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Shooting with a slide projector lens
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 1:33 am    Post subject: Shooting with a slide projector lens Reply with quote

I already told you that I was doing lensbaby effects by manually tilting lenses in front of my cameras well before Lensbaby existed and probably also conceived.
Well tonight I pushed the experiment a little further and instead of regular lenses, I used a slide projector lens, the Leitz Colorplan 2.5/90 that I took off my projector.
As you know, projector lenses are housed inside long tubes, which makes them ideal for this practice of unorthodox photography.
The Colorplan 90 focuses at about 2m distance when hold to the camera "naturally" (that is, with the end of barrel in or near contact with the opening of the camera.
Of course, by using your hands as extension bellows, you can get as near as you like.
In practice, this turns the Colorplan 2.5/90 into a Leica portrait lens with macro capabilities! Cool
Of course, being "free-hand photography", you can tilt and shift to your heart's content (and actually, it is quite difficult not to!).
Here's some samples that I took:













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PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 2:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very nice bokeh for a fast lens, I'd say Smile I'd consider mounting it with a proper bellows or else with a flexible tube having an adapter at the camera end - just to keep the dust out.

Veijo


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 2:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

vilva wrote:
Very nice bokeh for a fast lens, I'd say Smile I'd consider mounting it with a proper bellows or else with a flexible tube having an adapter at the camera end - just to keep the dust out.
Veijo


Thanks Veijo. I already thought about the bellows but dumped the idea because it would prevent tilting, which is half (or more) of the fun part. The flexible tube sounds ideal instead. Fascinating solution.
I see two problems though:
1- how to secure the flexible tube firmly to a lens adapter
2- I'll still need the lens at my projector from time to time!

For the moment, here's another hand of samples. When handled carefully, this technique allows for very precise defocusing of selected photo areas:











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PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 2:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would like to add that I can hardly think of something that could fit more than this to a topic description of "manual focus lenses"!!!!!! Laughing


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 3:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some of these are outstanding! I like most of the flower shots and the
2nd one in the second set, the figurine in front of the mantel clock,
really rocks!

Bill


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 4:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Orio wrote:
[.The flexible tube sounds ideal instead. Fascinating solution.
I see two problems though:
1- how to secure the flexible tube firmly to a lens adapter


Take an M42 extension tube and fix the flex to it.

Quote:
2- I'll still need the lens at my projector from time to time!


Try to find a flexible tube which is tight fit around the lens body. Or get another lens and shorten the body for a longer focusing range.

Quote:
For the moment, here's another hand of samples. When handled carefully, this technique allows for very precise defocusing of selected photo areas:


Nice, very nice Smile Time for me to start constructing some TS system.

Veijo


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

vilva wrote:

Take an M42 extension tube and fix the flex to it.


Great idea.
Actually, this shows why I suck at handiwork. I have a decent (I think) artistic creativity, but I have near to zero practical creativity. Yet to make some craft work, creativity is just as necessary as with arts. but evidently in our brains there are different creative zones.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 9:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Orio,

You're a box of surprises... Congratulations for your initiatives and creativity...

Best regards,
Jes.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 3:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Orio

Great pictures from an unlikely source. At least you knew it could not be too bad, being a Leitz and all



parickh


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Projector lenses seem to produce a very creamy bokeh. I played around with projector lenses a while ago.
See my posts (flowers) at this thread: http://forum.mflenses.com/viewtopic.php?t=3009

Nice idea to tilt the lens, Orio.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent pics.
A flexible tube I've seen somewhere on the net used for just this, is a section of a toilet plunger. The guy used it to tilt and shift a Med Format lens iirc. Other ones are the rubber gaiter off a car steering link or a motorcycle front fork.
There's no shortage of places to get something suitable.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

LucisPictor wrote:
Projector lenses seem to produce a very creamy bokeh.


I think it's because we're using them as macro. All macro lenses display good bokeh (when used in macro). I bet that if we could focus the projector lenses to infinite, we would get bad bokeh from them also in reasonable percentage.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

LucisPictor wrote:
Projector lenses seem to produce a very creamy bokeh.


No aperture blades thus perfectly round aperture, isn't the key for nice bokeh ?


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Flor27 wrote:
LucisPictor wrote:
Projector lenses seem to produce a very creamy bokeh.


No aperture blades thus perfectly round aperture, isn't the key for nice bokeh ?


Yes, but not only that. There is more to it than just the round aperture. Otherwise all the old lenses that show a perfectly round aperture when wide open would have fantastic bokeh. I know several lenses that produce crappy bokeh despite the circular aperture. Wink


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In fact, for most lenses bokeh is worst wide open than it is one or two stops closed down.


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wide open you get some nice round highlights, though. Wink


PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

LucisPictor wrote:
Wide open you get some nice round highlights, though. Wink


Yes, if you don't get the donoughts Confused


PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Laughing Yes.