Cameraphone DVD macro lens hack

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By Adam Flaherty
Posted 2009/08/25 @ 2:00 am
Category Computers & Mobile, Photography & Video

Even if you’ve got a newer phone with an auto-focus lens you may still be able to take advantage of this resourceful macro lens hack. Disassemble an old DVD player for the lens, fabricate a lens holder out of cardboard, and place it before the standard lens with some poster mount, and you’ve got yourself a decent DIY macro lens.

[cnflikt via DIYphotography]

BY Adam Flaherty

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5 Responses to Cameraphone DVD macro lens hack

salsa on August 25th, 2009 at 10:54 am said:

Very nice! I like the vignetting on these shots. I’ve gotten great results with my iPhone using a lens from a disposable camera– it’s a little plastic dome with a lip, so it’s easy to keep one nearby with a little duct or gaffer tape. Example close-up here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/salsaviz/2474038774/
(yes, makers always seem to have scrap PCBs around…:)
Stores with photo developing stations usually have a bin of disposable cameras, and people who work there have been happy to hand over a few when I explain I’m working on projects. CAREFUL when taking them apart since they have big capacitors which are usually partially charged– easy to discharge with a screwdriver.

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Anonymous on August 26th, 2009 at 5:13 am said:

Does this work with CD player lenses, too?

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NERD on August 26th, 2009 at 8:09 am said:

Will this work with a lens from a gaming system?\

Ex: PS3, PS2, Xbox.. etc.

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Morten Skogly on September 25th, 2009 at 12:23 pm said:

Nice! I tried this with my iPhone and it works great. The pictures turned out really interesting, you can see them on my blog over at http://pappmaskin.no/2009/09/diyhow-to-make-your-own-iphone-macro-lens/

I used the lens from an older cd-rom drive, but it magnified the image way more than the examples on this page, which I find really interesting. I think I will have to test different lenses, and perhaps try to find some kind of solution for holding several different lenses to make it easy to swap them?

I am also curious about the black vignette around the edges. I just taped my lens with clear tape straight to the phone, which works well, but I like the effect of the vignette here, I suppose it comes from the cardboard that perhaps is a little higher than the lens and therefore casts a shadow? Must be experiented with!

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Damian on November 29th, 2009 at 8:22 am said:

http://www.makroshots.com

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