messing around in the shop

NozPhoto · Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 16 Location: Florida

Over the years, I've collected a good number of lenses. It's hard sometimes to get rid of things, even when they're quite profoundly broken. This was the case with a Tokina AF zoom lens for the nikon mount. It was a 100-300mm F5.6-6.3 lens that had come my way in a box of other broken lenses.

The front barrel section was completely broken off from the rest of the mechanisms in the lens. The other day, I started thinking to myself that I'd like a lightweight lens to take with me for taking photos of flowers and such. (not that I don't have other candidates, but I'm an inveterate tinkerer)

What I ended up doing was essentially gutting the entire lens and using just the front element, the mount, about 1/3 of the rear barrel, and the plastic helicoid. I added some epoxy, a couple of O-rings, and some elbow grease. I had gotten the idea from looking at an old Sima soft focus lens, single element with a push-pull focus.

I'm happy with the results of my shop time. I find the bokeh to be nice and creamy, and while still slightly soft-focus, it's doesn't make me feel like I've just gotten chlorine in my eyes the way the Sima does. And with the multi-coated single element, it renders colors more accurately.

I apologize for the lack of artistic quality in the images. I had just finished getting things fitted, and wanted to see if it would take a picture.

Photo from the Sima lens:

photo from my shop build lens:

and a 100% crop:

aoleg · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 1387 Location: Berlin, DE

Wow. Very interesting, and great results from a single-element lens!

cooltouch · Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 9096 Location: Houston, Texas

Not bad at all. Doncha just love it when an unpredictable project works out better than expected?

NozPhoto · Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 16 Location: Florida

Thanks! I was very pleased with it.

Here's another one from the other day:

Smoli4 · Expire: 2013-06-07

Not bad, can you show a panorama picture with one of those?

Lightshow · Joined: 04 Nov 2011 Posts: 3666 Location: Calgary

A picture of Frankensteins monster please. Smile

NozPhoto · Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 16 Location: Florida

First, let me correct a mistake I'd made earlier, I said I only used the front element, and what I should have said was the "front group". There are two elements in the group.

Franken-lens:

On a Nikon:

I'll upload later some photos taken earlier today with the lens

Ymmot · Joined: 24 Sep 2011 Posts: 168

That looks quite clean for a franken-lens. I was sort of expecting large amounts of ducttape and such Smile

.

NozPhoto · Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 16 Location: Florida

Thanks! I was pleased with how clean it looked as well, not perfect in good light or from every angle, but not so ugly that it will make children cry either Wink

And some more samples:

NozPhoto · Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 16 Location: Florida

And a 100% crop of the first image from above:

NozPhoto · Joined: 24 Dec 2011 Posts: 16 Location: Florida

And a couple more from yesterday's time at the garden.

The subject of the next one isn't great, but it shows the kinda of otherworldly effect in all of the out of focus areas:

Lightshow · Joined: 04 Nov 2011 Posts: 3666 Location: Calgary

Cool, I too was expecting duct tape and such.
It really has a faerie land look to it.
I look forward to more portraits with it.