Poor Man's View Camera DIY (d) SLR to View Camera Conversion

[pniaouris]

I cannot find the topic where I started to write about it , so I started a new one with some fotos with the ( almost ) final shape of my beloved " Geometry " . A selfmade (d)SLR to View Camera Conversion . I would appreciate any coments as I intend to produce it in small series .

[ChromaticAberration]

Sorry but I missed the purpose of the contraption. Tilf-shifting?

[greg]

Very nice looking DIY (way over my simple abilities) project. Congratulations on what appears to be a well thought out and finished project.

[pniaouris]

Thank you for the comments fellows .
Yes , chromatic aberration , it is a tilt / shift device , but as a view camera it can be fine-tuned , one step at a time without missing the previus adjustments . For example if you use a tube-type device you probably have to reframe and refocus after each tilt or swing movement . With "Geometry" you just don't have to . Of course if you tilt for roughly put out of focus the " non interesting areas " , you dont need such precise adjustment , but if you tilt to have EVERYTHING in focus , it is necessary . Furthermore " Geometry " is a macro bellows WITH micro focusing rail incorporated and gives the possibility to focus either moving the front standard ( lens ) or the back ( camera body ) . Also it mounts any type of lens , and any type of camera ( and may be in the future digi back ), it can copy slides , with a frame holder mounted on , and easily accept any DIY conversion by the owner .

This is a macro foto shot with the previous version of the "Geometry" , a Pentax K10d and a Volna 3 MC 2,8/80 P6 mount lens . And this is the setting used

By the way greg , I havent used a mirrorless yet , but if manual focusing is easy on the screen , mirrorlesses have the advantage ( shorter register distance ) to be able to work on 35 mm film lenses . SLR's cannot work tilt-shift but with Medium Format lenses and wides are a pain espessially with APS-C in which case a 45 mm is rather a short tele .

[ChromaticAberration]

The device does look nice, especially the machining work with holes for weight savings I suppose.

Some comments:

- The cloth does take some sophistication out of it I must confess;
- The color of the metal finishing may be too reflective and get in the way of the subject if the light hits it right? I guess a flat-black paint finish like hood manufacturers use on the inside would totally prevent that but also more prone to scratches and getting uglier with usage.

There is one "drawback" I guess, it doesn't solve the problem of the lens that is used, I mean, you still need a lens that covers more than your sensor was made for or you'll get unusable vignetting.

Go for it, I like it, and would enjoy using it but I suppose I won't be able to afford it, specially with shipping costs involved!

[fuzzywuzzy]

That looks awesome.

You're obviously a handy guy, here's a link on folding your own bellows that might be of interest:

http://www.diyphotography.net/freelens-by-building-your-own-bellows

[my_photography]

The result seems promising. An interesting project you have going there.

A question on the black cloth - its purpose is to hold the lens or just to block lights from getting in the sensor?

[walter g]

Looks interesting.

Here is your original thread.


http://forum.mflenses.com/home-made-slr-to-view-camera-conversion-t36788.html

[pniaouris]

Thank you for the replies . I'll try to answer some of the questions .
Chromatic Aberration , you are right , the cloth is awful , but the effort until now was on the brackets . The final version will be made of Black Asetal , a plastic material that is stiff , light , and absorbs microvibrations for better sharpness , and scratches don't show on it . There is the drawback of the one-size 'bigger' lens as on all tilt/shift devices , except for the mirrorless cameras that can use 35mm film lenses . I'll try to keep the cost under 500 euro for the full version with two brackets and three movements on the rail .
fuzzy wuzzy A real bellows is useless in such small extension because the cloth layers occupy space between the camera and the lens , and obstacle the movements . A bag bellows is used instead even on 6000$ view cameras when it comes to small focals . Anyway thanks for the interest .
My_photography You quessed right . It just keeps light and dust away from the sensor .

[martinsmith99]

Frankenstein's monster of a camera!! I'll stick to my own ready-made cameras.

[pniaouris]

Almost two and a half years of intensive effort brought me to a good point . It's lightweight ( 1,7 kg ) , effective ( 15mm shift all directions for each standard and tilt is limited only by the lens covering capacity) , relatively easy to handle , and not ugly for my taste .
This is the final shape of 'Geometry the poor man's View Camera' .

[ManuallyYours]

Impressive devices. I can see that some users still do by themselves, what they wish, and don't fall in the easy way of buying. Congrats !

[pniaouris]

Thanks Manualy Yours

[Olivier]

That's impressive !
Very nice result, clean and beautiful.
Can't wait to see some sample shots taken with this great combo !

Congratulations.

[Farside]

Marvellous!

[pniaouris]

Thank you for your comments fellows .

[ZoneV]

Looks very good!
Would like to see results!
Thank you very much for showing your DIY project!

[pniaouris]

Theese are the first fotos shot with the last prototype of 'Geometry' . Lens used is the Mir 1B 2,8/37 at f/8 (without the M42 mount and focusing helicoid , so there is left some free space for the tilt movements ) and a Pentax K10d is used as a back .

[pniaouris]

Here's a fresh one . I shot it yesterday with the use of "Geometry" . The lens is a Vega 12 2,8/90 stopped down to f/16 . If you look carefully you'll observe that focus is not on points of the same distance from the lens but on points belonging to a plane that is obligue to the lens axis (roughly the plane of the table) .

[Farside]

I like that result - a much better use of tilt-shift than all the fake "miniaturisation effect" pics it produces.

[pniaouris]

Thank you Farside , my opinion is also , that this the best use for these devices .

[pniaouris]

Here are some fotos I shot the last few days . They are all shot with "Geometry" , a Pentax K10d and the Mir 28B 3,5/45 at f/16 . The back standard is tilted 10 degrees back as a starting point ,then the front is tilted forth by controlling the focusing .

[Lloydy]

Very impressive results, and the engineering is impressive as well. I hope you find a market for this, it deserves success.

[Farside]

[pniaouris]