Extension Tubes with C-Mount and SM1 Threading
- External C-Mount Threading, Internal SM1 Threading
- Increase Magnification of Ø1" Lens Systems for C-Mount Cameras
- House Fixed-Focus Lenses for C-Mount Cameras
CM1L03
0.33" Extension
CM1L05
0.53" Extension
CM1L10
1.03" Extension
CM1L20
2.03" Extension
CM1L30
3.03" Extension
Application Idea
An extension tube increases image magnification of an SM1 lens system on a C-Mount camera. See the Application tab for more information.
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Click to Enlarge
The simplified drawing above shows how the introduction of an extension tube between a camera and a lens decreases the object distance and increases the image distance.
Features
- External C-Mount Threading for Camera Mounting
- Internal SM1 (1.035"-40) Threading for Ø1" Optics
- Increase Magnification of Attached Lens Systems
- House Custom, Fixed-Focus Lens Systems
- Five Extension Lengths Available Between 0.33" and 3.03"
- One SM1RR Retaining Ring Included with Each Extension Tube
The external threading of these extension tubes allows for direct connection to C-Mount cameras, while the internal thread is Thorlabs' standard SM1 threading for mounting Ø1" optics or connecting optomechanical components. Each tube can be used to increase magnification and decrease minimum focus distance of a user-built optical assembly in an SM1 lens tube. These can also be used to house fixed-focus systems that can mount directly to C-Mount and CS-Mount cameras, such as our scientific CCD cameras. These tubes are available in five extension lengths: 0.33", 0.53", 1.03", 2.03", and 3.03". To order other lengths of these extension tubes, contact Tech Support.
An extension tube increases magnification of an attached SM1 lens system by increasing the distance between the image and the sensor, as shown in the diagram to the right. This increase in image distance also decreases the object distance, reducing the minimum focus distance of the lens system. The internal SM1 threading is also designed to mount Ø1" optical elements. Elements can be locked in place with retaining rings and separated with plastic or brass spacers. To easily differentiate the two thread standards of these extension tubes, there are two grooves along the circumference of the tube near the side with the external C-Mount threading. The item # of each tube is engraved on its end face.
Our large selection of stock optical elements and optomechanical components can be used to build an imaging solution from the ground up. To see a lens assembly built with Thorlabs components and how extension tubes can be used to enhance magnification, see the Application tab. We also offer lens tubes with internal and external C-Mount threading for connecting two C-Mount components, as well as a variety of lens tubes with internal and external SM1 threading.
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Figure 1: A Cooke Triplet Lens Installed on a CCD Camera with an Extension Tube to Increase Magnification.
Note: Our previous-generation 8051C-USB 8 MP CCD Camera is no longer available for purchase and is omitted from the product lists above.
Increasing Image Magnification Using Extension Tubes
Thorlabs manufactures a wide variety of photonics equipment, providing a platform to create custom assemblies from scratch. We designed a simple four-element lens to demonstrate how using an extension tube increased the system's magnification.
We designed a simple 100 mm focal length lens assembly in Zemax; the .zar file for the assembly be downloaded by clicking here. The design was constrained to use only Ø1", stock Thorlabs spherical lenses and separate them with only brass spacers. The assembly is a variation on a Cooke Triplet housed in a 2" long lens tube. To enable manual focusing, the tube was inserted into an SM1NR1 non-rotating zoom housing. The CCD camera has C-Mount threading, like many industry cameras. In order to adapt our lens to the camera, we used an SM1A9 thread adapter, which allowed our lens to focus to infinity when fully retracted. An SM1D25 iris was added at the front of the lens with an SM1T2 coupler to allow adjustment of light incident on our sensor. An empty SM1L10 1" long lens tube was added at the front to act as a lens hood, which prevented lens flair and bloom by limiting light from outside the lens's field of view. The complete setup can be seen in Figure 1 with the extension tube added.
