Yes I'm afraid I have another adaptor.

Ed Kishel

Ed Kishel

Veteran
After researching hundreds of posts in an attempt to build my own adapter, I feel I have finally come up with the solution within my technical means. Using the same concept as the G35 and My35, my static adapter is most inspired by the Home Depot 35 from the dvinfo.net alternative imaging forum. It is also found here: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=28055

cam1.jpg


Starting at the base, it connects to the DVX via a Cokin P series 72mm filter adapter. Mounted to that via set screws (refined from an earlier JB weld attempt) is a 2” male to female PVC adapter. Inside the wide end of the PVC (right before the Cokin) snugly sits a 58mm Macro +10.

all.jpg


Inside the threaded end of the PVC sits the heart of the unit, a Nikon F3 D screen, housed via silicone joints within two 49 mm Tiffen UV filters. This was done to prevent dust from getting to the screen (a big problem with DIY projects). Together the mount and the GG fit into a 2” PVC cleanout cap, which has had a hole cut out of the close end and an Canon FD mount screwed on (again JB weld was too cumbersome).

gg.jpg


A Canon SCC 50mm f1.4 sits at the end with a 58mm Fotodiox lens hood to prevent flaring. The whole unit was then sandblasted, primered then coated with a semi gloss epoxy-enamel hammer finish. That was then lightly coated with matte clear coat. The surface is now very tough and resembles the metal finish found on many older Sony Betacams. The interior of the adapter was dusted with a flat black matte finish to reduce any light bounce.

cam3.jpg


I then created a helpfull workaround to the whole upside down issue by creating a removable mirror that shows the image rightside up. This does not solve the fact it is still backwards, but does help some when framing without a seperate LCD. (see LCD of first picture). Everthing can be found at ebay and home depot. Below is the link to the original design mine is based on, thanks whatever your name is: http://home.comcast.net/~wauhkies/adapter/index.html

I am very pleased with the results, as the Nikon screen works much better than my own ground glass (which had a funky 8mm look to it). I find for static adapters, if you cant handle the wax thing (which I could'nt) this screen has the least grain. With the lens I am using, no hotspots, however I did see a slight hot spot when using a 28mm f2.8. I have found acceptable sharpness considereing how much the image must pass through before it gets to the DVX. Below is some test footage I have shot with it.

http://www.imperialrabbit.com/35MM TEST 2.wmv

Thanks for checking it out!
 
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Wow, great results. Looks similar to a project I am working on. Love the Buddy Christ mine sits at my Avid for good luck.
 
Very slick! That's the nicest static stuff I've seen yet. The Nikon screen is tight. I can see that the two UV filters are causing some flare/internal reflections....but I recognize your dust concerns.
 
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Looked really nice. I kind of like the strange flare that the UV filters caused...gave it a very unique look and one that could be exploited to make the final product even better if taken advantage of and used as a tool, rather than thought of as a hindrance. The sharpness was really impressive, far superior to what comes out of the wax adapters. Well done. Can you give an approximate price tag on this (keeping in mind that a bunch of this stuff comes of eBay, so it is variable)? Finally, with the DiY adapters I have seen and used(which is only one), there was a problem where the weight of the various lenses and filters and screens and what-not caused the PVC to sag a little bit and caused some vignetting issues. Anything along those lines? If not, how did you get it to not do that?
 
Edwierdo:

cool adapter....beats mine made up filter rings. I also use the Nikon F3 D screen. It is waaaaay better than the Beattie Intelliscreen (which scratched like hell!)

I know that you've gone way out of your way showing the parts...any chance you got some part numbers for the PVC stuff.....everytime I go to Home Depot I waste a lotoftime trying tofind the correct fittings. I am having trouble visualizing the PVC Pipe Cap and the PVC cleanout.

thanks...great stuff
 
Ed nice job! I am tinkering with one myself. I ordered the wrong macro's I ordered two 52mm instead of 58mm( brainfart). I am using some spacer rings instead of pvc and I'm waiting for the 35mm I bought off ebay to arrive. Ditto for the Rode here too. Thanks for inspiring us.
 
Bad Bokeh

Bad Bokeh

The results look not bad on the demo, but for me the Nikon D gave the worst results of the lot, worse than Beattie or Optosigma. The thing with all three of these options is they don't diffuse enough and have hazy bokeh.

If you take a shot of an out of focus point source of light you should get a disc in the shape of the lens aperture, circular for wide open or octagonal if you stop down the 35mm lens for example. Look at the background lights in any movie and you'll see it. With Beattie, Nikon D and Optosigma 1500 grit GG you just get a hazy mush when you defocus the point of light because they don't have enough diffusion. It's a trade off between proper diffusion and light loss, but that's my take on it, it's a matter of personal taste I guess.
 
