Well, not really. I tried my hand at lens making in high school. My art teacher had an exposition and part of the set was a ton of lenses he gathered over the years. I captured a few of the big ones and did just about the same thing he does. So that's simple (but not cheap, i spent two summer's worth of savings, and half a year's time to make the two i made, funny enough, i never did anything with them). As for the lathe work, well, aside from knowing your speeds and feeds, and having a lathe that can cut metric, miniature threads, it's not really black magic. NOW, that's not to say it's not hard, some aspects (like lens knowledge after you've made it, or how to design it) are hard, and require a lot of page turning, but seriously, it's not something outside the realm of someone with some cash and time to spend every weekend. Mind you, people have been making telescopes from scratch for decades now. And arguably, those can be a bit more complicated, both in scope, size, and knowledge. So it's not much about experience, rather...how willing you are to meet the demand half way. FYI, he does have some mistakes in the lens cutting, something i learnt the hard way, where he got lucky. You don't leave a live edge on them, and you don't cut them with such a rigid setup. Evidenced by the chips present. On bad days, you can flake the whole surface, something i've seen happen to a few bloggers.
The grinding and polishing machine is really simple to make. This type is called the Zeiss grinding machine. My lathe and mill are from Sherline. They are small affordable hobby machines. I'm using bisquit cutters covered with diamond powder to cut the blanks and to generate the approximate curves. The whole set of cutters can be purchased from China for about $10.
Fantastic video. As an optical engineer, I knew I would have loved to learn the art of lens making, as soon as I met some of the passionate people praticing it. This is a wonderful opportunity to share my awe with my friends. Thank you for this!
As a lens collecting nerd, dissasembling them for service, and obsessing over lens designs and differences between versions of the same lens, I SALUTE YOU, this was amazing, particularly the last part where the mechanical assembly was done, complete with fitting the diaphragm leaves and a nice ball bearing mechanism. The only thing missing was coating the lens surfaces by vapor deposition, are you planning to coat your lenses in the future? Cheers
What's happening at 0:32 onwards? Looks like concave curve generation using a sine table at first sight, but the bottom disk isn't rotating, and then the next screen shows a lens with two convex surfaces which you then block with some green ... pitch? Would be super helpful if you could post something about the process. Thanks for the amazing video.
That’s just amazing to see how you made the lens elements and all the other components, I really like the way the lens renders the image. What a great video it is.
I looked so hard for anything even resembling diy lens and finally found this. thanks so much . now i just have to wonder, could it work with just some glass made of beach sand on a deserted island xD
3 місяці тому
It's so beautiful to see how you built it ✨ the images are stunning, thank you ! Cheers from France
Mats, I have to say this is one of the most bad assed projects I've ever seen on the interwebs. Hats off to you for sure! Absolutely a DIY project. It's amazing what you can do with a small lathe and mill. Go slow and take your time and use sharp tools! There is a reason they call the metal lathe the "King of machine tools". So many different skills and disciplines used for this project. I love the way you scrounged the materials and reused other bits (the aperture leaves), I'll bet you have a pile of old lenses that are missing some screws too.... Well done sir!
Exceptional quality and craftmanship, this is why I have no problem paying $650 or more for a $1200 lens, no way I could make the lens for less than I could purchase one.
Man, after watching this incredible process, I'm never going to complain about not having autofocus again 😫✋️🙏 Awe-inspiring video. Thank you for sharing ❤
Do you have the 20-Hour long Masterclass version of this video? I'd pay good money to get a long and detailed version of this uploaded to one of the tutorial websites. Pleaseeeeeeee
Me too ! I want to see a detailed comprehensive video on this. I need to craft a special (unobtainable) negative meniscus auxiliary lense for my Zeiss Axioskop 50 microscope so I can finally a full field of view illumination when using a 1.25x plan-neofluar objective.
Absolutely astonishing but come on! This is no DIY project. Outstanding that someone can do this at home but as someone else posted, this is a master craftsman ... not a guy with a garage full of tools. Excellent work.
one of the most untouchable technology for newbie .. exclusive and very expensive .. we can only watch, without being able to practice it .. but many thank's, this a bit cures my curiosity :)
This is amazing. If you ever do a more step by step version I would be very interested. I just finished a course in optical design, so seeing this was pretty enlightening for how really works. Great job!
ryan galloway I payed special attention to spot diagrams. Aiming for elliptical spots (tangential) at defocusing on the plus side of the focal plane. On the minus side the effect is sagittal like exploding outwards from the center. It is of course astigmatism with a sponful of coma that makes it. But it is difficult to visualize what it will look like. Whish I had Zemax, I just have the Oslo light that is restricted by the number if surfaces
Mats Wernersson, thanks for the reply! Okay so a bit of coma and astigmatism. I still have zemax from a school license, but I'll have to switch to the trial Oslo soon. If you ever make a video explaining how to make a lens in more detail I would be very interested. Again, great work!
