Below is a picture of the lenses I currently (June 2009) am playing with:
This is a listing with the lens descriptions. The top two are the aperture blanks. The others are numbered from the top left to the bottom right.
June 9, 2009
April 26, 2009
My Pinhole Day Entry
Here is my entry taken on April 26, 2009. Canon XTi
If you see another number photo than 789 come up try refreshing. There are three photos named Playground and it seems to be occasionally causing the wrong one to appear.
Playground
April 5, 2009
Spring Is Here ! At Least Until Tomorrow …….
We got a reprieve today. Last night the forecast was for 1-3 inches of snow and overcast for today. The snow did not fall and the Sun has been out all day. I took the time to take a few pictures with my Canon XTi with a Sears 50/1.4 M42 lens mounted with an adapter.
These were all taken at f1.4 to try out the small depth of field. I guess I am not going to have to spend money on a new EF Canon 50/1.4 lens. The Sears lens had been pushed into the back of a drawer after I compared it to my Canon EF 50/1.8 metal mount in relation to the additional brightness available. I just never considered using it seriously for actual photography. The DOF difference and the brightness have made me a believer, also it is nice to have a metal lens.
Anyone know the years of manufacture/sale for the Sears lens? Also, what company manufactured it ?
March 31, 2009
Kodak Bimat Lens Is Finally Mounted and New Pinhole Lens Almost Done
It took longer than anticipated due to my midstream change to using a bellows for future mounting of old lenses to my Canon XTi.
The original method I was using involved purchasing an old lens, then removing all the optics, then getting the focal length set correctly, then taking the optics out of the old lens, and mounting the old optics. This was very time consuming.
Now I have a M42 screw type bellows mounted to the XTi via a focus confirming adapter (soon to be replaced with one of the new custom settings version). Then all that is needed is to directly glue the lens to an M42 screw type macro tube. Then screw on the lens to the bellows and shoot. Much easier and cheaper. As a bonus the lens is not harmed except for the glue used in the mounting.
Today I have finished the old M42 135mm mount for the pinhole project. All that is left is a quick visit to Mr Pinhole’s Website to get the dimension for the pinhole itself and then just get it mounted to try it out. I hope to be able to use this for Pinhole Day 2009.
Photos will follow when the Sun comes out (sometime in June I believe).
March 27, 2009
New M42 to EOS Adapter With User Changeable Custom Settings
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER ADAPTER INFORMATION ON MY BLOG
Today I received the user changeable adapter. The first hint that it wasn’t the ’standard’ chip was the default f1.4 rather than the f2.0 on the screen.
The directions say it can be used to set aperture value, focal length, calibration for front and back focus, and switch between AF/MF mode. I am only interested right now in the focal length and aperture – but the others I will play with later.
(eBay item #350132914444 – you have to ask for the new chip and pay a small premium for it.)
I quickly 
programed it by the use of my one right hand and my two left hands, both with two thumbs. In all, I was successful after the 16th attempt (I kept count on a stroke sheet). The first 15 were just getting used to the instructions. I finally got a handle on it when I tried the alternative method of entering the command mode using the AI SERVO mode.
Now I had an adapter set for 65mm focal length (EXIF info only) and f5.6. I mounted the old M42 lens body containing the VPK Meniscus lens and no aperture mechanism. This being the reason I wanted the adapter – the fixed aperture value.
The Sun was almost set, so I was able to shoot in AV mode against the Sun and every other direction and then to top it off, a shot at the side of the house in very dense shade. I shot with RAW and JPG (I was using the XTi).
Last week I did almost the same thing with my earlier f2.0 adapter and one half of the RAW were seriously dark to full black. The results tonight were very well exposed RAW in all shots. The EXIF showed the 65mm focal length, the aperture of f5.6 and the varying shutter speeds. AND it is also a focus confirming chip.
I am very happy overall and I will be ordering two more as soon as the pension check is deposited next week. This adapter is black anodized aluminum.
To prove it wasn’t a fluke, I dismounted the adapter and lens, mounted an AF lens, shot some with it and then remounted the MF adapter and lens. The settings were still there.
Now I have to wait for a decent day to go out and have some fun with this 90 year old lens.
