DIY lens of spectacle lenses

[ibiza123]

Has anybody tried to make experimental lens of spectacle lenses? Could you share your experience?

How to count what lenses should I buy to make a lens?

 

[D Cox]

I suggest you start by reading a good book on lens design, to get the basic ideas. The one by Cox (no relation) is good. "Photographic Optics" by Arthur Cox.

Close-up lenses, preferably achromats, are likely to be a better starting point than spectacle lenses. But you could mix the two.

 

[petrochemist]

I suggest you start by reading a good book on lens design, to get the basic ideas. The one by Cox (no relation) is good. "Photographic Optics" by Arthur Cox.

Close-up lenses, preferably achromats, are likely to be a better starting point than spectacle lenses. But you could mix the two.

+1

A cheap magnifying glass, or even Fresnel lens would like work better than spectacle lenses. Other sources of lenses to play with would be companies like Edmunds optics, (who sell individual elements in a range of sizes & focal lengths) and dismantled camera lenses.

Spectacles are generally fairly complex lenses often having correction for astigmatism as well as long/short sightedness. They will often also have their optical centers well away from the apparent center of the lens.

If you try using a spectacle lens as a macro diopter you might get some idea of haw complicated it might make things.

 

[OpticsEngineer]

As you mentioned, spectacle lenses are very different than normal lenses since they are designed for different look angles. The link below has some nice pictures to show that

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www.zemax.com

The text has some general information of interest. One can just ignore the Zemax lens design stuff.

But to the OPs question. Spectacle lenses are not all that good for other uses.

But as far as re-purposing a lens that was made for something else, the Raynox add-on camera lenses serve as quite good magnifying glasses for use by eye.

 

[DrHook59]

I made a macro lens recently for my little Canon S120, utilising some adapter rings, a Marumi 200 and a plastic cup. There's a thread about it on the Macro forum. It works like a charm - better magnification at a longer working distance, with full AF as normal. I can also add a Raynox to the mix as well for further magnification.

 

[E Dinkla]

The macro shots look very good. Better cameras and dedicated lenses can be used worse in my opinion.

I am guilty of cannibalising old, big, defective zooms with odd lens mounts so below $10 prices. Good source for screws, springs, helix, cilinders etc for other projects. So there is a box with glass elements all carefully wrapped in soft paper. One day a Frankenstein prime lens could appear, 3D body, borrowed aperture, Chinese mounting plate. Will have a character without doubt.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
750+ inkjet paper white spectral plots: OBA content etc.
http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm

 

[DrHook59]

That would be fun to see. I'm not technical enough in the camera department to make a proper lens but I do like tinkering with stuff in general. Good luck with it!

 

[E Dinkla]

That would be fun to see. I'm not technical enough in the camera department to make a proper lens but I do like tinkering with stuff in general. Good luck with it!

It will not be in this category, the man has skills:

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
750+ inkjet paper white spectral plots: OBA content etc.

spectrumviz_1

 

[DrHook59]

Golly, that's brilliant! I have a screw-driver and some sandpaper but that's about it!