You're DIY approach to photography is saving us all from that gear want loop, that we as photographers get stuck in. Instead of obsessing over F stops and slightly different focal lengths, that cost you thousands... its what old lens from old tech can we fix with a 3D printer for 5 cent. You are a godsend for us broke camera nerds.
One small tip: When you clean and insert the outer elements it's best to first screw down the retaining ring before giving the outside surface a final clean and/or using the blower. Otherwise you might end up accidentally lifting the lens element thought the air pressure and push dust inside the barrel.
Your timing is incredible. I'm planning to do exactly this sort of thing and was wondering if I could find any examples of others doing it. You've absolutely convinced me, can't wait to get going on this.
I've been doing this on all sorts of lenses I pick up in thrift stores, car boot sales and eBay finds. My approach is slightly different: I use an airbrush to spray a thin coat of "Black 2.0" (a similar but older very deep black material that is liquid and can be painted/sprayed. I also hand paint the outer edge of each lens element black. I never considered sticking adhesive tape inside because that would never work on lenses with focusing helicoids. The cheaper/older the lens is, the more noticeable the result. I also spray the insides of all my rigid lens hoods with Black 2.0
@@soupfork2105 Just saw this comment. I've also been using this musou black paint (water based) on lens adapters and lenses itself. I learnt from a Japanese UA-camr using a metal primer is best to keep the paint more stable and resistant to scratches, sure enough it works miracles on adapters and lenses itself. My Pancolar and Tessar 80mm f2.8, for example flares less now and the unmodified mirror lens Rubinar 300mm f4.5 has higher contrast by virtue of the modified adapter only! It works great even without a lens hood (which can also benefit from a plastic primer before applying any black paint). I hope this information is helpful
Everyone is talking about the improvement to lighting and color depth, but the image also became so much clearer/ more focused and richer with fine detail. An incredible difference.
I love when Mathieu reviews old lenses and not something new someone sent him. I like the new lenses reviews from him, sure. But I LOVE the old lens videos the best!
Wow, what a transformation and what a result. Full contrast and saturation right off the camera! Benoist Berthiot would be proud to know you are the 2024 nut's that put hand on his productions. You are amazing Mathieu with exceptional talent on top of engineering skills. (Only I would cut the material obliquely for the shiny line reason! I hope to see Kiwami Finshut soon on sale and in Amazon or a store near me. Lord Veder is asham of being called the Dark Side when compare to this material!🕶🌑🕶! Also glad to see Lens Sucker tool being available (Through your link here) since it was out of stock for a very long time, as I was searching for it. Ordered one right away before going OOS again. Love all you do my friend. 🙏🏻💐
I will definitely use this flocking method for my Anamorphic block since that produces so much internal reflections with the take in lens of my set up. Thanks.
Very interesting! Ever since I discovered for my self this material, I've been wondering why no one uses it in cameras and lenses. Thank you for the video
7:05 ... still seems to reflect a lot of light. That dimensional texture to it causes light to hit the leading edge and seems to bounce up and be shown to us. Way better than before at least. And thank you for not using vanta black.
i agree! Would love to see this with the real mosou black effect where we can't see any light or reflections, details, anything at all. But for that i guess he'll need a really smooth surface.
@@Wildridefilms Look up Vantablack controversy / Anish Kapoor . There's been a few things that have come later that or both actually blacker and actually available.
@@Wildridefilms i think the issue here wasn't the vantablack, but the way it was applied. Or maybe it is, never bought or used it myself. For what i see online, it should look pitch black, and when filmed, you can't see shit. Here you can see pretty much everything. Wonder how it would turn out if it was like that.
I had this exact same idea but didn't have the time, money, or resources to actually try it. So glad someone else did this experiment so I could see the results!
What a dramatic difference! One obvious question: Has any of the major camera lens manufacturers like Canon, Nikon, Leica started using these new extreme/absolute black material to line their lenses? I’d be very curious to see what kind of improvement could be gained by doing this compared to whatever anti reflective treatment they’ve been using up until now. Subed!
I'd hope that Pentax and Sony would invest in this technology - Up until Sony's G-Master lenses with thier 'micro coating' debuted, Pentax's SMC lenses had the highest Transmission rating for decades, something like 98% of the light made it to the film/sensor. Way better then Zeiss, Leica, Canon, Nikon, etc. Add this sort of flocking material to absorb the light bounced inside the glass on lenses of that level of T-stop, and you get the potential for extra usability of the dynamic range of a camera, and better sharpness, with better fall off of the focus outside the depth of field.