March 15, 2009
Pinhole Update
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER ADAPTER INFORMATION ON MY BLOG
Since I have been ‘collecting’ quite a few M42 135mm lenses to use as ‘host bodies’ with the various old Kodak lenses, I find myself with an ‘extra’. I am going to put a pinhole holder inside on the helical focusing section. This will allow me to easily use various size pinholes at different focal lengths with my Canon XTi. The dismal body cap pinhole images I have gotten after several tries at pinhole sizing are making me rethink how best to use a DSLR and a pinhole. I am going to make sure that I use the RAW format in an attempt to circumvent the JPG software gremlin inside.
The very best images from any of my pinhole cameras come from the Yashica A conversion. I am fairly sure this is due to the twin lens system it has. I am able to focus and frame the shot with the top lens. I feel that since both lenses move on the same platform and both lenses are very close to the same distance from the film plane, that the focus does actually work. Using this premise, I will build the above mentioned lens for use on the DSLR’s.
With the upcoming Pinhole Day 2009 on April 26, 2009, I have a month to build and experiment with the concept. How to make the changeable holder for the pinholes seems to be the toughest part of the project.
This pinhole project and putting the Kodak Bimat lens in a 135mm host body are on the ‘to do’ list today.
December 10, 2008
Update on the Duaflex IV Part2
The shutter on the Duaflex stopped working during the night. I perhaps should have left the punch and hammer on the workbench nearby.
I figured it was time for disassembly of the winding mechanism and shutter button by removing the side cover. It always looks simple, just remove two screws and voila! , there it is all neat and pretty, just waiting for you to quietly and slowly begin the examination. NOT! As usual in these things, as soon as the second screw was loosened, parts started shifting and by the time the cover was lifted there were parts all over the workbench. Gratefully, it all went back together with a minimum of fuss and bother, I put a couple of small drops of sewing machine oil on the plastic springs, pivot points, etc and re-assembled.
At this point it is time for Murphy’s Law to come forth. It did. The shutter would still not work correctly (please remember that at this juncture both lenses and the aperture wheel are gone, and a new pinhole has been cemented in place.), then, out of nowhere an oblong hole near the inside bottom of the camera appeared. I know what you think – it was there all the time – I know better – it manifested itself. Anyways- a small drop of oil on the pivot point inside freed up the shutter instantly. Whether or not the last one drop of oil would have been all that was needed I don’t know. But, it would be a good place to start if you find yourself with a sticky shutter Duaflex IV and, of course, if that oblong hole is already there.
December 9, 2008
Update on the Duaflex IV Part1
This camera is a forerunner of the current method of building automobiles on assembly line using robots. The parts that are most likely to need adjustment or replacing are mounted first, then everything else is glued, stapled and welded over them.
Short version- using pliers, tin snips and screwdrivers- I removed the entire lower lens assembly except for the shutter. Suddenly, it started working. The pin punch and 20 ounce ball peen hammer I was about to use must have intimidated it.
So, it will be a pinhole sprocket hole camera (perhaps a new name is needed here – perhaps “2HPS” Camera) ?
I do have a possible tip/suggestion for pinhole cameras. This is untried and certainly there are people who have scientific ‘proof’ that it will not work without even trying it. To prevent tiny pieces of dust from getting in the pinhole, I am going to glue a ’slip cover’ over the pinhole. A slip cover in this context is a piece of very thin glass normally used to cover specimens on microscope slides. If this works, it would also help stop the supposed introduction of dust into DSLR cameras when the mirror operates when using a pinhole cap – something I have reservations about. I personally feel the dust in DSLR’s when using pinhole caps is introduced via that two inch hole that is open to the world when lenses and body caps are removed and replaced. Or, is that silly, thinking that more dust will come in via a two inch hole than through a .3mm hole when the mirror moves ?
I feel the massive influx of dust in DSLR’s when using a pinhole body cap is more probably dust that was already on the sensor. Dust on the sensor is very hard to notice in normal usage with optical lenses and the opposite is true with pinhole lenses. Each and every piece of dust on the sensor is visible when looking at an enlarged digital image from a pinhole camera. The dust is the most in focus part of the picture. It is then very easy to look for some devious method of dust introduction upon one’s sensor than admitting one’s sensor was already dirty.
