Yes I'm afraid I have another adaptor.

PaPa said:
Originally Posted by PaPa
hey man

im in the midst of building my own HD35 ( modeled very similarly to yours ) and i had a few questions for ya.

I noticed that yours is backwards. IS there a reason for this? the +10 macro lens is nowhere to be found in any store, is that why?

Do you find the way you built yours to be easier to build? Higher in Quality?

I have posted pictures in my thread http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=49382
and am having trouble deciding exactly how much i should be sanding down my pvc piping. But as i see you mounted your lens on the opposite end, did this cause any problems?

How exactly does your GG ( i think you actually used ground glass yes ) fit inside the adapter? It looks as though it would fall right inside the bigger end of the barrel, but then held in by the male end.

If you would be so kind and open yourself up to my questions as they come i would appreciate it on an epic scale.

Thanks!

-Jon

I cant really compare Policar's original Home Depot 35 to mine in terms of quality because I haven’t built both. So I cant tell you advantages or disadvantages. I can say that his original design did not call for as much PVC drilling and cutting as mine, then again I went for a cleaner less JB weld look which needs more cutting. Perhaps you can message him and get some examples and decide for yourself.

As far as how the GG fits inside, remember that the GG screen is housed in a protective Sandwich that fits over the PVC base. The 49-52mm step up rings that it fits into prevent is from slipping through. Below is a cheesy animation to show what I mean

http://www.imperialrabbit.com/anim1.avi

Hope this helps...

-Ed
 
i could choose to use wax instead of GG and just use two 52mm uv filters yes?

Also, what is the exact length of your piece of pvc piping at the camera end? ( with the thread exposed?)

Since the dvx's thread size is 72, how is it not a problem to mount a 58 +10? Im pretty sure my photo store near home had one of these, just no 72's. How exactly the smaller +10 mounted to the camera? as well as the pvc piping?
 
Precision said:
Hey moochy, How come its a nightmare to shoot with the LCD that way? I haven't got my 35mm built yet so i can't tell what it'll be like, but i've done some basic tests with a lens and a bit of frosted glass.

just not very pratical when you start shooting for real. I know it's nice to test the adapter and do some shots, but when you are going to be on a set with light everywhere and action that you have to follow with the camera sitting on your shoulder then it is a nightmare. SO two solution, I would like to create a sort of box with 4 mirros in it to rotate the image of my adapter so I use the FX1 as normal, or buying an lcd screen that can rotate the image...
 
alright, so since i will be for certain using canon FD lenses, i took my dads slr camera and measrued the exact distance between the mount and the film, came out to 42.8mm

Since my GG is .8 mm in length, distance between the wax uv filter and the clear uv filter., i think my PVC piping should be 42mm long from the thread end to the other.

However, since it is modeled after the HD35, and he modeled his after the nikkon EOS mount, his pvc pipe piece also came out to 42mm, am i doing something wrong?
 
PaPa said:
alright, so since i will be for certain using canon FD lenses, i took my dads slr camera and measrued the exact distance between the mount and the film, came out to 42.8mm

Since my GG is .8 mm in length, distance between the wax uv filter and the clear uv filter., i think my PVC piping should be 42mm long from the thread end to the other.

However, since it is modeled after the HD35, and he modeled his after the nikkon EOS mount, his pvc pipe piece also came out to 42mm, am i doing something wrong?
PaPa, you were pretty damn close, the official flange focal distance for the Canon FD lens is 41.9mm!

QUOTE: The flange-focal distance to 41.9mm between the front of the lens-mounting ring and the film-guide rails or to 42.14mm between the lens mounting ring and the pressure-plate rails.
Source:
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/SLRs/ae1/ae1tech.htm

That means that the front of the FD mount should be 41.9 (realistically 42mm) from your GG/Wax. Go off those numbers and you should be fine. And regarding the 58mm Macro, most retail stores will not carry this part and is almost only found on ebay. And it stays at the back of the PVC mount by either using silicone adheasive (spread around the outside of the macro- on the metal then place it on a table and slide the PVC/Cokin mount on top of it) or if your empty UV filter ring is wide enough use small set screws.

NOTE: It is spring break and I wont be teaching classes this week so I will do a video tutorial of building this thing. Trying to show you guys through text isnt the same as seeing it done. So for those who have not begun- wait a few days for me to get the videos up.
 
Last edited:
moochy said:
just not very pratical when you start shooting for real. I know it's nice to test the adapter and do some shots, but when you are going to be on a set with light everywhere and action that you have to follow with the camera sitting on your shoulder then it is a nightmare. SO two solution, I would like to create a sort of box with 4 mirros in it to rotate the image of my adapter so I use the FX1 as normal, or buying an lcd screen that can rotate the image...

Ahh, very true. Most of my shots are on a tripod, so i didn't click. But you're right, i'm still going to need either mirrors, or an lcd. (Either upside down or find one that rotates) I find though that the 'expanded focus' function is quite handy for getting the focus right, so i'll still use the onboard lcd for that as the expanded focus doesn't show on external monitoes - as far as i know anyway.
 