Simply inspiring, creating lenses or optical designs is an art in itself. I consume this type of content a lot and I try to make my own lenses with the remains of broken lenses or binoculars and telescopes (basically anything that has a lens), but my biggest challenge is having access to an optical project, do you know where I can find it?
This is the coolest thing i have ever seen related to photography. After hard searching i finally found something that makes you see the actual process of creating a camera lens. I want to try so hard to do this myself! The only thing is i'm broke lol and i don't know where to get all these materials, if only you could provide a step-by-step guide! i'll make a statue to your person!!!!
Hı first of all great work Would you give a little bit information for exemple u use spherometer how did you cut how measure Thé Curves i want to make a lens for telescope.Any advice Would be great Thanks
I came here from a Corridor Digital video (called "the paper challenge") that had this video linked in the end credits. You've impressed someone over there!
Great work! I've been making cameras for a while now and I was thinking about making my own lens. I wanted to use optical glass but I found it impossible to find at a good price. What sort of glass did you use?
Is it possible to purchase lens elements pre made? Ive been repairing vintage lenses for a while and have been considering milling my own lens body components at my brother in laws machinings shop. Thanks for your insight!
thomaz0 It is not a big problem as there are just four lens elements in two cemented groups. But AR coating would really be nice. I started a vacuum chamber project some years ago but it just stalled. Eventually I may finish it. I have to do it if I'll go for more complex designs having more surfaces.
The anodized aluminium surface is very durable. Aluminium oxide is one of the hardest materials on earth. The thickness of the layer is controoled by the electrical current an process time.
@matswernersson Hi Mats, are you able to link the hobby set from China you mentioned in the top comment? I am really interested in building my own lens to use for macro photography.
That's top notch! I have made some schemes for a 50mm *f0.8* lens (by naming it as brand, would be "Goshawk Optics *_Bubo_* " (Bubo, the scientific name for the Great Duke owl), and I know I have all means except the glass and polishers XD.
Truly amazing! I'd like to see a video where you explain each step either in text or adding narration. I'd also like to see you do a lens that doesn't have the blur effect on the edges. I know that was the intent for this one, but might look like an unintentional result to some. Also, have you ever made one with internal electronics to control focus and iris, that would work on the newer DSLRs?
@mats ... how would someone calculate a ULf Lens? I tried to find an andere but (luckily) found only this Video. I have a lens, probably 1000mm of focal length(seems a mignifying glas, about 150-180mm Diameter) and a 3D printer... Can you hint me to a freeware running on Windows or MacOS? I'd need a fast lens with a Minimum of coverage of 2000mm diameter...don't ask
Mats, this is really impressive! Which glass have you used as flint, which as crown? How have you assured the lens have right curvatures- have you been able to measure and control the curvature of the lens during the manufacturing? Have you measured the focal length of the cemented lenses and how does it compare to the design?
Jaka, I used BK1 for the crowns and FN11 for the flints. I made a spherometer for measuring the curvatures. The spherometer is the kind with three steel balls and a dial gauge. I have a dial gauge with 0,01 mm divisions and another one with 0,001 mm divisions. I have not measured the focal lengths but made it possible to adjust the space between the two achromats. The Petzval design is quite forgiving when it comes to tolerances. I made some simulations to find out how close to design data I had to be.
I think this is less of a DIY and more of an expert craftsman with decades of experience doing something amazing.
Do it yourself - after decades of practicing
Well, not really. I tried my hand at lens making in high school. My art teacher had an exposition and part of the set was a ton of lenses he gathered over the years. I captured a few of the big ones and did just about the same thing he does. So that's simple (but not cheap, i spent two summer's worth of savings, and half a year's time to make the two i made, funny enough, i never did anything with them).
As for the lathe work, well, aside from knowing your speeds and feeds, and having a lathe that can cut metric, miniature threads, it's not really black magic.
NOW, that's not to say it's not hard, some aspects (like lens knowledge after you've made it, or how to design it) are hard, and require a lot of page turning, but seriously, it's not something outside the realm of someone with some cash and time to spend every weekend.
Mind you, people have been making telescopes from scratch for decades now. And arguably, those can be a bit more complicated, both in scope, size, and knowledge.
So it's not much about experience, rather...how willing you are to meet the demand half way.
