DVD-Labs DOF Machine, I'm building one

Zack Birlew

Zack Birlew

Veteran
Hey guys, I've decided to go with the DVD-Labs DOF Machine version of a 35mm adapter. Everything's working great so far, but I have a question about the batteries being used. I've tried looking at every Radioshack I can find but none of them has just a 2 AA battery pack. I had to buy a 4 AA battery pack and I worry about that spinning the frosted CD too much, should I be worried? If I can't use 4 AA's, what can I use? I know they have some single C battery holders but is that too much? I don't know anything about voltage differences between batteries, just the basics (AA and AAA are rods and C and D are squares and every other one is coin sized or miniatures of A-D). I also don't want to wear out my CD-motor with too much voltage if it's unnecessary and yes, I've tried using less than four batteries but the box won't send power to the motor:undecided. It's not too much trouble for me to go to Radioshack, there is one across the street from the college here, so I can go whenever I need to.

Has anybody built one of these particular 35mm adapters? What were the results? Any recommendations?

If anybody is interested in how I'm making the thing, here's the lowdown. I got almost everything from Radioshack, minus the old CD-player motor as I happen to have some old non-working CD-players myself, the Maxell frosted CD I got from Long's Drugs in a trip back to California, the screws and bolts I had already from my computer stuff (watercooling days), and the wood to build the supports. Now, I don't know where to get particle board in my area, I have yet to find a Home Depot here in Vegas, but I thought of one thing I could use as replacement. I went to the student store and looked around. At first, I thought about using some painter's canvas as that comes in small squares and it's pretty solid but I saw the price (about $6-7 per one) and I decided against it should I mess up. So I looked around and found the perfect solution, wooden clipboards. About $3, the right price, and they're much sturdier than the canvas and I had it. So far the Dremel has cut through them like butter and the measurements have been pretty easy to do, except for the 58mm diameter I've had to apply. It's very hard to get that just exactly right but I did a test run by holding the GL1 and the wood construction together with the frosted CD and it showed up pretty well, kind of foggy though (is this supposed to happen?) and the weird rainbows on the frosted CD didn't show up at all, neato! I did this test without the lens part done so I don't know what to expect. So far it's pretty good.

Also, I couldn't find exactly the same project box used in the guide, so I'm using a bigger one, doesn't cause any trouble in case you're wondering.
 
I haven't yet. But I was planning on building one using the same tutorial. Not sure about the battery issue. But please let me know how it comes out, and maybe some pictures of the adapter and then some actual footage. Thanks!
 
Go to www.digikey.com and type in part number 2463K-ND. It is a two AA cell holder with 6" wire leads that holds the batteries in series. They're $.84 each and they charge an additional $5 service charge if you order less than $25...however, I've used these keyelco battery holders and they are a big step above the cheap plastic Chinese crap that Radios Hack sells. Check out there other stock...you'd be surprised at what they have that you might need!
 
Jack_Felis

I already made an adapter using the spinning disc method, DOF for 120 link but instead of using 35 mm I used medium format lenses. Yes, youre right, don't use the 4 AA, I tried different voltages and the ideal is 2 AA batteries. The issue is noise and vibration.

Hope this helps.
 
Here goes the rookie again:

How do you "frost" or grind the cd? Everyone say "use the one out of a spindle" - but all the ones I have seen are perfectly clear....
 
x-angel

I am using the "already frosted" blank cd on a spindle. Forgot the brand though, theres so many kinds lying around the studio, but I also tried 'frosting ' it myself by using the smallest grade of sandpaper you can buy in hardware store, I used p1000, use outward straight rubbing motion from the center of the disc. NOT circular motion as this will make streaking lines obvious when the cd is spinning.
 
so in both cases...actual ground glass and "frosted CD" do they both have to vibrate or rotate?