We used an R2L2S1N negative NBS 1963A resolution target as our subject. The lens was stopped down to f/16. Without an extension tube, the minimum focus distance was found to be approximately 300 mm from the lens hood (Figure 2). At this magnification, the lens can conservatively resolve down to 4 lp/mm; at higher line pair densities, the chromatic aberrations cause the lines to blur into each other (Figure 3). By removing our SM1A9 thread adapter and adding a CM1L10 1" extension tube between our SM1 zoom housing and our C-Mount camera, we were able to reduce the minimum focus distance to approximately 200 mm (Figure 4). The resulting magnification allowed us to resolve up to 11 lp/mm before chromatic aberrations blurred the line pairs (Figure 5).
This design is limited, but it serves to illustrate how extension tubes like this can be used to increase image magnification and decrease minimum focus distance. This is useful in multiple applications where a lens system needs to operate close to a subject, e.g. quality control inspection equipment for small components or macrophotography. The extension tubes on this page make it easy to quickly build assemblies of Ø1" optics and attach them to a C-Mount camera.
Click to Enlarge
Figure 2: Without an extension tube, the minimum focus distance for the system is approximately 300 mm and the system can be focused to infinity.
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Figure 3: Image Taken without an Extension Tube
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Figure 4: With an extension tube added, the minimum focus distance is reduced to approximately 200 mm; this increases the magnification, but the system can no longer focus to infinity.
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Figure 5: Image Taken with a 1" Long Extension Tube
SM05 Threading: Ø1/2" Lens Tubes, 16 mm Cage Systems | |||
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External Thread, 0.535"-40.0 UNS-2A | Internal Thread, 0.535"-40.0 UNS-2B | ||
Max Major Diameter | 0.5340" | Min Major Diameter | 0.5350" |
Min Major Diameter | 0.5289" | Min Pitch Diameter | 0.5188" |
Max Pitch Diameter | 0.5178" | Max Pitch Diameter | 0.5230" |
Min Pitch Diameter | 0.5146" | Min Minor Diameter (and 83.3% of Thread) | 0.508" |
Max Minor Diameter | 0.5069" | Max Minor Diameter (and 64.9% of Thread) | 0.514" |
RMS Threading: Objective, Scan, and Tube Lenses | |||
---|---|---|---|
External Thread, 0.800"-36.0 UNS-2A | Internal Thread, 0.800"-36.0 UNS-2B | ||
Max Major Diameter | 0.7989" | Min Major Diameter | 0.8000" |
Min Major Diameter | 0.7934" | Min Pitch Diameter | 0.7820" |
Max Pitch Diameter | 0.7809" | Max Pitch Diameter | 0.7866" |
Min Pitch Diameter | 0.7774" | Min Minor Diameter (and 83.3% of Thread) | 0.770" |
Max Minor Diameter | 0.7688" | Max Minor Diameter (and 64.9% of Thread) | 0.777" |
C-Mount Threading: Machine Vision Lenses, CCD/CMOS Cameras | |||
---|---|---|---|
External Thread, 1.000"-32.0 UN-2A | Internal Thread, 1.000"-32.0 UN-2B | ||
Max Major Diameter | 0.9989" | Min Major Diameter | 1.0000" |
Min Major Diameter | 0.9929" | Min Pitch Diameter | 0.9797" |
Max Pitch Diameter | 0.9786" | Max Pitch Diameter | 0.9846" |
Min Pitch Diameter | 0.9748" | Min Minor Diameter (and 83.3% of Thread) | 0.966" |