FYI, he does have some mistakes in the lens cutting, something i learnt the hard way, where he got lucky. You don't leave a live edge on them, and you don't cut them with such a rigid setup. Evidenced by the chips present. On bad days, you can flake the whole surface, something i've seen happen to a few bloggers.
Hahaha yeah! 100%
@@aserta what is a "live edge"?
@@ff-qf1thI assumed he meant a sharp edge. But might be incorrect
Sir, You deserve so much respect.
Beautiful. It looks like you made your lens grinding machines yourself as well? I find that even more interesting than the finished lens!
The grinding and polishing machine is really simple to make. This type is called the Zeiss grinding machine. My lathe and mill are from Sherline. They are small affordable hobby machines. I'm using bisquit cutters covered with diamond powder to cut the blanks and to generate the approximate curves. The whole set of cutters can be purchased from China for about $10.
is it possible to make an anamorphic lense with this?
@Natsbert : just calculate its optic and you can make it.
@@matswernersson8781 haver you ever made anamorphic lens?
Fantastic video. As an optical engineer, I knew I would have loved to learn the art of lens making, as soon as I met some of the passionate people praticing it. This is a wonderful opportunity to share my awe with my friends. Thank you for this!
kilohn can you suggest which lens to choose for making projector lens
My goodness...you literally made everything. I don't think there's anyone else that's come close to doing this, at least here on YT.
As a lens collecting nerd, dissasembling them for service, and obsessing over lens designs and differences between versions of the same lens, I SALUTE YOU, this was amazing, particularly the last part where the mechanical assembly was done, complete with fitting the diaphragm leaves and a nice ball bearing mechanism.
The only thing missing was coating the lens surfaces by vapor deposition, are you planning to coat your lenses in the future?
Cheers
I know how to boil eggs tho.
Please tell me how. I burned mine
we're all proud of you!.
My eggs boiled dry and exploded. Makes a noise like an electrical fuse blowing. (Don't ask how I know what fuses blowing sound like)
ahaha!
What's happening at 0:32 onwards?
Looks like concave curve generation using a sine table at first sight, but the bottom disk isn't rotating, and then the next screen shows a lens with two convex surfaces which you then block with some green ... pitch?
Would be super helpful if you could post something about the process.
Thanks for the amazing video.
That’s just amazing to see how you made the lens elements and all the other components, I really like the way the lens renders the image. What a great video it is.
good to know that after the zombie-apocalypse someone still can make new lenses ;). truly amazing job!
Exactly my thoughts
We need protection services on this guy at all times
Moon Seongmu who is to take photographs of all the beautiful zombies? 😞
I looked so hard for anything even resembling diy lens and finally found this. thanks so much . now i just have to wonder, could it work with just some glass made of beach sand on a deserted island xD
It's so beautiful to see how you built it ✨ the images are stunning, thank you ! Cheers from France
Mats, I have to say this is one of the most bad assed projects I've ever seen on the interwebs. Hats off to you for sure! Absolutely a DIY project. It's amazing what you can do with a small lathe and mill. Go slow and take your time and use sharp tools! There is a reason they call the metal lathe the "King of machine tools". So many different skills and disciplines used for this project. I love the way you scrounged the materials and reused other bits (the aperture leaves), I'll bet you have a pile of old lenses that are missing some screws too.... Well done sir!
I was quite skeptical the whole way through but the last photo absolutely changed my mind. Very well done mate!
Exceptional quality and craftmanship, this is why I have no problem paying $650 or more for a $1200 lens, no way I could make the lens for less than I could purchase one.
Man, after watching this incredible process, I'm never going to complain about not having autofocus again 😫✋️🙏 Awe-inspiring video. Thank you for sharing ❤
That is so awesome! I know lenses are hard to make but for some reason this makes it feel more down to earth than I first imagined.
Do you have the 20-Hour long Masterclass version of this video? I'd pay good money to get a long and detailed version of this uploaded to one of the tutorial websites. Pleaseeeeeeee
Me too ! I want to see a detailed comprehensive video on this. I need to craft a special (unobtainable) negative meniscus auxiliary lense for my Zeiss Axioskop 50 microscope so I can finally a full field of view illumination when using a 1.25x plan-neofluar objective.
Absolutely astonishing but come on! This is no DIY project. Outstanding that someone can do this at home but as someone else posted, this is a master craftsman ... not a guy with a garage full of tools. Excellent work.
great editing and filming and craftsmanship resulting in clear images with an artisanal arcing distortion effect.
Outstanding! The final product looked like a true factory made lens, rather a DIY product!
one of the most untouchable technology for newbie .. exclusive and very expensive .. we can only watch, without being able to practice it .. but many thank's, this a bit cures my curiosity :)
This is amazing. If you ever do a more step by step version I would be very interested. I just finished a course in optical design, so seeing this was pretty enlightening for how really works. Great job!
