New 75mm Hypergon Lens

[Mark Sampson]

It seems that any truly special-purpose device like the Hypergon, new or old, will have a considerable learning curve.
But once you get it figured out----!!
Best of luck to all of you, who want to photograph everything in front of them on one sheet of film.
I look forward to seeing your results.

[ic-racer]

Here is a shot made several years ago in Skagway Alaska with my original 75mm hypergon. The exposure if I remember right was one minute with the fan followed by 6 seconds full exposure. That would be a 10:1 ratio, it sorta worked for me on that cloudy rainy day still a bit uneven. The lens is reasonably sharp but not perfect.

Attachment 244868

window detail Attachment 244867

Wow that is great! Exposure is very even! Thanks for posting.

[ic-racer]

To free up an extra hand I have made a darkslide holder out of those clamps one places on potato chip bags to keep them fresh.

Also, in terms of the squeeze bulb and spinner, even though the makers of the reproduction lens have done an excellent job, it would be wise to make sure the nozzle position is optimized for maximum performance. I noticed that the air flow just barely clears the circular ring and if the circular ring impedes the flow just a little, the performance of the squeeze bulb falls off.

[amansjeanphilippe]

Hello
is it easy to move the little tube to do adjustments?
Thanks
J.Ph.

[Kiwi7475]

Here's my first example with the new Hypergon. I followed ic-racer's cue and painted the fan in black -- I used Krylon Camouflage Ultra Flat because it's what I had on hand.

The shot is taken a few inches away from the table, at F32, exposure was 1 sec w/o fan and 5 sec w/ fan spinning. Film is Foma Retropan 320 (because it's what I had on hand that is cheap), developed with Rodinal 1:50 for 16min @ 20C. I apologize for the low quality of the pic -- this is just an inverted iPhone picture of the negative in its sleeve, but it shows how there's no reflection issues (I didn't take a shot prior to painting it though).

It's quite an undertake to use this lens. At a minimum aperture of F22 you need quite a bit of sunlight to focus accurately. But you don't want so much light that the exposure at F32 becomes very short (I use the cap as a shutter, so I wanted something in the at least ~1 sec range). Then you need to make sure everything is leveled in all 3 axis -- unless you want the distortions that would ensue. And obviously you need to operate it twice, with a without fan. I used the cap in between, and I'm happy to see my hands didn't show. I applied 2 coatings of paint so the fan was quite snug to the lens and removing it takes some effort (this will likely improve with use as the paint erodes around the contact edges).

[mamaluke]

May I ask what is the cheapest setup possible to use this lens?

I have my Zone VI 8x10 camera with bellow press all the way to the tightest, but the lens is still far from getting infinity focused. I am thinking if there is any 3D printed camera out there available, but the widest possible is for 90mm.

I more or less buy this lens for the fun and experience of using it, rather than doing real serious photography, so a dedicated well built body is quite a non-sense to me.

[mamaluke]

To lens maker: I do think a simple 3D printed camera body for this lens will make it sells better. Consider make one.

[amansjeanphilippe]

Hello

May I ask what is the cheapest setup possible to use this lens?

I have my Zone VI 8x10 camera with bellow press all the way to the tightest, but the lens is still far from getting infinity focused. I am thinking if there is any 3D printed camera out there available, but the widest possible is for 90mm.

I more or less buy this lens for the fun and experience of using it, rather than doing real serious photography, so a dedicated well built body is quite a non-sense to me.

Maybe this Ebay seller could do a 75mm version of his camera...
J.Ph.

[Mark Sampson]

I'm happy to se users posting pictures. That is ridiculously wide- yesterday I had my 4x5 out with my rarely-used 75mm lens, and the prospect of that focal length on 8x10 is is truly amazing.

[ic-racer]

I had to work over the holidays, so I was not able to use mine at all. I have a few free days, so I'll try and make some more images. I did get a squeeze bulb and I made a darkslide holder.