Yes I'm afraid I have another adaptor.

1) Can you tell me the distance in mm between the macro to the gg, and gg to the lens mount. If you can't give me exact distances, that is ok.

2) Also what is the point of the Cokin P? Is it just there to hold the macro in place, or is there another reason?

3) Is the plano-convex lens on the nikon gg rectangular or square? I ask this because some convex lenses warp the image slightly different.
 
Bobaristheguy said:
1) Can you tell me the distance in mm between the macro to the gg, and gg to the lens mount. If you can't give me exact distances, that is ok.

2) Also what is the point of the Cokin P? Is it just there to hold the macro in place, or is there another reason?

3) Is the plano-convex lens on the nikon gg rectangular or square? I ask this because some convex lenses warp the image slightly different.
Click to expand...

1) 45mm (+-3mm) and 35mm (+-3mm)
2) when you attach an empty 72mm filter ring (like from an old UV) to the Cokin P, this creates a snug mount from the first piece of PVC (see step one from earlier) to snap into (post No. 43 piece #1). You can either bolt it on with some small screws or use JB weld. Its how the unit attaches on to the DVXs front threads.
3)same dimensions as a 35mm frame, which I believe is 24mm by 36mm which should be 4:3
 
re: Nikon F3 D screen

I'm reading an article that differentiates between a normal 'D screen' and a "red dot" 'D screen', any thoughts?




"In the Nikon line, be sure to look for what is called the "red dot" screens. The red dot on the side of the screen indicates that it is the newer brighter model of the screen. Nikon made a previous version of their screens, without the red dot designation, that were not as bright."
 
Does it matter what the focal length is of the lens used? Like 28mm vs. 50mm? And is a 1.8 ok or should I use a faster one if I can find? I'm going out to my storage unit tomorrow where I have a lot of camera equipment in various states of decay. So I'm going to rumage through all the junk and see what I can come up with.

Thanks!

Oh and Edweirdo......looks like you do what I do......go to the nearest Arizona ghost town to run camera tests......just a 10min drive, Goldfield is my proving ground.

Marlene
 
like any of the adapters you can use whatever focal length you want as long as its compatible with the lens mount you use. With me, as long as its a Canon FD lens it can be 28mm to 300mm.

That said however, the longer the lens the slower it will be (like f3.5 for a 150mm) and with most of these adapters you want the fastest lens possible. If you have the money, a f1.2 50mm would be awesome but those are expensive.

Another issue that must be understood is that often you will shoot wide open to let the most light in (this compensates for the light loss with all the glass in the adapter, not just mine but others as well). This wide open aperture really increases the DOF, so much so in fact that it can be a hindrance. You may run the risk of someone’s eye being in focus but their nose isn’t. However maybe thats what you want, I dont know.

That’s when you experiment with lens f-stop and dvx f-stop combinations. For example I put my Canon at an f2.8 and my DVX at an f4, or the Canon at an f1.4 and the DVX at a f8. You play around what looks best in your frame for DOF, then add light to compensate.

So long story short, you want at least a f1.8 as this will be the aperture you will be at with most of your shooting.

Shawn, yes if you can get the red-dot snag it quick. They are brighter, but not hugely brighter than the reg version. You can alway get the reg D screen (if you can find it) and then get some other a red-dot screen with the grid, and switch the diopters out. They are not permanently fixed to the GG, but held in place by some tape and a metal screen.

The red dot is for the improved diopter, I believe the GG screen itself is still the same.
 
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my nikon d screen looks great and all.. but it got a little smudged and its impossible to get those clean.. its not very noticeable.. but im already thinking of using something else.. does anyone know where to get the microcristilline wax? and how do u flaten it out so its just right (without smudging)
 
Ed, I'd like to congratulate you upon sharing your achievements with the community. It's an amazing contribution which will most probably end up in endless improvements and versions of which some probably polished enough for the market.

Not many are as handy, or the time is a problem or the tools or whatever. Good product always finds its way to the market. A need for it exists and sooner or later, one way or the other it will end up being satisfied.

I had a rare inheritance a Leica M6 and two ELMARIT f2.8 lenses 28 and 135mm. What do you and the rest of the community think of using them with my DVX100B coupled with an appropriate adapter even DIY one? Since I haven't find one for it, mounts exist, I was considering buildin' one, encouraged by your example :)

I understand its focal lengths are much shorter than SLR lenses and Jonathan from cinemek got enthusisastic about making G35 with Leica M mount, since it will come handy for his M3 lenses as well, aside from I believe it might become very commercial, since that mount has been out there forever and the most of the lenses pre SLR were those, Leica M ready, even Canon and Nikon made.