I guess they already have something in the ballpark of this material, maybe not equal but so close that the cost of change would overcome the benefits. One area which would clearly benefit from this technology would be the top part of cars' dashboards. It is always a nuisance when you get reflections on the windshield. Not sure about longevity though, because all of those new "blackest" materials (there is more than one, search "world's blackest paint" and you even get to see cars painted with it) aren't very fond of being touched.
@@asleepyinsomnia look up Super Multi Coating and Micro Coating. Should be pretty easy to find. SMC has been around since the 70's, when Pentax and Zeiss co-operated for the 50 f1.2, Zeiss got access to the coatings, and Pentax access to Zeiss's glass grinding tech. After that Zeiss joined with Yashica for the lenses people rave about, but I personally prefer the Pentax units on digital bodies.
@@alessandropinto5204 plus I can imagine that the heat build up will be much worse because of that if they started using it on dashboards. Don't think that is a desireable effect.
I was trying to work out why the lack of flocking wasn't an issue for the lens original purpose of projecting films. But I suppose it probably because in a film projector when light reflects off the un-flocked metal almost all of it will miss the projection screen, and therefore not affect the contrast. The reverse situation would be if when you were taking a photo where everything in front of you was black except for the stuff within your field of view angle. Like if you're photographing from inside a dark room through an open window that's only just big enough. That's going to be a good way to get high contrast even with the original lens but not very convenient.
Not sure if your statement is true. Every bit of light that comes out the projection Lense that does not hit the projection screen will light up the room. Sooner or later by reflection of the walls the light will hit the projection screen and therefore lower the contrast. If your in a theater or cinema like room with dark flocked walls this effect will be negligible. At home with white walls it will effect the image quality.
@@jBurn_ Right. If you're in a cinema with dark walls the effect will be negligible. And that's probably the situation that this lens was originally designed for.
I wonder if there is potential of offgassing or something like that over time which would deposit on the lens. I’m not familiar enough with all of the materials he is using but whatever the manufacturers would use has to be very stable.
I guess it has to do with the fact that the light from the projector is controlled: both the emitting surface and it's angle are engineered. Whereas when used on the camera there's light coming from everywhere in every direction.
Reminds me of something I'm looking to try that's essentially the opposite: I want to coat a lens hood in reflective material to see if that increases the lens flares I can get with an anamorphic lens. I'm not typically a big fan of lots of flare, but I figure it could be a fun thing to try.
Wonderful thinking and execution Mathieu. Quite a stunning transformation and whets the appetite to experiment. I have a modest collection of MF and LF cameras with a stack of lenses, though none are of the cinema type. Might have to look into this! Cheers and thanks from Sydney - Dave
Wow Mat! Je m'attendais pas a une telle difference! J'utilisais aussi pas mal deux objo pour projecteurs qui me donnaient le meme effet super flat.... J'adorai filmer avec ces objo mais c'est vrai que c'etait un peu embetant, deja que c'est pas des objo pour tous les jours. Hallucinant.
For those looking to do this without acquiring specialized black material, jeweler's felt material works very well for flocking, has adhesive backing and is inexpensive online.
Yeah, or use matte black (spray)paint. This stuff is very expensive and lens manufacturers are also using matte black paint or black felt. I doubt spending so much money is worth it. €50 for a sheet of 140 x 230mm 😱
@@Ni5ei I think it can definitely depend on the practical use case. Sometimes flocking a lens can increase its practical value by a lot, like these vintage projector lenses. So it’s an investment to a degree. I will say the spraying of paint is a bit challenging but maybe worth it if you’ve got a handle on that craft.
You also could use the Black 4.0 paint for coating the inside of the lens. It is similar to the material you used but it could be easier to coat various shaped surfaces.
Suggestion for you, I modify vintage lenses and use Musou Black acrylic paint to spray instead of using the fabric. Lens Edge blackening is the practice of covering the sides of the lens elements with black paint, done to reduce internal lens reflections withint the lens element. A lot of older lenses have deteriorating edge blackening, touching up said edges will dramatically increase clarity and contrast, by absorbing stray light with in the element.
Hi I also applied this technique to for example my MC pancolar which was noticeably reflecting light when I shot it with a torch to great success, which seems to be slightly better in backlight now as well. I wonder if you apply it to all the elements tho or just those with deteriorating edge blackening? Thanks a lot!
