Who uses funky lenses?

Luseboy · May 12, 2011

Hello,
So i am anxiously awaiting the arrival of a box of shutters and random optics which i am receiving as a trade for anothe LF lens that I have. I like the idea of a funky lens look, bokeh, tight focus parameters, etc. I was wondering who else uses lenses like this? I guess you could call them broken, but i like the wierd lens look (i.e.- sally mann). Just curious as to who else shares this?
-Austin

Dave_ON · May 13, 2011

I bought a shutter and adapter rings to reverse an enlarging lens on my 4x5, but I haven't had a chance to experiment with them yet.

Reinhold · May 13, 2011

I've started making soft focus lenses after playing around with the odd bits in my junk drawer.

Take a look at what can be done with a simple meniscus lens...
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These things are not only fun, they're beautiful.

Reinhold

www.classicBWphoto.com

Luseboy · May 13, 2011

Dave: that sounds interesting. Use it and post some images on here!

Reinhold: I saw this, and attempted to replicate it with a close-up filter that i had. it seems that i don't have enough bellows draw for the single-meniscus, it's awful! oh well i guess i'll be using plastic optics and smaller format cells on a copal shutter os something. Not really sure what is going to happen at this point, but we will see. It's funny because my other lens is a schneider, which, as you most likely know, is a very fine lens.
-Austin

Rick A · May 13, 2011

I have a box full of bits and bobs that are fun to play with. My faves are 6x9 or 6x6 lenses(80-100mm). For some reason, I'm fascinated with the port-hole look of the image(vignetting). I recently swapped a lens that I regret giving up, a 6-1/2" Rapid Aplanat that had a most wonderful bokeh.

Whiteymorange · May 13, 2011

Luseboy,
I use all sorts of junk to make images and I spend lots of time with cadged together lens boards and improvised shutters playing with lenses that have no right to be on a camera. One of my favorite is the objective lens from a set of binoculars. Right now I'lm playing with a series of projection lenses from the first half of the 20th century, but magnifying glasses, condenser lenses, viewfinders from cheap TLR's... just about anything that will resolve an image gets a try out. I have bags of the things and keep buying/trading/finding more. It's just plain fun.

thicktheo · May 13, 2011

I've been using projection lenses on my speed graphic and I consistently get great results* out of them:

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...the lens used in all these photos is a Leitz Wetzlar Hektor 150mm/f2.5 - barely covers 4x5, as you can see.

*: technically they're great results, artistically they're nothing special - I usually get carried away by the image I see on the ground glass and I forget all about creativity, composition, etc...

removed account4 · May 13, 2011

hi luseboy --

a big YES!

im a fan of harvesting broken junk lenses off of junk folders
and / or buying plano convex cells from the surplus shed,
or unscrewing lenses and using elements with other lenses and ..

just having a good time

john

ps it helps when you have a focal plane shutter

bwrules · May 13, 2011

A friend uses a lens with a completely scratched front element. Lovely.

erikg · May 13, 2011

I do, or try to. Pentac, Cooke speedic, fast tessars, aero ektar, a graf variable i'm trying to master. It's a weird road to go down. John's right, a camera with a focal plane shutter is a great thing to have around, opens up a lot of possible combos.

Theo, I love the look of that Hektor, who knew? very nice.

Jim Noel · May 13, 2011

I use any lens I find whether on a camera or not. Magnifying glasses are a lotof fun. I take lenses off $1 yard sale cameras - you name it, I use it.

bwrules · May 13, 2011

Jim Noel said:
I use any lens I find whether on a camera or not. Magnifying glasses are a lotof fun. I take lenses off $1 yard sale cameras - you name it, I use it.

Sounds great. If I were to experiment like this, what camera can do this? Thanks.

jakyamuni · May 13, 2011

For lenses like this, you don't have a shutter... so the most likely camera to do this on is a Speed Graphic. I use any sort of salvaged lens I can on my 3x4 Graphic... from lenses from broken cameras to enlarging lenses and more. Right now I'm working with a 50mm Pentax lens from a 35mm camera... it will enlarge anywhere between 1.75x and 3.125x, depending on bellows.

Rick A · May 13, 2011

Most of my playing is done on a Calumet cc-400 or cc-401, because the lensboards are simple 4x4 and can be made from anything from cardboard to wood and metal. Most of mine are mat board, and I fasten lenses with hot melt glue. I'm waiting for an adapter board for my Cambo so I can use my Calumet 4x4 boards on it.

Toffle · May 13, 2011

Sounds like there is a fair number of us who are playing with mismatched bits of glass. I have cadged together a couple of odd bad imitations of old Petzvals, but I have had the most success with a Dollar Store magnifying glass. (the only glass I have at the time being that fully covers 8x10)

bwrules · May 13, 2011

I would actually pay someone to take a lens off my broken Olympus 35 SP and put it on some other manual 35mm.

Luseboy · May 13, 2011

I'm glad to find that i'm not alone. Theo, your results are amazing! this is very similar to the look i am looking for. I really like your images! Well i'm getting my box of fun soon, and in the meantime, i'm going to take the glass out of this old 620 camera i have that isn't useable. I am going to play around with a magnifying glass too. I was also thinking of maybe taking the bottom of a coke bottle and polishing it. I know thats extreme and crazy, but has anyone else had this thought? would probably make a pretty nice image if you got it polished enough.

Richard S. (rich815) · May 13, 2011

Great stuff thicktheo!

willrea · May 13, 2011

rich815 said:
Great stuff thicktheo!

Almost wants to make me trade in my Shen-Hao so I can play with lenses like that.

Luseboy · May 13, 2011

Well i just pulled apart that little tlr. I think i'm going to make a lens around the, i'm not sure what to call it, basically what is used instead of a fresnel lens in a cheap camera, sort of like a magnifying glass. it looks cool, focused on to a piece of paper, focusing the light that comes in from my window.

thicktheo · May 14, 2011

Thank you, rich815.

willrea said:
Almost wants to make me trade in my Shen-Hao so I can play with lenses like that.

...you don't have to trade in your Shen-Hao, just spend ~150$ on an old Anniversary Speed Graphic - they are are dirt cheap (because they don't have a graflok back), and their lensboards are simple 4x4inch squares and easy to make.

...oh, and that Hektor lens cost me... 10 british pounds or something.

Luseboy · May 16, 2011

I ended up mounting the wierd glass inside the tlr onto a spare lens board that i have. It turns out to be super wide-angle and does not cover 4x5. I plan to use it when i get a shutter for it. I also took apart a magnifying glass, and tried mounting that. looks really cool too. I'm going to buy some $10 wooden lens boards off ebay and start messing around with different lenses. should be fun. How do I figure out what f-stop to meter with? that's the only thing that's holding me back at this point.
-Austin

Luseboy · May 16, 2011

I ended up mounting the wierd glass inside the tlr onto a spare lens board that i have. It turns out to be super wide-angle and does not cover 4x5. I plan to use it when i get a shutter for it. I also took apart a magnifying glass, and tried mounting that. looks really cool too. I'm going to buy some $10 wooden lens boards off ebay and start messing around with different lenses. should be fun. How do I figure out what f-stop to meter with? that's the only thing that's holding me back at this point.
-Austin

gandolfi · May 16, 2011

do you mean like this...

Luseboy · May 16, 2011

gandolfi said:
do you mean like this...

Yes I think that counts... lol. For one i did not know that rollei made an slr, but for two, please post some results from that!

Who uses funky lenses?

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