Sony RX100-II modification test
This Orchard Orb Weaver hanging in her web was taken with a Sony RX100-II camera fitted with a special set of rings that allow mounting any of my supplemental lenses for increasing magnification. A friend gave me the camera after moving up to something "better". It had been dropped, but looked undamaged. The price was right... free. The small protective panels that cover the lens wouldn't close properly at first, but the problem disappeared with a little use. The camera works great, but I really prefer to use one having a viewfinder, not just a screen, so I built a special housing for it that eliminates any problem shooting in bright light.
For this photo (a single shot cropped to eliminate vignetting), of one of my favorite "test" subjects... spinnerets extruding silk, the camera was zoomed out to maximum and a Soligor Elitar 38mm f/1.9 lens was mounted on a special set of rings permanently attached to the "function" wheel on the body. Working distance is very limited... about 8mm. Field width in this image is 6mm. Lighting was provided by the tiny on-camera flash shot through a diffuser made from a white plastic bowl that comes in a "healthy Choice" frozen dinner. See...
www.flickr.com/photos/61377404@N08/48762829361/in/datepos...
This Elitar is extremely sharp, but with its short working distance and vignetting being problematic at times, I've been hunting for a good alternative... and found one by accident when disassembling a junk Minolta 35-70mm auto-focus lens, one of a pair of identical junk lens "gifted" by a friend. Disassembling the lens produced useless back and front negative lens elements, but a superb internal "zooming" lens group in a small cell. This has been mounted in a special mount for fitting onto the front of any lens. Shooting with the RX100-II, it produced a full frame razor sharp image having a field width of 14mm at a working distance of 35mm. Sample photos coming soon.
According to the instructions that came with a Sony VFA49R1 filter adapter kit that I ordered (and decided not to use), you cannot mount anything onto the lens that exceeds 30 grams in weight. Almost all my supplemental lenses weigh far more than that so another anchor point had to be chosen... the function wheel being ideal.
Here, the intent was to see if I could hold the camera steady enough to get a reasonably sharp image of multiple strands of silk emerging from the spinnerets. Working distance was exceedingly short and my flash diffuser repeatedly touched the web, sending her fleeing to her hiding place under a shingle. Eventually she'd settle down and return to her web, allowing a few more attempts. Focusing was done by viewing the screen image using a simple binocular viewer rigged to allow me to see a clear magnified image. Once the camera's auto-focus locks on the subject, the magnifier allows accurate "push-pull" fine focusing. I'll post pics of the special modification to the camera, and details of the special housing that prevents screen glare in bright light.
DSC-1640G
Sony RX100-II modification test
This Orchard Orb Weaver hanging in her web was taken with a Sony RX100-II camera fitted with a special set of rings that allow mounting any of my supplemental lenses for increasing magnification. A friend gave me the camera after moving up to something "better". It had been dropped, but looked undamaged. The price was right... free. The small protective panels that cover the lens wouldn't close properly at first, but the problem disappeared with a little use. The camera works great, but I really prefer to use one having a viewfinder, not just a screen, so I built a special housing for it that eliminates any problem shooting in bright light.
For this photo (a single shot cropped to eliminate vignetting), of one of my favorite "test" subjects... spinnerets extruding silk, the camera was zoomed out to maximum and a Soligor Elitar 38mm f/1.9 lens was mounted on a special set of rings permanently attached to the "function" wheel on the body. Working distance is very limited... about 8mm. Field width in this image is 6mm. Lighting was provided by the tiny on-camera flash shot through a diffuser made from a white plastic bowl that comes in a "healthy Choice" frozen dinner. See...
www.flickr.com/photos/61377404@N08/48762829361/in/datepos...
This Elitar is extremely sharp, but with its short working distance and vignetting being problematic at times, I've been hunting for a good alternative... and found one by accident when disassembling a junk Minolta 35-70mm auto-focus lens, one of a pair of identical junk lens "gifted" by a friend. Disassembling the lens produced useless back and front negative lens elements, but a superb internal "zooming" lens group in a small cell. This has been mounted in a special mount for fitting onto the front of any lens. Shooting with the RX100-II, it produced a full frame razor sharp image having a field width of 14mm at a working distance of 35mm. Sample photos coming soon.
According to the instructions that came with a Sony VFA49R1 filter adapter kit that I ordered (and decided not to use), you cannot mount anything onto the lens that exceeds 30 grams in weight. Almost all my supplemental lenses weigh far more than that so another anchor point had to be chosen... the function wheel being ideal.
Here, the intent was to see if I could hold the camera steady enough to get a reasonably sharp image of multiple strands of silk emerging from the spinnerets. Working distance was exceedingly short and my flash diffuser repeatedly touched the web, sending her fleeing to her hiding place under a shingle. Eventually she'd settle down and return to her web, allowing a few more attempts. Focusing was done by viewing the screen image using a simple binocular viewer rigged to allow me to see a clear magnified image. Once the camera's auto-focus locks on the subject, the magnifier allows accurate "push-pull" fine focusing. I'll post pics of the special modification to the camera, and details of the special housing that prevents screen glare in bright light.
DSC-1640G