Merci pour nous présenter kiwami. Je sens que je vais refloquer mon tube d'extension pour objectif de microscope. A première vue ce sont des nanotubes de carbone qui tapissent le film. Super sujet. Merci!
Looking forward to the video on adapting projector lenses. I have had one sitting around for awhile now that I am not sure what to do with. The barrel is too large for an M42 helicoid adapter so I'm out of ideas for now. In the mean time, maybe ill do this to get things setup well.
I hope you do a follow up at some point letting us know how well the flocking holds up over time. I'm curious if you end up with little fuzzy hairs on the glass after a few months.
This is incredible! I would have loved to see a comparison between using a matte box to flag any direct light from hitting the lens vs this approach to see how much of a difference it would make.
Given the increase in reflectance at shallower angles of incidence, I wonder how this could compare to using a pain like musou black-- it wouldnt have as good direct reflectance, but it might have better absorbtion at shallower angles, and overall increase contrast more
I like both the before and after modification. The washed out look has its place as much as the higher contrast coloring after the modification. I'd say create a two-part insert for the lens. Part one of the insert would allow for the most exposure of the reflective surfaces of the inner part of the lens tube maintaining the washed out characteristics the unaltered lens. The part two of the insert would slide over part one. This two-part system would eliminate any wear and tear on the lens' tube inner surface and enable have both capabilities of the modified and unmodified lens. Lovely images nonetheless.
Nice job. Did the same with my newtonian for astrophotography. Never thought about doing that with my projector lenses. Maybe i tried that with my elmaron and than print my housing for it ❤
What a quirky yet ingenious idea, especially as the black material becomes less than black with dust, so putting it in a lens minimizes this dust issue.
Does the front lens have a coating on it? Seeing the suction cup at 4:04 being left on the lens bothered me. Some plastics will react with other plastics and I think a good idea to minimize contact of coated lenses with any type of plastic. It didn't look like the front lens had a coating so I'm probably worried for no reason. I wonder how well black felt would have worked? Thanks for sharing your interesting video.
I do notice vignettes around the image. it seems like the black is affecting the incoming light as well. Did you do a side by side comparison to see if the black is absorbing the light before it can hit the sensor?
The projector lens videos are my favorite, now they will look even better! Going to have to find someone to print me a mount for my z6 and a helicoil so I can buy some projector lenses!
I mean yeah just cut the tube full of air the right amount and slap an aperture in it, if you wanted. But I don't see much point, because they aren't very sharp technically perfect lenses, so why would you want to use them stopped way down? The whole point is the swirly bokeh, which you want it to be wide open for. Stopped down just = smaller bokeh, worse bokeh since now it's made of hexagons or whatever not circles, and fuzzier subjects than you could get with a modern lens but with nothing really gained in exchange anymore.
I'd like to see a comparison between Mussou black and regular black paint in one of those lenses. I have an impression that you'd be 70% or 80% there by using regular cheap black paint. The comparison between reflective metal vs Mussou black is impressive, but I think it would be as impressive if regular paint had been used.
It appears to be made like felt meaning theres a chance loose lint can get on the glass elements. Might I suggest using the blackest paint instead. Its an actual product and seems more practical.
while it is a massive difference, flocking is not the best material you should use for this. flocking both 1) loses it's light absorption depending on the angle you look at it -- any angle of incidence that is closer to parallel to the surface ends up being significantly less effective at blocking light when compared to looking at it straight on... and 2) picks up dust cause it's basically a series of layered velvety microfiber sponges, which reduces the effect the more dust that accumulates (which you can see at 7:05). to get the perfect transmissive optical qualities out of a lens, you need the black material to be flatter and thinner than flocking with the same occluding properties of stacked/layered hairy flocking... which basically means you need a black paint like musou black or vantablack (lots of layers of microscopic pigment particles, or atomic-thin layers of carbon nanotubes).
Great News, you can now buy the blackest Material if you are in Europe : www.musoublack.com?sca_ref=7917943.NlhcCFZ9cWGja
The increase in natural contrast is really quite striking! This is something I'll have to try for sure. Great experiment!
wow !! that's so nice to see you here, I am sure we could work on something for your next-level camera!
Dude, I love how you basically have all those hobbies I do have my own xD, tho, you actually make DIY.
Can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with.
Started this and it immediately reminded me of your videos, something about how clever and simple it was and the laid back tone I guess.