I see that the CD does, but what about the actual grounded glass?
 
x-angel

I understand there are 2 major kinds of '35mm' adapters(mine is 120mm) out there, one where the ground glass oscillates or vibrate, the other, which this thread is referring to, is the spinning "gound glass" CD. or more accurately, spinning frosted CD. Both try to achieve the same purpose, which is to spin and vibrate so as to make the frost or grain of the ground glass vanish when the camera shoots the projected image from the lens on it.
 
So how on god's green eart do you get actual glass to oscillate or vibrate with out breaking in the housing. (wait... I am getting off topic aren't i?)
 
Jack_Felis said:
I've tried looking at every Radioshack I can find but none of them has just a 2 AA battery pack. I had to buy a 4 AA battery pack and I worry about that spinning the frosted CD too much, should I be worried?
Click to expand...

CD ROMs are either powered by 5vdc or 12vdc (I can't find which...I'd guess 12vdc).

Anyway, even if it is 5vdc, the 6vdc from 4 AAs is not going to kill it.

As far as noise and vibration goes...the CDGG mechanism should be isolated from the camera well enough that vibration won't mess things up. Ditto for noise.
 
Thats right, isolation is key, I will be updating my site, to show the internal gizzards of the adapter I built. I'm using the 12v motor but intentionally underpowered it by using only 2 AAs. I isolated the motor mount by rubber "socks" dunno the right term, and buffering the vibration further by 'sandwiching' (another invented term) gray foam in between the mount and the casing. The noise I meant is caused by the humming sound by the fast spinning disc, which was eliminated when I under-powered the motor.
 
x-angel
Theres a thread here somewhere that someone posted a DIY oscillating device, he even has a video, the GG is mounted firmly on a frame, its this frame,attached by off centered axles, that is vibrated by a motor driven rubber belt (dunno if thats a technically accurate description)
 
The most difficult part of the vibrating method would probably be getting the thing to vibrate only in the X-Y and not the Z. Spinning should be a lot easier to control.
 
GenJerDan

Ive seen that thread video of the occilating unit and, yah, it does take serious machining skills. The problem I encountered making the spinning version is centering the spinning disc well, if its off it vibrates, the cd mount i attached to the motor is the type found on CD rom drives for desktops, not the 'snap on' mounts found on laptop cd drives and discmans. It has a magnetic 'top part' that locks the cd in place and has tiny metal balls inside that stabilizes the spin.
 
GenJerDan

U mentioned in another thread your using 6x6 lenses? Do you have an image of your adapter you can share with us? would be very interested how other people approach this DIY device. A sample image perhaps.. :-)
 
Ok, ok, this got off topic and back on pretty quick. =)

The brand of CD-Rs with the pre-frosted CD are Maxell (can't remember if it's spelled "Maxell" or "Maxcell") brand that can be found in most stores such as Tower Records, Longs Drugs, S-Mart Foods (maybe), Virgin Megastore, and probably some others that I can't think of off the top of my head at the moment.

I've built the adapter, it works, need to get some 58mm macros first and the AA battery pack before I can test it fully. The frosted CD with the 4 AA pack spun so fast that there really wasn't a difference in image as far as I could tell, this is without using macros to zoom in on the image though. The vibrations were a problem and I probably should apply some foam to quiet it down a bit even with the 2 AA pack. Also, for anyone building this for their camera, I would recommend building a 15mm rod support system or buying one because the camera becomes very front heavy (my RedRockMicro DIY guide is coming in the mail soon because of this). Also, I would suggest a high number macro or a stack because, though I didn't think it would be much of a problem at first, it really is necessary for any 35mm adapter. I plan to stack one or two within the adapter itself along with the 72mm macros I have already (makng that a double set of +4, +2, (optional +1) macros I can use).

For some vibration absorption, I used some small strips of electrical tape on the inner part of the frosted CD to tighten the CD motor's grip on it. It works pretty good but I wouldn't make it too thick as it could interfere with the motor catching it and thus making things worse.

