Yes I'm afraid I have another adaptor.

Hey Edwierdo:

thanks for the contraption you made for the Cavision support. I just opened the package today. now if i can find the Cavision...everyone is out of them!

By the way...have you been able to separate the condenser from the screen using the Nikon screen? How on earth do you separate both...they seem to be glued together!
 
Edweirdo said:
Are you using a macro+4 on the DVX?? Is your 58mm macro+10 turned backwards (round part facing the DVX)? I have also thought about ditching the Asian macro and upgrading to the B+W 58mm macro +10 (its Shneider after all- its gota be better)

Good job! You and Marlene definitely stuck with it and did well. Now tell us about your experience, what did you have trouble with, any mistakes, what was easy what was hard. How much did you spend....dish honey dish!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the praise Ed. To answer your questions.
Macro+4 on DVX - yes
macro+10 backwards (round facing DVX) - yes
Spent around $220 (includes $70 for Nikon D screen).

As for the experience, it went very smoothly. The most time consuming part was trying to find specific info in this thread and making sure I knew of each update and change. I took picks along the way and would like to (with your permission Ed) post them along with some basic "how I built it" info on my web site. Let me know if you are Okay with this.

It was hard to find small enough screws for the FD mount. I checked many hardware stores and hobby shops. I ended up drilling the holes in the mount to be a bit bigger and then used locknuts on the other side (inside PVC cap) to hold the mount nice and tight. I ground down these larger screws so that they were "flat head" machine screws.

It really was pretty easy. Just took some time to find and order all the correct parts. Thanks for all the great help! I am a little hung up on the chromatic abberation issue. I can't seem to stop letting it bother me. I guess this will be my next step.

Moochy, your footage looks great to me. I have pondered the idea of a moving screen as well. Do you have anything in the works yet?


Here is a good explanation of 35mm adapters in general for those just getting into this (like me). I wish I would have found this earlier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field_adapter
 
they are not glued, the edges are taped (at least mine was). Carefully remove the metal frame and take off the tape that seals up the edge and the two will seperate.

Moochy- your footage looks great, and I'm happy that your refining the design and working to make improvements for another. Keep us posted.

Snodart: dont let the CA get you down, its very mild considering how we make these things. Consider the B+W macro +10 from B&H. Might be 50 bones well spent if the glass is better than the Asian brand.

I got an email back from Bill Maxwell; he states that he has had several requests for screens for the DIY 35 market and that he will be writing a pamphlet describing his knowledge in the field what he can offer as far as affordable alternatives. Will keep you posted.

I shot the first part of my video tutorial (making the CokinP base mount), certainly wasnt as easy as I foolishly thought it would be. So this will take longer than i thought, but will get done. You are all having great success anyway.
 
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re: chromatic abberation... It is correct to assume that this occurs more or is more apparent with the whites in footage? It seems like adding the some sort of achromat or achromatic doublet would add to the light loss that is already present with the adapters. I noticed that these are most often made with a combination of crown glass and flint glass. Does anybody know what type of glass is used in the macro+10? If it is crown glass, it seems that a correctly shaped piece of flint glass might do the trick. This way there would only be one extra lense versus 2 with a full achromatic doublet.
 
snodart said:
re: chromatic abberation... It is correct to assume that this occurs more or is more apparent with the whites in footage? It seems like adding the some sort of achromat or achromatic doublet would add to the light loss that is already present with the adapters. I noticed that these are most often made with a combination of crown glass and flint glass. Does anybody know what type of glass is used in the macro+10? If it is crown glass, it seems that a correctly shaped piece of flint glass might do the trick. This way there would only be one extra lense versus 2 with a full achromatic doublet.
Click to expand...

True, but the chances of you finding a lone piece of flint glass are pretty low. And in theory, since the macro you are using already is a positive lens, you should be able to add a negative lens into the array which would cut down aberration. Problems with this as I see it: first, an achromatic lens has the two pieces cemented together. So getting the negative lens close enough to your macro to have the correct effect may be difficutl. Second, finding the right kind of lens may be tricky.

I think that getting an achromat with the right magnification properties may be the key. There are people way smarter than me in optics though, and I wish we had their compiled knowledge for this particulare use. I've ordered a macro and I'll see how things work out.
 
hey guys. ill have those d screens by monday..

but i got a question.. i havent noticed it really on my d screen.. but on my wax screen im noticing this.. and im hoping someone can tell me what this is.. and it might happen with the d screen too.. i just havent looked for it.. but anyways........ it seems as if, when im focused on infinity.. some parts might be blurred in random spots (off to the edge) and when im focusing in on something.. somethings off to the edge that are suppose to be out of focus are not.. has anyone else had this? is this something with the macro? (asian brand)..
also what is chromatic abberation exactly? is it what im mentioning?
 
Excellent work Marlene. Always nice to see people pushing the limits instead of sticking with the traditional. :D So many people fear wax (myself included).