You can improve the quality of your DIY lenses that you have made before
I'll be honest, i didn't expect it to be as effective as it was. The final images look incredibly rich and contrasty.
You're DIY approach to photography is saving us all from that gear want loop, that we as photographers get stuck in. Instead of obsessing over F stops and slightly different focal lengths, that cost you thousands... its what old lens from old tech can we fix with a 3D printer for 5 cent. You are a godsend for us broke camera nerds.
The contrast after flocking is absolutely stunning! Another great video!
One small tip: When you clean and insert the outer elements it's best to first screw down the retaining ring before giving the outside surface a final clean and/or using the blower. Otherwise you might end up accidentally lifting the lens element thought the air pressure and push dust inside the barrel.
Your timing is incredible. I'm planning to do exactly this sort of thing and was wondering if I could find any examples of others doing it. You've absolutely convinced me, can't wait to get going on this.
Go for it!
I've been doing this on all sorts of lenses I pick up in thrift stores, car boot sales and eBay finds. My approach is slightly different: I use an airbrush to spray a thin coat of "Black 2.0" (a similar but older very deep black material that is liquid and can be painted/sprayed. I also hand paint the outer edge of each lens element black. I never considered sticking adhesive tape inside because that would never work on lenses with focusing helicoids. The cheaper/older the lens is, the more noticeable the result. I also spray the insides of all my rigid lens hoods with Black 2.0
@@soupfork2105 Just saw this comment. I've also been using this musou black paint (water based) on lens adapters and lenses itself. I learnt from a Japanese UA-camr using a metal primer is best to keep the paint more stable and resistant to scratches, sure enough it works miracles on adapters and lenses itself. My Pancolar and Tessar 80mm f2.8, for example flares less now and the unmodified mirror lens Rubinar 300mm f4.5 has higher contrast by virtue of the modified adapter only! It works great even without a lens hood (which can also benefit from a plastic primer before applying any black paint). I hope this information is helpful
Everyone is talking about the improvement to lighting and color depth, but the image also became so much clearer/ more focused and richer with fine detail. An incredible difference.
I love when Mathieu reviews old lenses and not something new someone sent him. I like the new lenses reviews from him, sure. But I LOVE the old lens videos the best!
This is flocking awesome!
This lense has such "What I imagine in my head" vibes, I love it!
Really loved the Shot of the Armor with the lense!
Wow, what a transformation and what a result. Full contrast and saturation right off the camera!
Benoist Berthiot would be proud to know you are the 2024 nut's that put hand on his productions.
You are amazing Mathieu with exceptional talent on top of engineering skills. (Only I would cut the material obliquely for the shiny line reason! I hope to see Kiwami Finshut soon on sale and in Amazon or a store near me. Lord Veder is asham of being called the Dark Side when compare to this material!🕶🌑🕶! Also glad to see Lens Sucker tool being available (Through your link here) since it was out of stock for a very long time, as I was searching for it. Ordered one right away before going OOS again.
Love all you do my friend. 🙏🏻💐
I'm not even a photographer but this is so interesting. You're a genius. I love it when people mix traditional things with modern technology.
That worked so well! The contrast on the new images is amazing!
Glad you think so!
I will definitely use this flocking method for my Anamorphic block since that produces so much internal reflections with the take in lens of my set up. Thanks.
Wow, the difference is downright shocking. I didn't expect this at all! Great video, thank you for sharing Mathieu.
Very interesting! Ever since I discovered for my self this material, I've been wondering why no one uses it in cameras and lenses. Thank you for the video
That’s exactly what I been thinking ever since I learned about the material too 🤯
Do you know if the individual flock particles can break loose and contaminate the lens from the inside?
7:05 ... still seems to reflect a lot of light. That dimensional texture to it causes light to hit the leading edge and seems to bounce up and be shown to us. Way better than before at least. And thank you for not using vanta black.
i agree! Would love to see this with the real mosou black effect where we can't see any light or reflections, details, anything at all. But for that i guess he'll need a really smooth surface.
What's the problem with vantablack?
@@Wildridefilms Look up Vantablack controversy / Anish Kapoor . There's been a few things that have come later that or both actually blacker and actually available.
@@Wildridefilms Vantablack isn't just something you can buy. Applying vantablack is a highly specialised process that needs specific equipment.