Also, how could you tell that you would get the swirly bokeh in zemax? Is it some kind of purposeful aberration?
ryan galloway I payed special attention to spot diagrams. Aiming for elliptical spots (tangential) at defocusing on the plus side of the focal plane. On the minus side the effect is sagittal like exploding outwards from the center. It is of course astigmatism with a sponful of coma that makes it. But it is difficult to visualize what it will look like. Whish I had Zemax, I just have the Oslo light that is restricted by the number if surfaces
Mats Wernersson, thanks for the reply! Okay so a bit of coma and astigmatism. I still have zemax from a school license, but I'll have to switch to the trial Oslo soon. If you ever make a video explaining how to make a lens in more detail I would be very interested. Again, great work!
Now I understand why the lens are so expensive..
No, it’s because pure optimization
What? Commercial lenses are not hand crafted one by one. Also lenses like this are dirt cheap on ebay, you can get them for undeer 30$.
They're easily manufactured all by machine, but it's the calibration and fine tuning that makes them cost so much.
And that lens doesn't include electronics, motors or firmware either!
I love it. What a masterpiece and craftmanship. You must be a wizard!
Holy smokes, this is the real deal! That video shot looked great.
I've been thinking of trying to make a camera lens for 'lo fi' cinematography - and this has been very inspiring!
A truly remarkable piece of home engineering. Just awesome Mats.
Is that phospate coating? And how did you paint those letters/marking?
Hi, I am looking at converting some lens and just wondering how did you manage to etch the numbers and letters into the barrel? Thanks
Dude that lens came out so clean looking 🤩 well done! I was wowed the whole time 😮
Simply inspiring, creating lenses or optical designs is an art in itself. I consume this type of content a lot and I try to make my own lenses with the remains of broken lenses or binoculars and telescopes (basically anything that has a lens), but my biggest challenge is having access to an optical project, do you know where I can find it?
The dude freaking made a lens. Just like that. Respect.
That's one of the best bokeh i ever seen.
I'm completely blown away!
This is the coolest thing i have ever seen related to photography. After hard searching i finally found something that makes you see the actual process of creating a camera lens. I want to try so hard to do this myself! The only thing is i'm broke lol and i don't know where to get all these materials, if only you could provide a step-by-step guide! i'll make a statue to your person!!!!
Have you ever tried to recreate hard to get classics like the Zeiss 50mm 0.7 or a Plasmat? Is there any lens out there that impresses you?
Mats your work is super impressive. Thanks for sharing!
😶 you will knock off Nikon /cannon, what a quality!!!!!
I have a question what kind of abrasive used to finalize (smooth up ) the lens?
Can you list all the machines you need to create the lens please ?🙏 We will love and be a lot more if you start making tutorials on this
i would love to know that too!
Hı first of all great work
Would you give a little bit information for exemple u use spherometer how did you cut how measure Thé Curves i want to make a lens for telescope.Any advice Would be great
Thanks
I'm blown away, man.
Respect!
Just read through your website. Your work is amazing!
This is amazing;
But I would really like to learn more about the math behind figuring out how lens need to be shaped.
Any suggestions?
Same here bro did you figure out??
@@parthdave437 unfortunately no.
UNREAL! What talent!!
Fantastic, what a cool set of machines.
I came here from a Corridor Digital video (called "the paper challenge") that had this video linked in the end credits. You've impressed someone over there!
Wow, incredible job! Any plans to do another lens anytime?
I can't even tighten my shoestrings properly, but you just made yourself a FREAKING LENS :0
Great job man!
Great work! I've been making cameras for a while now and I was thinking about making my own lens. I wanted to use optical glass but I found it impossible to find at a good price. What sort of glass did you use?
Lucus Landers I got the glass from Surplusshed. They have a lot of optical glass surplus. But it is hard to find exactly the type you want.
Good to know! This video is very inspiring. I have the design for a 50mm f1.4. I really want to give it a shot
Awesome job looks like Helios 44 style and I would love to buy one of your lenses, thanks for sharing
This is incredible.
Hi, Mats!
I want to learn How to build lenses. Is there any book, website, etc that can teach It?
Thanks
Jean Baroni
You are very talented. Amazing stuff here.
I love your clips and this lens.
Hej Mats!
Jag undrar om du skulle kunna hjälpa mig med ett projekt som jag jobbar på där jag vill kopiera en lens som inte längre produceras?
Is it possible to purchase lens elements pre made? Ive been repairing vintage lenses for a while and have been considering milling my own lens body components at my brother in laws machinings shop. Thanks for your insight!
