About to Build A....35, any advice?

C

cnote

New member
yes a 35mm.

I almost purchased myself one of those 1500-2000 adapters. but held back. I have been on the idea of building my own for sometime. I have spent almost a good year, reading about them, looking at tutorials and various DIY.

An advantage I think I might have, is I have access to a very large set of diverse tools,
drills and a lathe machine. possibly even a cnc machine later on, including someone very knowledgeable about electronics wiring and motors.

So why not. I am think I am ready to invest some time and money in making one. a good one.

things that I am looking for in my adapter will be:

-lowest loss of light possible, no great than .7
-light & durable & compact, for run and gun
-the ability to shoot w/ shutter at speeds up to 1/2000
-incorporate a prism for flipping the image
-high quality GG , with variable speed (if a spinner)
-high quality achromat
-battery operated. silent.
-ability to upgrade or change a part


these are some of my goals. I know they are high, but i want to make a damn good adapter.

as for the type. I am thinking of a Spinning adapter. so i can have more versatility with my shooting style. I thought also of a vibrating or static, but rather try a spinning. I would like it work with small and big cameras.

I also have in mind to make my own rods and plates.


So anyone with any advice would be greatly appreciated. Recommendations of high quality parts such as; achromat lenses, prisms, mounts, ground glass, motors. various parts, casings, etc... Types or techniques and materials, resources.

I know there alot of DIYers out there, so maybe what you did that worked for you, or what you did what just didn't work out.

Thanks in advance
/C
 
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You may want to check this one out as well. Although it's a mid-format DIY the concept is the same. I used spining REAL glass for the GG and discovered that getting the correct achromat was the key to getting good results.

P.S., my current version is much more compact than the first version shown in this thread.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=145860
 
I undertook this challenge, and I don't think it was worth it, except for the experience gained at machining.

There are 4 extremely important things you need to have a good adapter.

1. Achromat. I went through many different ones and finally settled on the one that comes with the MicroX flip module.

2. Ground glass. I tried dozens, tried making them, bought the red rock one, and after total failure, found a very decent one on ebay, but to drill the proper sized hole in it and machine the edges so that it is perfectly concentric was very difficult and scary. ($$$ glass)

3. Ground glass bearing support- It is absolutely crucial that the spinning GG run true, without any wobble, and be perfectly aligned so that it's perpendicular to the lens axis. I've never succeded in this area. We're talking less than a .oo1" makes a huge difference.

4. Collimation adjustment- The backfocus varies with temperature, so you need to have it adjustable on the fly, and it needs to work in such a way that the GG is kept perpendicular.

Also, in my experimentation, it was necessary to use a condener lens between the GG and the achromat, and I think the more transparent the GG the more you need a condenser to fix hot-spotting.

I'm a fairly accomplished machinist, and this was a VERY challenging project that took way too much time for it to be worth it. I should have bought one, because my own R+D time and trial and error took away from the real goal- to tell stories with the camera.

So, from my experience, I say, BUY ONE!


Here's a pic of it in the "just good enough to shoot with" state for my latest flick. ....It will never be done.

rails.JPG
 
yeehaanow,

Is the casing a one piece rectangular aluminum tube?

The latest adapter i made used one. Where'd you get those rods? are they 15mm? I had to contend with cheaper 13mm curtain rods.
 
The casing is machined from a solid block of aluminum. The back side (where the microX attaches) has a plate that is fitted in and screwed on. The plate also holds the condenser lens.

The rods are 15mm stainless steel tube I got from metricmetals.com Very Pricey $$$ $90 shipped for a 48' piece

The black tape on the top covers up what will eventually be an SLR style viewfinder and fine focusing device. I cut up an old canon slr body and kept the reflex mirror, focusing screen, and lens mount.

At some point, I was planning on making a post in the DIY section about this project, but other than to scare people away from making their own, I'm not sure what benefit it would have. I spent MONTHS making this thing, and it still has a long way to go, and I think this sort of project is way beyond the scope of most people here. I wish I would've bought one a long time ago.

Take a look at Anti De Presence for the results.
 
Don't let the long R&D discourage you. The fine tuning of a DIY adapter is the tedious part. DIYing stuffs bring positive knowledge and experience to us. It allows us to understand the tool better.

I watched your thread on your film and you guys are having a blast. Congratulations on your work.

I'm interested with how you plan to use the slr reflex mirror!

Anyhow, here's the latest incarnation on my adapter. Version 2 was thick and bulky looking, and the casing is plastic.
Version 3 is from aluminum tube The top is from the same 1mm alum thickness. The base is 2.5mm thick.

The thing is now sturdy enough to attach a handle that helps me in transporting the rig.

When i saw yours i thought we used the same approach to the casing.

1227462040.jpg
 
Hi,

I've put a cenevate flip up for sale on a well known internet auction site (not sure if I am alowed to name them).

The listing number (if you are interested) is:

290279368502

Regards,

Stuart
 
well now that there is a that new FIBER GG (around 400usd) that is going to come out in a couple months. It will make things easier since you can ditch the motor alltogether. Zero grain and the abilty to stop down or go shutter crazy to hearts content. Then you can focus on the things that really seperate diy from the pro-units out there, like micro-collimation functionality, edge to edge sharpness, flip, etc...
 
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