@@Wildridefilms i think the issue here wasn't the vantablack, but the way it was applied. Or maybe it is, never bought or used it myself. For what i see online, it should look pitch black, and when filmed, you can't see shit. Here you can see pretty much everything. Wonder how it would turn out if it was like that.
Wow! Contrast is greatly improved. Images seem "sharper" as a result.Outstanding job!
An astounding quality lens! The work you did really made the lens come to life even more!
I had this exact same idea but didn't have the time, money, or resources to actually try it. So glad someone else did this experiment so I could see the results!
Une idée originale, un résultat bluffant... bravo ! C'est assez génial !
What a dramatic difference! One obvious question: Has any of the major camera lens manufacturers like Canon, Nikon, Leica started using these new extreme/absolute black material to line their lenses? I’d be very curious to see what kind of improvement could be gained by doing this compared to whatever anti reflective treatment they’ve been using up until now. Subed!
I'd hope that Pentax and Sony would invest in this technology - Up until Sony's G-Master lenses with thier 'micro coating' debuted, Pentax's SMC lenses had the highest Transmission rating for decades, something like 98% of the light made it to the film/sensor. Way better then Zeiss, Leica, Canon, Nikon, etc.
Add this sort of flocking material to absorb the light bounced inside the glass on lenses of that level of T-stop, and you get the potential for extra usability of the dynamic range of a camera, and better sharpness, with better fall off of the focus outside the depth of field.
I guess they already have something in the ballpark of this material, maybe not equal but so close that the cost of change would overcome the benefits.
One area which would clearly benefit from this technology would be the top part of cars' dashboards. It is always a nuisance when you get reflections on the windshield. Not sure about longevity though, because all of those new "blackest" materials (there is more than one, search "world's blackest paint" and you even get to see cars painted with it) aren't very fond of being touched.
@@PiDsPagePrototypes where can i find this data?
@@asleepyinsomnia look up Super Multi Coating and Micro Coating. Should be pretty easy to find. SMC has been around since the 70's, when Pentax and Zeiss co-operated for the 50 f1.2, Zeiss got access to the coatings, and Pentax access to Zeiss's glass grinding tech. After that Zeiss joined with Yashica for the lenses people rave about, but I personally prefer the Pentax units on digital bodies.
@@alessandropinto5204 plus I can imagine that the heat build up will be much worse because of that if they started using it on dashboards. Don't think that is a desireable effect.
Awesome video I have to try this now Have to get my hands on this material
I wanted to do that but didn't know where to start for getting the material and what lens to paint.
Merci Mathieu pour l'expérience !
I was trying to work out why the lack of flocking wasn't an issue for the lens original purpose of projecting films. But I suppose it probably because in a film projector when light reflects off the un-flocked metal almost all of it will miss the projection screen, and therefore not affect the contrast.
The reverse situation would be if when you were taking a photo where everything in front of you was black except for the stuff within your field of view angle. Like if you're photographing from inside a dark room through an open window that's only just big enough. That's going to be a good way to get high contrast even with the original lens but not very convenient.
Not sure if your statement is true. Every bit of light that comes out the projection Lense that does not hit the projection screen will light up the room. Sooner or later by reflection of the walls the light will hit the projection screen and therefore lower the contrast. If your in a theater or cinema like room with dark flocked walls this effect will be negligible. At home with white walls it will effect the image quality.
@@jBurn_ Right. If you're in a cinema with dark walls the effect will be negligible. And that's probably the situation that this lens was originally designed for.
I wonder if there is potential of offgassing or something like that over time which would deposit on the lens. I’m not familiar enough with all of the materials he is using but whatever the manufacturers would use has to be very stable.
I guess it has to do with the fact that the light from the projector is controlled: both the emitting surface and it's angle are engineered.
Whereas when used on the camera there's light coming from everywhere in every direction.
Awesome video man, lots of work went into this and we appreciate it!
L'idée est folle, merci de m'avoir fais découvrir ça
Wow what a difference that made , fantastic upload
Reminds me of something I'm looking to try that's essentially the opposite: I want to coat a lens hood in reflective material to see if that increases the lens flares I can get with an anamorphic lens. I'm not typically a big fan of lots of flare, but I figure it could be a fun thing to try.
Wow! What a difference! ...And that beautiful bokeh! 😍Well done, Mathieu! 👍
Wonderful thinking and execution Mathieu. Quite a stunning transformation and whets the appetite to experiment. I have a modest collection of MF and LF cameras with a stack of lenses, though none are of the cinema type. Might have to look into this! Cheers and thanks from Sydney - Dave
Many thanks!