Yep, bokeh tuning is a very subjective process. I've seen a few samples here (including my own original footage) that give a very wierd look in relation to conventional bokeh thinking.

To make things worse, many 35mm lens exhibit bokeh in a very different fashion depending on the lens itself. The best way to demonstrate this is, like ASG has mentioned, is to rack focus past a point light source with the lens on an SLR camera, then compare that with the same rack on an adapter.

There's a good bokeh test here: http://www.rickdenney.com/bokeh_test.htm

I can guarantee that several of the more expensive adapters out there will surpise you on these tests.
 
The footage looked bloody awesome! The adapter looked great, too, only I'm a little worried about the lens threads holding such a long, heavy adapter. How heavy is it?

I would consider getting a pair of rods - it's better than destroying the lens threads.
 
How do you make (inexpensive) support rods? I would like to build this adapter, but I don't want to destroy the threads on my camera.
 
Wow, looks good. The grain is slightly visible but the sharpness and lack of chromatic abberation is impressive.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you get the macro and step up ring? The macro I've been using (Asian brand, 72mm threads) is not very good.

By the way, the guide you linked to is mine. I've made lots of changes since then, though. Maybe I'll update it later with the changes, but I'm glad it helped. Anyhow, you definitely went way beyond what I did in the guide. Did you use a condenser?
 
I would also like to know the model #s of the PVC pipes. I looked at the Home Depot 35mm adapter that this one is based on and I can't find the pipes they used.
 
Thanks for the feedback, and THANK YOU policar for your design. I couldn’t track the original post down at dvinfo to give you credit. Now to address some questions:

I will try and get the home depot stock numbers for the PVC within the next day or so. The whole process was time consuming, and needs access to either a drill press or a good dewalt and vice grip and access to a bandsaw or a coping saw (with vice grip). It’s not a process you can do from start to finish on your kitchen table. It involves cutting, sanding, more cutting and more sanding...this is so it wont look so much like PVC. If the My35 came out before I did this I might have tried that because it is easier.

But if anyone has access to these tools and wants to tackle this, let me know and I will try to draft up a guide.

I also have since refined this design a bit in the last week. I did two things: the 58mm Asian macro +10 I turned around so that the "bulge" faced the DVX and not the SLR lens. This cut down on aberration considerably and added sharpness, and I’m not sure why. The second thing I did was to add a 72mm macro +4 to the DVX before attaching the adapter. This reduced the amount I had to zoom in by about 30% (it did add more glass to see through though but at least now I dont HAVE to to letterbox to cover up any vingetting 4:3 is possible- but its optional).

To address the weight, it weighs approx 1.3 pounds, not too heavy for the DVX threads to handle weight wise, however the length makes it cumbersome, so I have purchased Cavision 15mm support rods. I will soon be getting their lens support attachment to reduce the weight and give it support.

No condensor was used since the Nikon F3D screen has a condensor built in to the front :) I also use the Asian macro+ and it is def hit or miss, went through 2 so so ones before I got to a good one.

The bokeh: this is interesting as I have differing opinions on this. For stills I can see the aesthetics of uniform "blurry-ness", but for video where your attention is driven to the in-focus subject I'm not so sure the average Joe viewer will be distracted by it. True- camera enthusiasts and DPs will notice it on screen, but it is not as much of a concern to me. For me and the arrangement that I have it in, the Nikon F3 works best, and the Canon f1.4 50mm was the sharpest/fastest lens I could afford. I will do a test on the bokeh and see what results I get, as I am still interested in this subject.

Everything was purchased on ebay and home depot.
 
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Out of interest, try posting a clip of a focus rack through a point light source. A light reflected on a wine glass at 24 inches works. I'm very interested to see how the Nikon screen looks under those conditions!

Your footage is remarkable in that I really don't see any static grain....
 
thats a great excuse to have some wine tonight, I will try it!

Yes I am also impressed with this screen as far as sharpness and grain. On a production monitor its awesome- my Windows media file was compressed to 640x480 quality 80% to make it smaller. I need to get H.264!!

oh, and here is a better picture of my funky "mirror" fix...

cam2.jpg
 
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bc5431 said:
Looked really nice. I kind of like the strange flare that the UV filters caused...gave it a very unique look and one that could be exploited to make the final product even better if taken advantage of and used as a tool, rather than thought of as a hindrance. The sharpness was really impressive, far superior to what comes out of the wax adapters. Well done. Can you give an approximate price tag on this (keeping in mind that a bunch of this stuff comes of eBay, so it is variable)? Finally, with the DiY adapters I have seen and used(which is only one), there was a problem where the weight of the various lenses and filters and screens and what-not caused the PVC to sag a little bit and caused some vignetting issues. Anything along those lines? If not, how did you get it to not do that?
Click to expand...

all the parts will cost you about $180-$200 and that includes the lens. There are no sagging or vingetting issues here.
 
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