My new lens: the leicadiana

[washy21]

Built by Brian Sweeney

I asked him to build me a Holga style lens for the M8 and he had dreamed up this.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldcamerapictures/

He PM'd me and said it's like a diana so obviously it becomes named leicadiana.

Anyway, I've never met Brian, but the way in which he has dealt with me and my request is certainly worthy of a mention because it was simply outstanding.

I'm into the concept of alternative photography so it will be interesting time.

😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I decided on an aperture disk for this lens. I mounted a Series VI filter holder and made several aperture masks. I figured that it would give more flexibility in making various shapes to experiment with Bokeh. Also would be interesting to make a mask with many small cutouts. I got lucky in that the rear light baffle of the I-61 was perfect for mounting the 50mm FL, 25mm Diameter lens. It is collimated, and is RF coupled.

Erik's lens had a front mounted Aperture.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I have not used the lens, just got finished making it. I do have pictures taken with Erik's lens. This is the first lens That I've made with a disk. The Sun just popped out, so I'll put it on the Bessa R2. This is one case when TTL metering is a real advantage!

 

[erikhaugsby]

So is that a Holga-ish plastic one-element lens in an I-61 body, or something totally different?

 

[raid]

Brian is a genius with lenses.
I have from him a custom Luxon 50mm/2.0 LTM that Brian crafted from a Paxette lens that is very hard to find, plus a the shell of a special type J-3. I bought the Luxon and Brian had the J-3 shell.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I used a Bi-Convex 50mm FL 25mm Diameter lens, mounted on the I-61 focus mount. These type of optics are available from Edmund's, Surplus-Shack, and Anchor Optics. It produces a center-sharp image, and "gets wild" off-center. A Meniscus type lens would be better behaved at the edges.

 

[Morca007]

I can hardly wait to see the results from this lens!

 

[washy21]

I can hardly wait to see the results from this lens!

Should be back within a week to ten days. I wonder how it will sit alongdside the noctilux 😱 and my summilux🙄

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Got a test roll back, tried out the "Leica Diana" lens on the Bessa R2.

This is full-frame, on the M8 the crop factor will get rid of the outermost edges. This lens has some interesting field-curvature! It is Collimated, and RF coupled.

 

[marke]

Cool, Brian! How much do get something built like this?

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The I61 was supplied to me, and I had the 50mm FL 25mm diameter double-convex element and the filter holder from a "box of junk" . I need to check Edmunds for parts. The most expensive part is the I61 mount, probably another $20 for the optic and series VI retaining ring. The "dumb-Luck" part is the light baffle from the I61 was perfect for mounting the double-convex lens, and it collimated by gluing into place.

 

[Athos6]

That would be really cool for foggy/snowy/rainy cityscapes or creepy rural stuff. Dang it Brian I have you stop reading posts of your stuff 🙂

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I came across the single element lens in a box of junk. Edmund Scientific, Anchoroptics, and Surplusshack have suitable optics for experimenting with. Typically, they run $10 or less. The I-61 makes a good donor mount. So a 50mm focal length will RF couple, once you get the stand-off the correct distance. On this optic, it was easy.

 

[hans voralberg]

Looks mighty good Erik, did you built yours ?

 

[washy21]

OMG can't wait for it to arrive Brian - it looks just like what I was after. I was green with envy when I saw Erik's lens and the pictures he created; I just had to have one.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Erik started a thread on another forum wanting to turn the M8 into a Diana/Holga type camera. I could not resist the challenge. And it -had- to be RF coupled.