Are you looking for an affordable but also electronic macro lens? Or maybe you have an old kit lens, that’s just sitting around, collecting dust since your last upgrade?
Well, then read on, because in this article I am going to share one cool hack that will allow you to transform almost any kit or standard zoom lens into a capable macro lens!
And I am not talking about reversing the lens or mounting it on extension tubes, we’re actually going to convert the lens for good. And it’s incredibly simple.
How to make a DIY phone macro lens from an old DVD player
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I pretty sure most of us have an old DVD player lying around and collecting dust. I know I do. Well, if you want to repurpose the outdated, broken or unused DVD player, photographer Raj Khepar will show you how to use one of its parts and make a DIY macro lens for your smartphone.
How to mod an old 35mm SLR lens to make your own DIY “Anamorfake” lens
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Anamorphic lenses have become very popular again, ever since somebody realised you could mount one to a DSLR and then stretch the footage out in post. But anamorphic lenses are not cheap, not by any stretch of the imagination. They do produce a very unique look, though, that a lot of people find attractive.
In this video from Todd Blankenship at Shutterstock, we see how to modify an older 35mm SLR lens to produce a similar look to an anamorphic lens.
This Youtuber made a real, working lens using sand and rocks
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We’ve seen some interesting DIY lenses, like those made from crap, an iceberg, or 3D-printed components. But have you ever seen a lens made from scratch? And by that, I mean sand, rocks, and metal turned into a lens? Well, Andy George of How To Make Everything took DIY to a whole new level. He combined raw sand, rocks, and metal with his knowledge and experience and made a working camera lens entirely from scratch!
This camera lens was made from an iceberg
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Photographer and filmmaker Mathieu Stern enjoys buying, modifying and even making his own weird lenses. He dreamt of his latest project for two years and now he’s finally made it – a lens made of ice. He traveled all the way to Iceland to be able to turn his idea into reality.
Making the ice lens came with a lot of challenges, but Mathieu managed to overcome them. He kindly shares with DIYP some photos and videos he took with this ice lens, as well as the story of how he made it. And it’s all really cool (no pun intended)!
This DIY 90mm f/2.8 Petzval lens looks like it came straight off the production line
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We’ve shown a few DIY lenses in the past, including a 3D printed lens. This one, though, really takes it to the extreme. Based on a Petzval design, Swedish camera maker Mats Wernersson built the lens completely from scratch. But looking at the final product, you’d never know it. It looks like it came straight from a factory production line.
No stranger to building cameras of all types and sizes, even digital, a lens appears to be a new first for Mats. The amount of work and attention to detail that’s gone into its construction shows a level of patience I definitely don’t possess.
The Crapinon 135mm – A DIY lens built from trash
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They say that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and that’s certainly true for weird lens addict, Mathieu Stern. He regularly finds treasure that others only see as garbage. This time, though, he’s taking things literally, building the Crapinon 135mm DIY lens.
Mathieu often trawls the local flea markets looking for bargains, oddities and rare lenses. On this particular trip, he discovered a box of rubbish, discarded after the market had shut down. Inside it, was an old unidentified lens. He decided to take it home, and see if he could get an image out of it.
Build your own Lensbaby style DIY soft-focus lens for under $15
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Constructing your own lens can seem like an impossible task. When you look at the amount of engineering in modern lenses, how can you possibly do it yourself? Well, you might not get quite the clarity of super high end lenses, but making your own is definitely doable. These days, you can even 3D print a lens, or a complete camera.
This video, though, by photographer Randy Snook, takes things down to the bare basics. Using little more than a couple of plumbing parts, a lens adapter ring, and a piece of glass, Randy builds a lens. The results really aren’t that bad, either, all things considered.
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