Max Minor Diameter | 0.9651" | Max Minor Diameter (and 64.9% of Thread) | 0.974" |
SM1 Threading: Ø1" Lens Tubes, 30 mm Cage Systems | |||
---|---|---|---|
External Thread, 1.035"-40.0 UNS-2A | Internal Thread, 1.035"-40.0 UNS-2B | ||
Max Major Diameter | 1.0339" | Min Major Diameter | 1.0350" |
Min Major Diameter | 1.0288" | Min Pitch Diameter | 1.0188" |
Max Pitch Diameter | 1.0177" | Max Pitch Diameter | 1.0234" |
Min Pitch Diameter | 1.0142" | Min Minor Diameter (and 83.3% of Thread) | 1.008" |
Max Minor Diameter | 1.0068" | Max Minor Diameter (and 64.9% of Thread) | 1.014" |
SM30 Threading: Ø30 mm Lens Tubes | |||
---|---|---|---|
External Thread, M30.5 x 0.5 – 6H/6g | Internal Thread, M30.5 x 0.5 – 6H/6g | ||
Max Major Diameter | 30.480 mm | Min Major Diameter | 30.500 mm |
Min Major Diameter | 30.371 mm | Min Pitch Diameter | 30.175 mm |
Max Pitch Diameter | 30.155 mm | Max Pitch Diameter | 30.302 mm |
Min Pitch Diameter | 30.059 mm | Min Minor Diameter (and 83.3% of Thread) | 29.959 mm |
Max Minor Diameter | 29.938 mm | Max Minor Diameter (and 64.9% of Thread) | 30.094 mm |
SM1.5 Threading: Ø1.5" Lens Tubes | |||
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External Thread, 1.535"-40 UNS-2A | Internal Thread, 1.535"-40 UNS-2B | ||
Max Major Diameter | 1.5339" | Min Major Diameter | 1.535" |
Min Major Diameter | 1.5288" | Min Pitch Diameter | 1.5188" |
Max Pitch Diameter | 1.5177" | Max Pitch Diameter | 1.5236" |
Min Pitch Diameter | 1.5140" | Min Minor Diameter (and 83.3% of Thread) | 1.508" |
Max Minor Diameter | 1.5068" | Max Minor Diameter (and 64.9% of Thread) | 1.514" |
SM2 Threading: Ø2" Lens Tubes, 60 mm Cage Systems | |||
---|---|---|---|
External Thread, 2.035"-40.0 UNS-2A | Internal Thread, 2.035"-40.0 UNS-2B | ||
Max Major Diameter | 2.0338" | Min Major Diameter | 2.0350" |
Min Major Diameter | 2.0287" | Min Pitch Diameter | 2.0188" |
Max Pitch Diameter | 2.0176" | Max Pitch Diameter | 2.0239" |
Min Pitch Diameter | 2.0137" | Min Minor Diameter (and 83.3% of Thread) | 2.008" |
Max Minor Diameter | 2.0067" | Max Minor Diameter (and 64.9% of Thread) | 2.014" |
SM3 Threading: Ø3" Lens Tubes | |||
---|---|---|---|
External Thread, 3.035"-40.0 UNS-2A | Internal Thread, 3.035"-40.0 UNS-2B | ||
Max Major Diameter | 3.0337" | Min Major Diameter | 3.0350" |
Min Major Diameter | 3.0286" | Min Pitch Diameter | 3.0188" |
Max Pitch Diameter | 3.0175" | Max Pitch Diameter | 3.0242" |
Min Pitch Diameter | 3.0133" | Min Minor Diameter (and 83.3% of Thread) | 3.008" |
Max Minor Diameter | 3.0066" | Max Minor Diameter (and 64.9% of Thread) | 3.014" |
SM4 Threading: Ø4" Lens Tubes | |||
---|---|---|---|
External Thread, 4.035"-40 UNS-2A | Internal Thread, 4.035"-40.0 UNS-2B | ||
Max Major Diameter | 4.0337" | Min Major Diameter | 4.0350" |
Min Major Diameter | 4.0286" | Min Pitch Diameter | 4.0188" |
Max Pitch Diameter | 4.0175" | Max Pitch Diameter | 4.0245" |
Min Pitch Diameter | 4.0131" | Min Minor Diameter (and 83.3% of Thread) | 4.008" |
Max Minor Diameter | 4.0066" | Max Minor Diameter (and 64.9% of Thread) | 4.014" |
Posted Comments: | |
Christoph Irion
 (posted 2021-03-24 11:24:12.84) Hello,
I think that the length of the outer diameter is incorrect on the drawing. In the CAD File the length is not 17,5 mm as on the data sheet but 13,46 mm.
which of the two numbers is correct?