With the Nikon B III screen shot down (it was reported by someone who actually saw one that it has a focusing circle) my next experiment involves a planoconvex groundglass out of an old 1950's era camera. We'll see how it goes. Man I wish I had something to post up here. I've been watching these for so long, seeing people complete them.

For those of you who have felt the frustration of building a 35mm adapter you HAVE to watch this clip: The Adapter Movie. It's been circulated alot, especially on DVinfo where it currently resides. But it totally portrays the "fun" of building your adapter. :D
 
ovjamaica said:
For those of you who have felt the frustration of building a 35mm adapter you HAVE to watch this clip: The Adapter Movie. It's been circulated alot, especially on DVinfo where it currently resides. But it totally portrays the "fun" of building your adapter. :D
Click to expand...

LOL. That was a great video. Sums up just about all DIY projects based from internet info. Funny stuff!
 
Seen that video and it is funny as it lampoons the frustration and confusion felt with the whole DIY 35mm project. Thats what we are here for :)

Marlene- great work on the wax, please share your construction. A little cleanup and I think its a viable choice to replace the F3 D! Awesome-o!
 
Thank you. I made a mix of microwax, parafin and bees wax. I used a candle warmer that I purchased at a crafts store to heat the wax which takes longer to melt the wax but you don't get much bubbles. I used an Altoids tin to hold the mixture. I bought some quality glass that I cut and then rounded the corners to fit on the cut edges of a 2" pvc tube. I put one layer of aluminum foil on 2 edges of one piece of glass then warmed both pieces of glass while the wax melted. I put a piece of glass in the wax and then put the second piece with the aluminum foil in on top of it, I kinda tilted back and forth a bit to exit any air pockets and the squeezed them together. I left it to cool then cut the glass out of the tin. It takes a razor blade to clean off all the wax from the glass and by looking at the footage you can see a little spot or two that I missed.

I need to say that I did this many times with different mixtures until I came upon the blend that seemed to work the best. I'm still not done......I'm going to continue trying other blends.

After I cleaned most of the wax off......I dipped the edges of the glass back into the wax to seal the two pieces.

My adapter is, starting from Canon lens to DVX lens. A 2" pvc cap shortened and cut to the same size hole as the mount. I screw the mount onto the cap and then seal it with JB Weld. I cut about a 3/4" slice from a 2" pvc tube and attach the focus screen to that which fits inside the shortened cap with the lens on it and the other side into a 2" coupling, this then fits into a pvc cleanout tube which I have JB welded a Cokin Series P ring onto. This then goes onto the 72mm +10 macro on the camera.

I have another design in the works that I hope to build this weekend. I'm thinking that since different screens are giving different effects then it would be nice to have at least a few choices based on creative needs. If it doesn't rain this weekend I want to get out of the backyard and do some real field testing but I'd really like some contrast so flat cloudy lighting isn't going to make me very happy and inspired to test.

Anyway......it's just plain fun building these.

Marlene
 
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Edweirdo said:
Very cool Marlene, I have some beeswax but no microwax. I should try this!

BTW, has anyone ever run accross any of these:

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/canonf1n/metering/screens/allscreens.htm

In particular the C and J screens? Just curious...
Click to expand...

Ya know......I've seen those too and wondered. People seem to be hung up on the Nikon Type D but there must be others out there of equal quality.

BTW......my wax screen is a little brighter than my Nikon D screen.

Marlene
 
Wax is great but the problem with it is mass production. I can consistently put together a hand ground surface that matches or betters the Nikon D and it's easy -- I can reproduce it consistently every time and can get it done in about 20 minutes. Wax takes a bit of delicacy, patience, and a lot of anamolies can simply screw the whole thing up.

I'm glad you're getting things working for you Marlene. A few wax tips:

1) Hemo-De is a non-toxic solvent based on citric acids that you might look into buying if you plan on doing a lot of wax experimentation. Once you get it, it makes clean-up time a few minutes (can be applied with a lens tissue), and also allows you to reclaim/re-use glass pieces that didn't work out.

2) Cleanliness is next to Godliness. If you're working with wax, the concern of dust and other contaminants is a big issue. Everyone is using Altoids tins, but if you've worked with them you may find over time the paint that flakes off them can pollute your wax. And they're costly at $2.50 each. Instead, buy "naked" tins at specialtybottle.com -- I recommend TNF4 for $.71 a pop!

3) Related to #2, go to Edmund Industrial Optics lab handling products page and order some powderless latex gloves, some of their improved cleaning solution, and some optical tissue. They also have some "tutorials" on properly cleaning optics.
 
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I have a handful of 46mm "demo" screens here that would cost $53 for now because I had to custom make them, but the ones arriving in 3 weeks have been mass produced and cost me less per piece, so the price then on drops to $40.

I'm offering them to people here with a money-back guarantee for a week of testing.

I offered this a bit ago but no one showed any interest :(

It's the exact same glass used in my latest test footage: click here.
 
Moochy, did you ever get the stuff from Thorlabs? I'm thinking of getting their gg and a plano to make my focusing screen, but I wanted to know if you had tried it first.
 
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