I'll post some pics and maybe some screenshots once I get the battery pack and 58mm macros. Should be within the next two weeks give or take =/. I also have exams ya know! =)
 
teddybear said:
U mentioned in another thread your using 6x6 lenses? Do you have an image of your adapter you can share with us? would be very interested how other people approach this DIY device. A sample image perhaps.. :-)
Click to expand...

No adapter as such, yet. I just attached my 6x6 camera to the front of the DVX and focused on the SLR's GG.

Somewhere here, or in the Hardware forum, there should be some stuff under "Marla66" that had pics of the contraption. Too bulky and weird to use, but I just wanted to see how the video would look.

If I do a "real" adapter, it'll use medium-format lenses, not 35mm ones.
 
Jack_Felis said:
Hey guys, I've decided to go with the DVD-Labs DOF Machine version of a 35mm adapter. Everything's working great so far, but I have a question about the batteries being used. I've tried looking at every Radioshack I can find but none of them has just a 2 AA battery pack. I had to buy a 4 AA battery pack and I worry about that spinning the frosted CD too much, should I be worried? If I can't use 4 AA's, what can I use? I know they have some single C battery holders but is that too much? I don't know anything about voltage differences between batteries, just the basics (AA and AAA are rods and C and D are squares and every other one is coin sized or miniatures of A-D). I also don't want to wear out my CD-motor with too much voltage if it's unnecessary and yes, I've tried using less than four batteries but the box won't send power to the motor:undecided. It's not too much trouble for me to go to Radioshack, there is one across the street from the college here, so I can go whenever I need to.

Has anybody built one of these particular 35mm adapters? What were the results? Any recommendations?

If anybody is interested in how I'm making the thing, here's the lowdown. I got almost everything from Radioshack, minus the old CD-player motor as I happen to have some old non-working CD-players myself, the Maxell frosted CD I got from Long's Drugs in a trip back to California, the screws and bolts I had already from my computer stuff (watercooling days), and the wood to build the supports. Now, I don't know where to get particle board in my area, I have yet to find a Home Depot here in Vegas, but I thought of one thing I could use as replacement. I went to the student store and looked around. At first, I thought about using some painter's canvas as that comes in small squares and it's pretty solid but I saw the price (about $6-7 per one) and I decided against it should I mess up. So I looked around and found the perfect solution, wooden clipboards. About $3, the right price, and they're much sturdier than the canvas and I had it. So far the Dremel has cut through them like butter and the measurements have been pretty easy to do, except for the 58mm diameter I've had to apply. It's very hard to get that just exactly right but I did a test run by holding the GL1 and the wood construction together with the frosted CD and it showed up pretty well, kind of foggy though (is this supposed to happen?) and the weird rainbows on the frosted CD didn't show up at all, neato! I did this test without the lens part done so I don't know what to expect. So far it's pretty good.

Also, I couldn't find exactly the same project box used in the guide, so I'm using a bigger one, doesn't cause any trouble in case you're wondering.
Click to expand...
Hi Jack, your problem with the batteries. Just use TWO in the battery case, and replace the other two with two pieces of round wood dowel, the same size of the AA. Push two Drawing pins in to each end. Before you push them all the way in, fix a length of wire between each drawing pin, then push them all the way in.
You now have two "dummy" batteries, and the circuit is made through the wire and drawing pins. As easy as that!!
 
all,

heres the broken apart images of the adapter I built. I rememberd sm1 asking for details.

These images show a modified aluminum angular brace to attach the adapter to the camera baseplate. The first version only had 1 which had no rigidity, this model now has 2 angular brace bolted to the GG motor housing.

click on this link,

Parts of the adapter photos

Scroll to the bottom of the page.
 
Hmmm neat adapter, teddybear, may be a little too big for my taste though. All I'm waiting on now is the battery pack, I ordered one from the link Focus This! provided, BTW thanks man, and then I have to run over to Fry's Electronics and get some acoustic dampening material. After that, I should be done, as far as the adapter goes. Then I have to buy/build a 15mm rod support system. I may just order the RedRockMicro one as it is pretty cheap.
 
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