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Hack a 50 year old Russian film camera and repurpose its lens for modern DSLRs

Mar 31, 2016 by John Aldred 4 Comments

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lomo_t43

When it comes to ridiculously cheap but very useful lenses, you’d be hard pushed to beat 40+ year old Russian technology, and this suggestion from Mathieu Stern is no exception.

We’ve shown you a few repurposed lenses in the past, but this one’s a little more readily available and quite a bit less expensive.

Torn from the clutches of a Smena 8M 35mm film camera, the Lomo T43 40mm f/4 lens is a perfect example of an old super low budget lens that can be adapted to work with modern kit to produce some outstanding results.

lomo_t43_001

With the assistance of some foam, and an M42 helicoid to provide focusing, mounting this lens to a DSLR is quite straightforward.

lomo_t43_002

Here’s the full video on how to extract and modify the lens for use with DSLRs.

As you can see from some of the sample shots contained in the video, the results are rather impressive.

lomo_t43_003

lomo_t43_004

lomo_t43_005

Have you torn apart any old cameras for their lenses to use on your DSLRs or mirrorless cameras?  Let us know in the comments, and show us what you’ve shot with them.

[via reddit]

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Related posts:

Lomography unveils Daguerreotype-inspired Achromat lens for modern-day DSLRs What’s Up Hong Kong? Russian Photographers Climb The China Online Center; Hack Electronic Billboard Shooting with a 50+ year old Russian lens on a Sony A7RII Shooting outdoor flash portraits with a 50 year old M42 lens on a modern mirrorless body

Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: camera hacks, lens, Lomo, M42, Repurposed Lens

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

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