Garrett
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As always, thanks for the kind words!
While I photograph for my own personal enjoyment, first and foremost, it's always nice when my photos resonate with somebody else, too!
Here are a few more recent photos from my once- or twice-daily photo outings -- aka walks with my dog -- around my neighborhood:
All of these photos were taken handheld using a DIY modified, full-spectrum, Samsung NX500 / Contax 28/f2.8 lens @ f8 / ISO 100 and a Hoya R72 filter
I did it myself!
In fact, it was surprisingly easy -- I have some, but not a lot of experience in these matters -- and took me about an hour from start to finish. Here's a photo of the sensor removed from the body and just about to undergo removal of the hot filter / dust shaker / cover glass, which is held in place by just two screws:
Because I didn't replace the hot filter, et al with a piece of clear glass -- mostly because this was a spur-of-the-moment project and I didn't have one handy, but also because the adapted lenses I would be using were all manual-focus designs, with no floating elements (so their performance wouldn't suffer much if the modified optical length was off a teeny bit) and I thought they might perform slightly better without it -- and the camera is now capturing only IR light, which focuses at a different point than visible light, I did have to adjust the position of the sensor slightly so I could focus the lens(es) at infinity.
But that was also very easy to do, as the three adjustment points can be accessed by removing only the rear panel -- so there's no need to remove the main circuit board or the sensor again -- and they're spring loaded, so it was simply a matter of changing the tension on the springs with a hex wrench instead of changing shims.
IIRC, it took me only three rounds of adjustment to get the IR focus point dialed-in closely enough and required maybe 20 minutes of time from start to finish.
To my surprise, I have experienced no hot-spot issues with any of the five Contax / Yashica lenses I've used with the converted camera so far. Alas, the two widest lenses -- the 18/f4 and 25/f2.8 -- are unable to bend the IR light passing through them enough to crisply focus both the center and the corners at the same time, which results in very soft corners when one focuses on the center of the composition. For some photos, this isn't an issue, but for the type of photos I usually take, it is, so I won't be using those lenses on this camera again.
All in all, though, I'm very pleased with how this project has turned out, not least of which because the conversion cost me nothing but some time on a lazy weekend morning. Plus, it can be easily reversed if I ever wish to return the camera to its OEM configuration!
And even though the NX500's sensor technology dates from early 2015, it was among those at the bleeding edge of technology back then and even today, its 28.2 MP, backside illuminated design compares very favorably with the best APS-C sensors available.
Love it! Thanks. I'd rather break something trying to do it myself than pay the "experts". Just how I'm wired.
Same here. I do almost all of my home maintenance and repairs, plus my car maintenance and repairs -- including even replacing the engine in my Cayman that I blew up at the track by myself, in my garage, using just a floor jack! -- and I've even successfully represented myself in a court on various driving infractions.
If you want it done right, we often must DIY.
I won't ride any motorcycle until I check it over with a torque wrench. Brand new or ancient.
Tin Can
Bronze Statue, February 2019
Bronze Statue, February 2019
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