My new lens: the leicadiana

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washy21

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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.

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
 
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.

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Erik's lens had a front mounted Aperture.

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

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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.
 
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.
 
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 :)
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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