Sean
Admin
I had been experimenting with cheap plastic lens 35mm cameras and liked the single lens element look a lot. I've now taken it a step further. I bought a slr with a 35-70 zoom (just a used cheap ricoh off an auction site). I then completely gutted the lens barrel out, but left the focusing part near the front in tact without glass. I then stripped a 4x Calumet photographic loupe down to it's single glass element which was attached to a 1.5inch tube around it. The tube (with a little sanding) fit PERFECTLY inside the top part of the lens barrel focusing mechanism within the barrel. When it's all mounted I have a single element slr with a great focusing range and a lightproof lens mount. The center area looks very sharp and then focus gradually falls off nearing the edges. It also gives that characteristic look with a single element (the one that makes life size objects look like small models). Can't wait to run a test roll through it. I'll post pics of the mod soon. I've seen some similar mods using rubber and glue, but this one is perfect without using a major contraption (I can even place filters on the front of the barrel). Oh, and it was a lot of fun building it 