I've been learning a lot over Internet, in particular following photonet, dvinfo, dvxuser, cinemek, redrockmicro, and all other threads I came across and what I found here, in Edweirdo's subject, dwarfs my wildest expectations.

Congratulations to all of you from USA, since back in Serbia where I'm from and in Spain where I live, forums are not like this. I've never seen anything like this in over ten years I've been sufring on the Net. dvxuser community is very much like Macintosh comunity I've been part of in the last 7 years but this cross forum enthusiasm I haven't witness yet.

I deeply admire your way of doing things.
 
Edweirdo,

Like many others thank you for this inspirational piece of DIY.

I've assembled most of the kit I need, but would you believe in the UK our PVC pipes and adapters are only 1.5"!One of the other threads mentioned the use of spacers which I can obtain. Any guidance on how I could use spacers?

Failing that I have emailed Nibco to see if they will ship the items.

I'm also trying to make sure that I get exactly the right mount for my Canon 50mm f1.4. Can you please confirm the exact mount I need.

Many thanks from over the pond....
 
Any reason to use a *Nikon* screen? BHPhoto is out of stock on the type D so I was wondering what other camera uses a bright screen. Seems like it's easy to find the fresnel spots and grids, but not clear. Just looking for an alternative to the Nikon Type D and Wax. Although the wax thing is looking nicer and nicer to me now.

Marlene
 
zakaree said:
my nikon d screen looks great and all.. but it got a little smudged and its impossible to get those clean.. its not very noticeable.. but im already thinking of using something else.. does anyone know where to get the microcrystalline wax? and how do u flatten it out so its just right (without smudging)
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t know about the wax. There are some informative posts over at DVinfo.net on the issue of micro wax. I did some testing with it but found it difficult to achieve a balance between sharpness and light loss. Now that the D screen is so difficult to find, it may be time to revisit the subject. For more info try this:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=33489&highlight=micro+wax

nenaD said:
Ed, I'd like to congratulate you upon sharing your achievements with the community. It's an amazing contribution which will most probably end up in endless improvements and versions of which some probably polished enough for the market.

Not many are as handy, or the time is a problem or the tools or whatever. Good product always finds its way to the market. A need for it exists and sooner or later, one way or the other it will end up being satisfied.

I had a rare inheritance a Leica M6 and two ELMARIT f2.8 lenses 28 and 135mm. What do you and the rest of the community think of using them with my DVX100B coupled with an appropriate adapter even DIY one? Since I haven't find one for it, mounts exist, I was considering buildin' one, encouraged by your example :)

I understand its focal lengths are much shorter than SLR lenses and Jonathan from cinemek got enthusisastic about making G35 with Leica M mount, since it will come handy for his M3 lenses as well, aside from I believe it might become very commercial, since that mount has been out there forever and the most of the lenses pre SLR were those, Leica M ready, even Canon and Nikon made.

I've been learning a lot over Internet, in particular following photonet, dvinfo, dvxuser, cinemek, redrockmicro, and all other threads I came across and what I found here, in Edweirdo's subject, dwarfs my wildest expectations.

Congratulations to all of you from USA, since back in Serbia where I'm from and in Spain where I live, forums are not like this. I've never seen anything like this in over ten years I've been sufring on the Net. dvxuser community is very much like Macintosh comunity I've been part of in the last 7 years but this cross forum enthusiasm I haven't witness yet.

I deeply admire your way of doing things.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the kind words. I made my adapter after allot of research and failed attempts. I have learned so much here, that I just want to share what I have learned and be as detailed as I can so someone else can make it better. I got a hold of Policar's tutorial and ran with it, improving everything I could. Now its my hope that someone else can improve it even more and share their findings here. I will continue to improve my design and post footage and results here so that those who have chosen to build this can upgrade and improve theirs as well.

jonesy said:
Edweirdo,

Like many others thank you for this inspirational piece of DIY.

I've assembled most of the kit I need, but would you believe in the UK our PVC pipes and adapters are only 1.5"!One of the other threads mentioned the use of spacers which I can obtain. Any guidance on how I could use spacers?

Failing that I have emailed Nibco to see if they will ship the items.

I'm also trying to make sure that I get exactly the right mount for my Canon 50mm f1.4. Can you please confirm the exact mount I need.

Many thanks from over the pond....
Click to expand...
Glad to hear your ready to take on the project. Sorry that you only have access to 1.5" PVC. Now I'm not sure what you mean by spacers for the PVC, please elaborate with what PVC and where you intended to use a spacer.

