New 35mm adapter

Envision said:
Just not sure why you showed interest in participating in the first place, since it now appears that was premature.
Click to expand...

Well, to know then what I do now would've changed my initial approach. Sorry for the confusion -- but it's a choice of getting an adapter into the shootout that is cobbled together from commercially available parts and then replacing them with other parts soon after; or holding out a bit longer for custom machined parts that I will sell right away knowing that, once they're proven to work, I'm delivering the exact same thing to others in confidence.

I jumped at the mention of a shootout with the intention (initially) to just buy a bunch of disparate parts from separate suppliers and make them work, but after some investigation found I (most likely) could have custom made parts delivered in bulk, making the final adapter leaner'n'meaner, without raising my prices.

Believe me, I'm well aware of the obvious benefits of the adapter shootout, but I'm equally aware of the potential pitfalls of submitting something before it's finished. Talk about an advertising nightmare :embarasse It would be one thing if I just had the cost of one adapter and lens riding on my submission, but the reality is a lot more is involved than that, both financially and logistically.
 
You'll know when there's new footage because I'll be blabbing about it here right away. As I've said, I'm kind of in limbo waiting on some parts. When they arrive, I've got at least 3 sources for a DVX-100a/b to test these things out on.

Yes, the Pro is further off than the standard Go35, but not by much. I'm hesitant to be more exacting because these things have a way of changing over time.

Thanks for your interest and patience.
 
Thanks guys (and gals).

Checking in with a brief update as my hands are pretty wrung out from typing extensive design improvement notes to my machinist:

Parts arrived today and they are a mixed bag. Their overall build quality, weight and thickness surpass my expectations. On a par with the much more expensive ThorLabs components. I can't wait until they're anodized for the final run -- edges are clean, and the overall setup is pretty simple, rugged and streamlined.

There are a handful of design issues that need to be remedied, however, so a new set of parts will need to be ordered, machined, and shipped to me. Then tested, and hopefully they will be final. Unfortunately the last time this took approximately two weeks from order to delivery, so my timing is being pushed back -- it looks like, if I'm to be honest and based on the past, we're looking at about a month from today for final release, instead of two weeks.

This is, let me say up front, why I'm increasingly reluctant to post much more about the development while it's happening -- I don't want to make any more erroneous assumptions about timelines so I come back here with egg on my face and have to push things back repeatedly. I've already scheduled testing with two local DVX owners, pushed it back once, and will now because of the redesign process, have to push it back again.

On the upside, my new ground glass is on track to arrive Monday, so expect some GL1 clips showing off the Go35 Standard ground glass action sometime next week. I'll have full res shots so you can really see the nitty gritty of what you're getting. Hmmm... maybe I can do some DVX testing too now that I think about it.

On the Go35 Pro front, things are winding down to a few finalized parts, and the static GG element is something I have a conceptual understanding of I hadn't before. So the upshot is I think I'm close to having what appears to be the only near grainless static adapter poised for market as "other people" ( :shocked: ) seem to be going with moving components!

Just a little tip to my DIY brethren looking to follow in the path of DIY static adapters. The following will most certainly NOT get you closer to a grainless surface:

1) hand ground glass at 1.5 micron
2) opal, opalika, "flashed white glass"
3) holographic diffusers at 60 to 80 degrees (the lower the number, the grainier and frankly, 60 degrees is already to grainy. anything over 80 degrees suffers huge light loss...)
4) "engineered diffusers" from RPC Photonics or ThorLabs
5) Beattie or Maxwell Precision Optics screens

Here's something to wet your appetites for what's to come:

Go35.JPG
 
Is the footage from the standard $209 adapter? What about the photo?

If that footage is from the $209 adapter, SIGN ME UP!!!!!!!!

Seriously, I need footage like that, after all, a highschooler can afford only so much. I will need to buy a step down ring for my cheap camera tho :(, and a new lens, but way worth it with those results!
 
The above is what the Standard and Pro adapters will look like, approximately, pre-anodizing (the final unit will be black, entirely). The final will be a little longer as I'm going to have to create a little more room for some additional optics in the Pro. The above measures about 3 and 3/4 inches long -- the final setup will be about an inch longer.

The footage is from an older setup, made with 3 micron aluminum oxide, if I remember correctly. The Go35 Standard will produce significantly better imagery as the ground glass will be of a substantially finer grit.

And yes, it will be $209.
 
I'd like to buy the GG part only if possible, as I have invested too much into parts lately and am alittle broke.
 
I want the whole thing as well; sign me up.
I was originally going to attempt constructing my own, but forget it.
I'm in for yours. Who/where do I pay?
Hehehehehehe.
 
GG for sale alone won't be a problem, I just have to figure the cost of doing that. I'll let you know when the time comes. Thanks for the excitement from the rest of you :) I don't want to take pre-orders, yet, but if it's going to happen closer to release I'll let you know.


edit: No rod system planned as of now.

editx2: Just to be clear, I was referring to the Standard GG above, not the Pro. The Pro's diffuser element is comprised of 3 separate optical elements, and would be difficult to sell separately, to say nothing of being prohibitively expensive.
 
Wow, it's amazing how the words "35mm adapter" draws people here. Over 5.000 views.:shocked: Unbelievable.
 
Because when someone builds an adapter that is even better than the clip from the first page and that looks perfectly fine (aka: the picture he posted) for only $209, people tend to FREAK OUT. It's an awesome deal, that's for sure.
 
aperture issue

aperture issue

Hi, being new to this brilliant forum, I may have overlooked or simply missed the matter of camera vs lens aperture.
I'm seriously thinking of buying a JVC HD100 and a great addition for future projects would be a 35mm adapter.
However, should you come up with a GO35 that could be directly attached to the camera body with a relay lens; how would you control aperture on the camera itself? 'cause if you're working with a wide open aperture on your SLR lens in brightly lit conditions, the only way I can think of is by adding ND and adjusting shutter speeds..

Am I way off the mark, or is this simply a non-issue anyway.

BTW, I loved that first beta footage in the coffeeshop; nice and dreamy quality to it..:)
 
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