Frugal Photographer's DIY Loupe for $15

[enivre]

Hi guys,

If anyone remembers, I DIYed a 6x12 back for my LF, that didn't go too well so it's been retired.

Today my hands got itchy again and I decided to DIY a loupe to replace my awful awful $12 plastic loupe that I've been using to focus my LF.

Why DIY?? Coz I'm a frugal (read poor) photographer, and it's just way more fun! I got my inspiration from http://www.largeformatphotography.info/loupe/

Anyway here's a comparison between the 3 loupes I currently have:

From the left, my $12 plastic loupe, the DIY, a Kaiser 4x Loupe bought to view my MF/LF slides..

Here's a look at how the $12 plastic loupe fairs on the light table:

Here's the DIY:

And finally the Kaiser

To be honest, the photos don't do justice to any of the loupes, but you get the picture I suppose...

 

[incubus]

interesting, any parts list to share?

 

[enivre]

So here's the breakdown of the DIY loupe:

Fugus Infested Pentax SMC 50mm f1.4 MF lens - $10 from Sungei Road
PVC Parts - $3 from hardware store
Superglue - $1 from hardware store
Files, Sandpaper, Screwdrivers, etc - FOC from home
Plaster for cut finger -$1

Anyway, I went down to Sungei Road to find a suitable lens and stumbled upon an old Pentax MF 50mm lens... and we all know you can get a macro lens by reverse mounting a 50mm right?

So I bought it at $10, went back home and got some PVC parts that I figured would go together... tore apart the lens to get to the glass.. that alone took me quite some time considering I don't have the proper tools and I've NEVER taken apart a lens before..

So after 2 cuts and 3 drops of blood later... I managed to get the front and rear elements out (and one other element from the middle)..

Played around with the elements to figure out which one should go where, how they will fit together with the PVC pipe etc etc.. Then I sanded and filed the PVC parts to hold the elements at the right distance etc etc.. Superglued the whole thing together, spray painted it and VOILA!!!

It's no Schneider or a Rodenstock but it's brilliantly bright and sharp... only thing is the distortion I couldn't get rid of probably because I couldn't rip out the middle element in the lens... I figure the magnification is a little over 4x, maybe 5x or 6x... a bit too much for ground glass focusing but I suppose it'll do...

Not bad for $15!

Erv.

 

[enivre]

Mistakes made:

1. Don't bother with superglue gel... just use superglue - the gel tends to form glue strings which can mess up the glass

2. Triple check before gluing all the elements together, somehow some dirt managed to get trapped inbetween the elements.. DOH!!

3. Get the proper tools to open the lens... I used pliars, screwdrivers, compasses (those u use to draw circles), metal rulers, fingers, etc etc...

4. Beg, borrow, rob, proper workshop powertools... it's a real pain to cut, file and sand the PVC parts...

Yeaps.. that's about it... wonder if anyone else has ever tried this?

 

[incubus]

thanks for the breakdown, i dun have a prime to sacrifice but ive got some old "fungussed" MF zoom lens i might use
getting to optical elements are the first real challenge. so far ive only used a reversed 35mm prime to view my slides.
any other workaround instead of using lens from an actual camera lens?

 

[enivre]

thanks for the breakdown, i dun have a prime to sacrifice but ive got some old "fungussed" MF zoom lens i might use
getting to optical elements are the first real challenge. so far ive only used a reversed 35mm prime to view my slides.
any other workaround instead of using lens from an actual camera lens?

Not too sure bro... Maybe a series of cheaper magnifying glasses or something? No, I don't think that'll work...

 

[boonn]

I think it's a good idea. my japanese friend once gave me a jupiter 50mm lens 1.5 that diesn't have shutter blades, as a lupe. because non of the elements are removed, the lens is pretty sharp, and because it's aperture is 1.5, there's still quite a bit of viewing area.

 

[enivre]

I think it's a good idea. my japanese friend once gave me a jupiter 50mm lens 1.5 that diesn't have shutter blades, as a lupe. because non of the elements are removed, the lens is pretty sharp, and because it's aperture is 1.5, there's still quite a bit of viewing area.

No blades? it's fixed f1.5?

I guess all you need then is to connect it to a pipe to make the lens sit on the light box at the right distance...

 

[incubus]

No blades? it's fixed f1.5?

I guess all you need then is to connect it to a pipe to make the lens sit on the light box at the right distance...

regarding the distance, i attached a extension tube (those without CPU contacts used for cheaper macro work) adjust to taste, put it on my psp with a white background. and i can view it as soon as i recieve it from the developers

 

[jamesong]

I placed an old projector lens(no need to take out the glass, the whole piece) inside a paper tube, adjust the distance of the lens in the tube and I get a loupe without distortion and its sharp.

Another way, check the distance of a magnifying glass to the image, get the distance, cut the paper tube according to the distance, tape the magnifying glass onto the brim of the paper tube, it will become a loupe.

I used both for my medium & large format focusing. The tube also acts like a shield against the sun and I do not need to use a dark cloth to cover my head and camera when focusing.

Just sharing.

 

[enivre]

I placed an old projector lens(no need to take out the glass, the whole piece) inside a paper tube, adjust the distance of the lens in the tube and I get a loupe without distortion and its sharp.

Another way, check the distance of a magnifying glass to the image, get the distance, cut the paper tube according to the distance, tape the magnifying glass onto the brim of the paper tube, it will become a loupe.

I used both for my medium & large format focusing. The tube also acts like a shield against the sun and I do not need to use a dark cloth to cover my head and camera when focusing.

Just sharing.

Hmm... but magnifiying glass will distort yah?

Good tip about the projector lens!

 

[jamesong]

Hmm... but magnifiying glass will distort yah?QUOTE]

No distortion whatsoever.

 

[enivre]

Hmm... but magnifiying glass will distort yah?QUOTE]

No distortion whatsoever.

Really? I just tried with my own magnifying glass cannot leh... will distort... unless it's a good magnifying glass?