Great work on the 35 adapter Edweirdo and everyone else. I have a contact that may be able to help on the focusing screen front--Bill Maxwell of Maxwell Precision Optics.

(404) 244-0095
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
maxwellprecisionoptics@toast.net
[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Maxwell Precision Optics
P.O. 33146
Decatur, GA
30033-0146

Unofficial web page: http://www.mattclara.com/maxwell/index.html
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
Bill is one of the most knowledgable guys around when it comes to fabricating focusing screens. I'm pretty sure he could come up with an as good or likely better solution than the Nikon D screen. ONE of you should give him a call with the specs of what you'd like and see what he comes up with.
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
 
The reason that you have to release that little lever on your canon (nikon too) is because they designed the lenses to remain wide open when you are focusing so that you can obtain the best possible focus by sight. Then when you click the shutter, it pushes that little lever over activating the aperature.

You can see this when you look through your slr. If your image doesn't become darker or lighter when you turn your aperature ring, then you have a camera that has that little lever. If you had an old screw mount vivitar or pentax that doesn't have the activating lever you would see what I mean.

So what this means is no matter where you obtain your mounting bracket (lens cap, camera, 2x extender) you are still only going to be able to use your lens at its widest aperature. So there are four ways to bypass this if you want to use variable aperatures:

1. Break the connection spring inside the lens (hardest, involves disassembling the lens)

2. Figure some way to engage the lever (glue, tape, some less permanent diy bracket thing)

3. Use a lens mount that doesn't use the engaging lever (Vivitar and Pentax screw mounts dont along with some Pentax and Contax Bayonet mounts)

4. mount the entire camera and use a cable release to engage the shutter (you must use the method that puts the gg on the film plane rather than attach to the top and looks through the mirror because the mirror will be flipped up when the shutter is engaged.

You have to use one of these methods because just a mounting bracket off a camera will work because the mechanism that engages that lever is located in the camera and not on the bracket. Also keep in mind the light loss when you drop the aperature...
 
If this Bill Maxwell gentleman can create a "perfect" screen then I think we'd have a pretty reasonable 35mm adapter going here. Plus he'd have a rather regular flow of orders for them. :D I'm very interested to see the results of such a screen, as the "available" focusing screens are generally on backorder.
 
I have sent an email to Mr. Maxwell describing our situation with the Nikon D and what we would need to replace it. I will post his respinse as soon as I get it. Stay tuned.
 
I feel that this might be a little over my head to take on making on of these , but I am goingto try. I have a 35mm Canon Rebel that has a 35-80mm lens. I thought this would make a good testing lens. One thing that I am having problems with is understanding and finding excatly what I need (outsides the PVC items). Edweirdo, or anybody else, could you help me? Can you list the items and links to somewhere to buy them?

Thanks for any help you can give.
 
ALBASIC Dude said:
How do you get the glass out of the UV filter ring? Do you just smash it out, or is there a cleaner, more refined way to do it?

Some UV filters have an inside ring than you can unscrew. some don't, then smashing could be the only way, but you're right, it doesn't sound clean :)
 
Last edited:
Bill Maxwell's a great guy and his screens are excellent. However, you're looking at a cost several times the Nikon D -- $120-150 per screen. If you can get a group of people to pay for a run of 26 or more, he will give you a significant pricebreak to below $100 per unit. With runs of 25 or more, you can get them custom cut to any shape and dimension.

Also be aware that you will have to be VERY CAREFUL with these screens as they are an EXTREMELY DELICATE optical polymer. You will need a plastic mask like MicroMask to coat them when you cut them down (they're square) to protect the surfaces.
 
ALBASIC Dude said:
How do you get the glass out of the UV filter ring? Do you just smash it out, or is there a cleaner, more refined way to do it?

I put mine in a plastic grocery bag, closed that up, and smashed it with a hammer a good six or seven times. They won't take well to chipping or scoring... you've gotta really bash them. When I opened the bag, all the glass was totally clear of the ring and I didn't need to do any messy picking-tiny-shards-out-of-the-ring or anything. No mess, no fuss.
 
bklyndv said:
Bill Maxwell's a great guy and his screens are excellent. However, you're looking at a cost several times the Nikon D -- $120-150 per screen. If you can get a group of people to pay for a run of 26 or more, he will give you a significant pricebreak to below $100 per unit. With runs of 25 or more, you can get them custom cut to any shape and dimension.

Also be aware that you will have to be VERY CAREFUL with these screens as they are an EXTREMELY DELICATE optical polymer. You will need a plastic mask like MicroMask to coat them when you cut them down (they're square) to protect the surfaces.

Thanks for the clarification on that bklyndv. My question now is this: How do his screens compare to a Beattie? If we're looking at that kind of money we best be seeing comparable (or hopefully better) results. Also, if they are as fragile as you are stating (and I definitely trust your assessment) then these may be another headache for the "average" do-it-yourselfer. I'm still very interested in them, especially if anyone has test footage involving this type of screen.
 
Back
Top