3-D printing lenses

[Barry S]

http://formlabs.com/en/company/blog/2014/09/24/lenses-3D-printed-formlabs/

I think this is promising--especially for soft-focus and other funky types of lenses where aberrations are welcomed. With some careful polishing, I think you'll eventually be able to print some simple ULF lenses that would otherwise be difficult to find or extremely expensive. This is just the start.

 

[M Carter]

Pardon my shouting, but HOLY CRAP THAT IS AWESOME!!!!

I've done a lot of work in the film days shooting product through huge magnifying glass, etc, looking for abberations and coolness. This looks amazing. I've already gotten quite good at 3D for printing (making a head-mounted HDMI monitor for steadicam work - badassery!!!) and this is intriguing.

However, this may mean I spend hours and hours understanding multi-element lenses, etc... I do the occasional music video...

What about printing an anamorphic lens?? See, there I go...