Thank you! I’ve wondered this ever since I heard of vantablack
Wow this is truly impressive, i never would have thought that the quality would improve so much
Very interesting Mathieu. I didn’t think this could have this impact. Good job !
Wow Mat! Je m'attendais pas a une telle difference! J'utilisais aussi pas mal deux objo pour projecteurs qui me donnaient le meme effet super flat.... J'adorai filmer avec ces objo mais c'est vrai que c'etait un peu embetant, deja que c'est pas des objo pour tous les jours. Hallucinant.
Beautiful photography! What a good idea.
Glad you liked it!
Thank you so much, this was a experiment that I always wanted to do!
You're very welcome!
Instant cinematic ❤ contrast is crazy and the colours, wow!
I was thinking about doing just this. Love that it works.
I have been thinking many times about using vanta black inside lenses and this video makes me think I should finally do it!
For those looking to do this without acquiring specialized black material, jeweler's felt material works very well for flocking, has adhesive backing and is inexpensive online.
Yeah, or use matte black (spray)paint.
This stuff is very expensive and lens manufacturers are also using matte black paint or black felt. I doubt spending so much money is worth it. €50 for a sheet of 140 x 230mm 😱
@@Ni5ei I think it can definitely depend on the practical use case. Sometimes flocking a lens can increase its practical value by a lot, like these vintage projector lenses. So it’s an investment to a degree.
I will say the spraying of paint is a bit challenging but maybe worth it if you’ve got a handle on that craft.
Having done this with a large Dobsonian Telescope, the results were always going to be amazing. Just removes so much noise.
This rules! Beautiful shots!
I've been wanting to do this for years but I didn't have access to the material this is so awesome I hope they start selling it soon
You also could use the Black 4.0 paint for coating the inside of the lens. It is similar to the material you used but it could be easier to coat various shaped surfaces.
Absolutely beautiful results at the end. This seems like a dream lens, I hope one day I can get my hands on a lens like this!
This was such an informative and interesting video. Thank you.
i love the dreamy feel of this lense !
Quite incredible results!
the contrast is amazing
I didn't expect such a dramatic difference. That was impressive. I'd love to see you do this with the popular Helios lenses.
Your best video so far, thx
This looks great!! I wanted to do something similar to a barlow lens that I have for my telescope!! Thank you for that!!
Suggestion for you, I modify vintage lenses and use Musou Black acrylic paint to spray instead of using the fabric. Lens Edge blackening is the practice of covering the sides of the lens elements with black paint, done to reduce internal lens reflections withint the lens element. A lot of older lenses have deteriorating edge blackening, touching up said edges will dramatically increase clarity and contrast, by absorbing stray light with in the element.
Hi I also applied this technique to for example my MC pancolar which was noticeably reflecting light when I shot it with a torch to great success, which seems to be slightly better in backlight now as well. I wonder if you apply it to all the elements tho or just those with deteriorating edge blackening? Thanks a lot!
Merci pour nous présenter kiwami. Je sens que je vais refloquer mon tube d'extension pour objectif de microscope. A première vue ce sont des nanotubes de carbone qui tapissent le film. Super sujet. Merci!
Very nice video! Thank you! To further improve contrast you can add black paint or musou black to the edge of the lens itself.
Looking forward to the video on adapting projector lenses. I have had one sitting around for awhile now that I am not sure what to do with. The barrel is too large for an M42 helicoid adapter so I'm out of ideas for now. In the mean time, maybe ill do this to get things setup well.
Thanks for finding this material. Will try on my 35КП 140mm f/1.8 someday...
Damn, I had this idea for years. Congrats for doing it. Thank you for sharing it
I hope you do a follow up at some point letting us know how well the flocking holds up over time. I'm curious if you end up with little fuzzy hairs on the glass after a few months.
When you showed the yellow airplane my jaw just dropped, literally. I was with my mouth open. What an amazing transformation. Congrats.
Best compliment ever ;)
The results are a MASSIVE success. Beautiful images
This is incredible! I would have loved to see a comparison between using a matte box to flag any direct light from hitting the lens vs this approach to see how much of a difference it would make.
Love those shots
Great, I've been wondering about what this would do to a lens for years!
Fantastic video. Thank you. Merci!
