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Lensball in an optical tube

Started Sep 18, 2018 | Discussions thread
ProfHankD
ProfHankD Veteran Member • Posts: 9,147
A 3D-Printed Ball Lens Mount

I purchased a 30mm "clear crystal ball" and made a 3D-printed mount for it to be used with a Canon PowerShot ELPH180 (or similar camera):

The mount has three printed parts. The mount fits the ball in the front, which is then locked in place by screwing the lock part over it. The whole rig is then connected to the PowerShot by screwing-in the printed 1/4-20 bolt to the camera tripod socket. It looks very cute....

I purchased a 30mm "clear crystal ball" for $4 on eBay, shipped from the USA. They start around $2 from China. Anyway, the one I got has multiple nicks, a couple of significant inclusions, and isn't all that close to being spherical.

The image quality is unfortunately as poor as expected. A door peephole produces better image quality. However, you can judge for yourself:

This is a flat poster -- there just isn't enough DoF for imaging the ball

Obvious distortion from this ball not being circular

 ProfHankD's gear list:ProfHankD's gear list
Canon PowerShot SX530 Olympus TG-860 Sony a7R II Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Sony a6500 +32 more
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