You can buy lens elements from various suppliers. Surplus shed have affordable stuff.
What was the black lacquer painted on the edges of the glass elements ?
Wauw this is great. What books about the optical design do you recommend if one wants to venture into this?
Amazing stuff!
Will flaring be an issue though as there seems to be no coating on any of the lenses?
cheers.
thomaz0 It is not a big problem as there are just four lens elements in two cemented groups. But AR coating would really be nice. I started a vacuum chamber project some years ago but it just stalled. Eventually I may finish it. I have to do it if I'll go for more complex designs having more surfaces.
Cool stuff! How is the anodized aluminium holding up? Prone to scratches?
The anodized aluminium surface is very durable. Aluminium oxide is one of the hardest materials on earth. The thickness of the layer is controoled by the electrical current an process time.
Great job, Mats! May I ask you what kind of ink did you use for dyeing the metal parts?
This is a super. Professional machinist craftsman professional lens maker definitely worked for one of the big brands in his life a super inventor
@matswernersson Hi Mats, are you able to link the hobby set from China you mentioned in the top comment? I am really interested in building my own lens to use for macro photography.
0:22 - Alien radio signal
I have never seen anything like this before.. And I thought I was good.. In that case, You're genius!
Impressive! But how did you cut/grind the radii in the blanks?
Now THAT is a DIY camera lens 👏👏good on ye
That's top notch! I have made some schemes for a 50mm *f0.8* lens (by naming it as brand, would be "Goshawk Optics *_Bubo_* " (Bubo, the scientific name for the Great Duke owl), and I know I have all means except the glass and polishers XD.
Впечатляет! Только не будет ли осыпаться краска с лепестков диафрагмы?
That's amazing work! Really impressive
Amazing work, do you have a website or document with information? Great work really!
1:01 Aw, baby lens hungry?
Impressive craftsmanship,
Wow, that's awesome, you mad man! Now make a 60mm f/1.4 (and send it to me! - EF mount please).
Hi, will you be doing a write up of the project on your website?
Hey! What lens(es) did you use Filming this video?
This is so impressive and so cool.
Too much talent here
*omagaddd this diy doesn't use autotune music!*
Great idea, this lens have only 2 lens?
0:40 how do you get the rough shaping done?
Amazing work Sir.
So much informative. I LL start my own camera company now 😊
Truly amazing! I'd like to see a video where you explain each step either in text or adding narration. I'd also like to see you do a lens that doesn't have the blur effect on the edges. I know that was the intent for this one, but might look like an unintentional result to some. Also, have you ever made one with internal electronics to control focus and iris, that would work on the newer DSLRs?
@mats ... how would someone calculate a ULf Lens? I tried to find an andere but (luckily) found only this Video. I have a lens, probably 1000mm of focal length(seems a mignifying glas, about 150-180mm Diameter) and a 3D printer... Can you hint me to a freeware running on Windows or MacOS? I'd need a fast lens with a Minimum of coverage of 2000mm diameter...don't ask
Nice video. May I ask you where you got the diaphragm blades from?
I nicked them from an old Pentax zoom lens
I supposed so. I think I will have to do some flee market shopping. Thanks.
cool distortion. adds a nice lo fi vibe
Amazing. What kind of career do I have to study to learn such things???
Simply amazing, from building to the results! I'm just curious about one thing: did you use any coating?
try molten glass/plastic spin casting, lower melting temperature for plastic, liquid form essential
Mats, this is really impressive! Which glass have you used as flint, which as crown? How have you assured the lens have right curvatures- have you been able to measure and control the curvature of the lens during the manufacturing?
Have you measured the focal length of the cemented lenses and how does it compare to the design?
Jaka, I used BK1 for the crowns and FN11 for the flints. I made a spherometer for measuring the curvatures. The spherometer is the kind with three steel balls and a dial gauge. I have a dial gauge with 0,01 mm divisions and another one with 0,001 mm divisions.
I have not measured the focal lengths but made it possible to adjust the space between the two achromats. The Petzval design is quite forgiving when it comes to tolerances. I made some simulations to find out how close to design data I had to be.
Great work Mats! Can you recommend a good resource on diy lens centering?
How are anamorphic lenses made differently? What are coatings?
Hi what is the compound that you use to get the last finish of the lens , thanks
That's my new favorite video on YT ! Im impressed !!!
Awsome man. Hats off :)
Impressive! Could you add some notes to explain what is happening in some of the steps?
Can you please share a video making a Telephoto lens like 600mm f/4 ?
Very very nice really!!! thank you for sharing and your great idea!!!