Re: the mount- you want a standard canon FD mount. There should be no other kind for the FD lens. If you cant get it from a camera store, try this. You can remove it from the cmount and attach it to the PVC:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...s&Q=&sku=116732&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

Or just get a junked Canon from ebay and remove the part:
http://cgi.ebay.com/CANON-T50-CAMER...93105761QQcategoryZ107919QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

marlenedegrood said:
Any reason to use a *Nikon* screen? BHPhoto is out of stock on the type D so I was wondering what other camera uses a bright screen. Seems like it's easy to find the fresnel spots and grids, but not clear. Just looking for an alternative to the Nikon Type D and Wax. Although the wax thing is looking nicer and nicer to me now.

Marlene
Click to expand...
The reason to use the Nikon screen is that its the best solution for this design at this stage. By that I mean I am currently researching alternatives for the next generation (and since the Nikon screen is no longer manufactured). This screen is so important due to its fine grain structure on the GG and the fact that it has a build in condenser. It was a great package for under $30. But those were the old days. That’s why I strongly urge those out there to contact all their local camera shops, the mom and pop operations frequently have these parts but no one would ever know since they have no web presence.

The wax looks great until you actually start working with it. I just say that as a warning, its tough stuff to work with. But please try if you want, for if you succeed than we will be unchained from the dreaded D screen.

I myself will be testing out a micro grain screen made by Linhof in Germany. It must be cut into smaller pieces and needs a condenser, but lets keep our fingers crossed.

-Ed
 
Thank you for taking the time to reply to everyone. And...thanks to you, I am really getting into this project. I spent some time on Ebay today and have everything I need on it's way soon, including a junk T60 for the mount and for the time being the Asian Macro. I think that once I get one made, it will be easier to understand the process for improvements.......as you well know.

I'm going ahead with the wax process with the understanding of it's problems. I have some ideas of alternative methods but I'm just going to go ahead with this first.

My father died last year and he had many talents (he had a genius IQ). He took a course in camera repair during one phase of his life and he built all kinds of cool optical adapters for achieving some awesome effects........boy do I miss him. He had no eye for composition but give him any sort of technical film/effects challenge and he'd get it done with amazing results.

Anyway I'm just sort of limping along here but enjoying the ride.

Thanks again!

Marlene
 
Ahh brave soul, I'm glad to hear your going for the microwax. Please post your results (if its a success maybe you can teach me how to make it) :)
 
since my nikon d screen had some weird little scratch in it (not toooo big of a deal.. but it bugs me that its there) i have been looking for something else.. believe it or not.. i was looking on the shelf for some nesquick and i saw some weird tube like plastic containter that holds little tea bag things.. anyways.. it looked almost identical to the focus screen.. so i cut a piece out and sized it.. and its perfect!!.. its alot thinner than the d focus screen so more light gets let in. ill post a few screen grabs as soon as i shoot something tomorrow..
although i did order some 600 grit ALOX.. so i will grind some glass.. see what i can get..
as well as try the wax..
 
sweet setup Edweirdo, I just made all your directions into a 7 page manual to try and peice together, I'm not sure yet if I'll attempt it or not, but now I'm confident as to how to go about making my own.... Thanks
 
Nick Adams said:
sweet setup Edweirdo, I just made all your directions into a 7 page manual to try and peice together, I'm not sure yet if I'll attempt it or not, but now I'm confident as to how to go about making my own.... Thanks
Click to expand...
Sounds great! After my first post on this setup so many people emailed me for details I didnt have time to draft up an official start through finished tutorial, and just posted the steps here and there. Its gotten a little crazy and the steps are spread throughout, so if you have consolidated it- please post.

And to those who are attempting to build this, please dont build it and then leave us hanging! We want to see footage, modifiactions, improvements, Nikon D workarounds- we can all learn through trial and error and from others experience.

Thanks -Ed
 
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600 grit ALOX is bad news. At dvinfo, we started using 1500 grit if I remember correctly, then went to 5 micron, then 3. At this level, on grit charts, we're talking tens of thousands instead of hundreds for grit sizes. You will not get anywhere with 600 grits. Ironically, you will also not get anywhere with sub-1micron grit -- I have several grades, from .03, to .5 to .8 microns. None of them "frost" the surface consistently, but instead grind irregular scratches.

Perhaps if you had a lapidary machine, that would be a different story -- but your talking quite a bit of money upfront, along with a lot of babysitting the machine through the process.
 
Again thanks' Edweirdo.... I've happily formatted the file into a PDF form, some of the applications might not be in the correct order but it'll all be laid out in this file for everybody to follow... again thank's for actually stepping up to help out other's than leave everybody in the dark by just posting the images and then putting a price tag on it..... And for everybody else, remember this isn't the simplest of projects to take on...

here's the link to the PDF

http://www.savefile.com/files/4381890

you can also download the file zipped in winrar in

PDF here http://www.yourfilelink.com/get.php?fid=35694
Word here http://www.yourfilelink.com/get.php?fid=35690

get winrar free here:http://www.download.com/3000-2250-10007677.html
 
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