 to 116mm.
The Auto Bellows can stepless be extended from 36 to 198mm (56 to 218mm with the lens
reversed).
Auto Bellows S: Shift/Tilt Bellows Prototype
The book The World of OM-Systems (Die Welt des OM-Systems) by Franz Pangerl, published by
Olympus Germany (2nd edition 1977) contains a picture of a bellows with a tilt / shift
mechanism for extended control of perspective and depth of field in macro photography,
similar to an optical bench. This bellows was designed and prototyped but never put into
production for unknown reasons. The picture (see below) shows it with a prototype of the
135mm/F4.5 lens, that probably would have been compatible with this bellows. Apparently
this lens was originally designed with a smallest aperture of F22. The lens was finally
produced with a smallest aperture of F45. The Auto Bellows S also appears in early
Macrophoto Group Charts, such as the one displayed in the manual of the OM-1MD.