I Made the "Next-Level" Camera and I love it
4 hours ago
- #DIY-photography
- #depth-of-field-adapter
- #camera-lens-hacking
- The Helios 44 lens has a 29mm aperture; larger apertures create more background blur because bigger lenses produce wider cones of light rays, leading to stronger out-of-focus effects.
- Phone cameras have small lenses, limiting their ability to achieve background blur, while larger lenses like the Sigma 135mm f1.4 (96mm aperture) offer more blur but are zoomed-in and physically constrained from combining wide angles with large apertures.
- A workaround uses a projector lens (Charles Beseler 18\" Series III) with an estimated 125mm aperture, adapted via a large fake sensor (42cm by 29cm) and a depth-of-field adapter to simulate a wider field of view on a standard camera sensor.
- Building the adapter requires a dark box, a frosted diffusion film as a fake sensor, a fresnel lens to reduce vignetting, and custom bellows made from IKEA curtains to adjust distances while blocking light.
- The system, named Lampone, achieves thin depth of field but has limitations: long minimum focusing distance, light loss (~3 stops), size/weight issues, and visible texture from components; improvements are planned for stability and image quality.