Best regards
Christoph Irion YLohia
 (posted 2021-04-08 10:39:05.0) Hello, both numbers are correct. The 17.5mm is the total length of the tube while 13.46mm is the length of the tube minus the length of the external threads. |
These extension tubes introduce a fixed spacing between an SM1-threaded system and a
Item # | L1 | L2 | SM1 Thread Depth |
---|---|---|---|
CM1L03 | 0.49" (12.4 mm) | 0.33" (8.4 mm) | 0.30" (7.6 mm) |
CM1L05 | 0.69" (17.5 mm) | 0.53" (13.5 mm) | 0.50" (12.7 mm) |
CM1L10 | 1.19" (30.2 mm) | 1.03" (26.2 mm) | 1.00" (25.4 mm) |
CM1L20 | 2.19" (55.6 mm) | 2.03" (51.6 mm) | 2.00" (50.8 mm) |
CM1L30 | 3.19" (81.0 mm) | 3.03" (77.0 mm) | 3.00" (76.2 mm) |
Retaining Ring Specs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Item # | Material | Feature | Thickness | Inner Diameter |
SM1RR | Black Anodized Aluminum | Standard | 0.08" (2.0 mm) |
0.90" (22.9 mm) |
SM1RRV | Unanodized Aluminum | Vacuum Compatiblea | 0.08" (2.0 mm) |
0.90" (22.9 mm) |
SM1LTRR | Black Anodized Aluminum | Rubber O-Ring for Stress-Free Mounting |
0.16" (3.9 mm) |
0.82" (20.7 mm) |
SM1RRC | Black Anodized Aluminum | 5 mm Thick for High-Curvature Lenses |
0.20" (5.0 mm) |
0.90" (22.9 mm) |
SM1PRR | Plastic | Non-Marring | 0.11" (2.8 mm) |
0.80" (20.3 mm) |
POLARIS-SM1RR | Stainless Steel | Vacuum Compatibleb | 0.08" (2.0 mm) |
0.90" (22.9 mm) |
- Six Types of Retaining Rings for Securing Ø1" Optics
- Multiple Hollow Spanner Wrenches Providing Unobstructed Beam Path During Adjustment
- SPW801 Adjustable Spanner Wrench Accommodates Diameters from 0.12" (3.0 mm) to 2.89" (73.4 mm)
The SM1RR is our standard anodized aluminum retaining ring that ships with our Ø1" lens tubes as well as many other Thorlabs components and is available individually and in packs of 10. We offer six different SM1-threaded (1.035"-40) retaining rings, shown in the table to the right, which have unique features and can replace an SM1RR retaining ring. Please keep in mind that due to the increased thickness of some retaining rings, the maximum optic thickness that can be housed inside our standard SM1-compatible mounts will be diminished in some cases.
Click to Assemble
Spanner Wrench Usage
Spanner Wrenches
The 1" long SPW606 and the 3.87" long SPW602 have a hollow design that enables retaining rings with inner diameters of 0.90" to be adjusted and installed in our SM01 series of lens tubes without obscuring the beam path, as shown to the right. Their handles are knurled for improved grip. In addition, the SPW602 wrench has graduations along its side to judge lens depth within a lens tube.
Alternatively, the SPW801 Adjustable Spanner Wrench can be used to position any SM1-threaded retaining ring. Please note that the SPW801 wrench can withstand a maximum torque of 80 inch-pounds. We also offer the SPB1 Spanner Bit, which can be used with a standard 1/4" hex driver (sold separately). The SPB1 is included as part of the SPB600 Spanner Wrench Bit Kit.
Alternatives | Ø1/2", Ø2", and Ø3" Fixed Diameter Spanner Wrenches | Ø1/2", Ø1.5", Ø2", and Ø3" Retaining Rings |
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