Given the increase in reflectance at shallower angles of incidence, I wonder how this could compare to using a pain like musou black-- it wouldnt have as good direct reflectance, but it might have better absorbtion at shallower angles, and overall increase contrast more
The results speak for themselves, magnificent.
Any concerns about the flock coming loose and creating a dust issue on the inside of the lens?
I like both the before and after modification. The washed out look has its place as much as the higher contrast coloring after the modification. I'd say create a two-part insert for the lens. Part one of the insert would allow for the most exposure of the reflective surfaces of the inner part of the lens tube maintaining the washed out characteristics the unaltered lens. The part two of the insert would slide over part one. This two-part system would eliminate any wear and tear on the lens' tube inner surface and enable have both capabilities of the modified and unmodified lens.
Lovely images nonetheless.
Nice job. Did the same with my newtonian for astrophotography. Never thought about doing that with my projector lenses. Maybe i tried that with my elmaron and than print my housing for it ❤
Siiiiiick! Amazing work.
I was blown away by the final result! 🤯🤯🤯
Genuinely blown away!
What a quirky yet ingenious idea, especially as the black material becomes less than black with dust, so putting it in a lens minimizes this dust issue.
Try using self adhesive vlecro straps (the smooth side) Similiar effetct, much much cheaper.
Does the front lens have a coating on it? Seeing the suction cup at 4:04 being left on the lens bothered me. Some plastics will react with other plastics and I think a good idea to minimize contact of coated lenses with any type of plastic.
It didn't look like the front lens had a coating so I'm probably worried for no reason.
I wonder how well black felt would have worked?
Thanks for sharing your interesting video.
Truely impressive stuff🙌🏻🙌🏻
I do notice vignettes around the image. it seems like the black is affecting the incoming light as well. Did you do a side by side comparison to see if the black is absorbing the light before it can hit the sensor?
The projector lens videos are my favorite, now they will look even better! Going to have to find someone to print me a mount for my z6 and a helicoil so I can buy some projector lenses!
Excellent video and very interesting subject,but what about aps-c cameras.Could this project work with them ?
Huge difference. What a beautiful lens Berthiot made. If only he were alive to see what it is capturing today.
can you make video about coating old vintage lenses?
i wonder if its possible to add an aperture mechanism to this kind of lenses
I mean yeah just cut the tube full of air the right amount and slap an aperture in it, if you wanted. But I don't see much point, because they aren't very sharp technically perfect lenses, so why would you want to use them stopped way down? The whole point is the swirly bokeh, which you want it to be wide open for. Stopped down just = smaller bokeh, worse bokeh since now it's made of hexagons or whatever not circles, and fuzzier subjects than you could get with a modern lens but with nothing really gained in exchange anymore.
The effect it gives reminds me of seeing memories in my mind.
MUSOU and KIWAMI are insane!
I'm glad to see a great improvement on your lens.
That is an amazing difference!
What`s the cause of the circular image aberration? Something to do with its intended use as a projection lens? Amzing project!!
I would pay to watch a series about tinkering with these ancient lenses to make cool modern full frame adaptions like this
To put it politely as possible, this is fucking awesome! Great stuff
I wonder if you could use this for certain fringe wavelengths.
I'd like to see a comparison between Mussou black and regular black paint in one of those lenses. I have an impression that you'd be 70% or 80% there by using regular cheap black paint.
The comparison between reflective metal vs Mussou black is impressive, but I think it would be as impressive if regular paint had been used.
I like the low contrast images.
It appears to be made like felt meaning theres a chance loose lint can get on the glass elements.
Might I suggest using the blackest paint instead. Its an actual product and seems more practical.
Despite having or not the black thing inside, it’s still an amazing lens so good
I wonder how the lens flare looks like after the flocking, is there any shot of it?
That is super impressive!
while it is a massive difference, flocking is not the best material you should use for this.
flocking both 1) loses it's light absorption depending on the angle you look at it -- any angle of incidence that is closer to parallel to the surface ends up being significantly less effective at blocking light when compared to looking at it straight on... and 2) picks up dust cause it's basically a series of layered velvety microfiber sponges, which reduces the effect the more dust that accumulates (which you can see at 7:05).
to get the perfect transmissive optical qualities out of a lens, you need the black material to be flatter and thinner than flocking with the same occluding properties of stacked/layered hairy flocking... which basically means you need a black paint like musou black or vantablack (lots of layers of microscopic pigment particles, or atomic-thin layers of carbon nanotubes).
Good job!