You want to take a lovely photo of the delicate swirls of a seashell. The only problem is…you can’t figure out why your extension tube won’t focus. Macro photography takes you into the beautiful and enticing world of the minuscule. A dewdrop hanging from the end of a calla lily, an insect drinking nectar from a flower, the brilliant sparkle Continue Reading
The post Why Your Extension Tube Won’t Focus (With Fixes) appeared first on Photodoto.
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Can’t quite fill the frame with your macro subjects? New Zealander Nicholas Sherlock might have the answer you were looking for as he has shared his plans for a 3D printed macro extension tube that’s helped him achieve a whopping 5x magnification.
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Software developer Sherlock designed and produced his extension tube for his Canon DSLR system, and incorporated electrical contacts to allow the camera and lens to communicate across the 300mm tube, allowing him control of the aperture settings from the camera body as well as metering and focusing functions. When mounted with the Sigma 180mm f/3.5 APO Macro DG HSM he is able to fill the frame with subject matter measuring only 7.2×4.8mm/0.28×0.19in with a working distance of 170mm.
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The front and back ends of the tube are fitted with a lens mount and camera mount borrowed from a Kenko 12mm extension tube, and in between Sherlock has printed two lengths of tube measuring 150mm each. He also used gold contacts on either end with connecting cable so information can be passed between camera and lens.
Below are a few sample images captured with the extension tube:
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On his Thingiverse profile Sherlock shares detailed information on how he went about making the extension tubes with step-by-step instructions for others to follow. He also lists known issues, advice on what to avoid and warnings about what could go wrong as well as recommended sources of the materials needed. Below is a comparison slipover showing 1x magnification without a tube and 5x magnification with his 300mm extension tube:
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| 1x magnification | 5x magnification |
For more information see Nicholas Sherlock’s 300mm macro extension tube thingiverse page, and his personal website.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Accessories manufacturer Fotodiox has launched a versatile new series of lens adapters for mirrorless camera users. The Fotodiox Pro DLX Stretch adapters not only allow you to mount off-brand lenses onto several major camera mounts, they also feature a built-in variable extension tube for macro shooting.
The DLX Stretch is a regular DLX lens adapter with one major difference: it features a barrel that turns to extend the distance between the lens and the sensor, endowing the set-up with the macro shooting capability of an extension tube. It isn’t clear how great the extension is for each of the adapters, but total distance will be dependent on the type of lens used.
The new adapters will be available for Sony E, Micro Four Thirds and Fujifilm X cameras and will come in a choice of 24 permutations to suit a collection of eight lens mounts—Canon EOS, Canon FD, Contax/Yashica, Leica R, Minolta MD, Nikon, Olympus Zuiko (OM), and Pentax K. If your particular lens mount doesn’t have an aperture control ring, the adapter will throw that in as well.
In addition to the Sony adapter video above, you can find demos for the Micro Four Thirds and Fuji X mount adapters here.
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Finally, in conjunction with this adapter release, Fotodiox has also introduced a range of filters for the DLX Stretch that drop in to the rear of the barrel and stay in place using magnets. Three ND filters—an ND4, ND8 and ND16—come with the kit, and feature their own leather case.
All of the Fotodiox Pro DLX Stretch adapters cost $ 130. For more information, visit the Fotodiox website.
Press Release
Fotodiox Pro, creator and distributor of several lines of specialty solutions for videography, cinematography and photography, has announced a brand new addition to their extensive collection of innovative lens adapters: The DLX Stretch, a new series of 24 multi-function lens adapters for Sony E-Mount, Fuji X-Mount and Micro Four-Thirds mirrorless cameras.
The DLX Stretch is the latest in Fotodiox’s ongoing commitment to creating and manufacturing the largest and most flexible library of lens adapters in the photo and cinema industry. Each DLX Stretch packs three levels of creative functionalty into a single lens adapter. Vintage and modern lenses can be mounted via eight different lens mounts.
A built-in helicoid allows adjustment of the overall length of the adapter for close-focus macro style shooting or backfocus adjustment. Plus, the specially-designed rear section of the DLX Stretch houses drop-in magnetic Neutral Density filters. Each kit includes ND4, ND8, and ND16 glass filters in a leather case.
“When we created the DLX Stretch, we set out to “stretch” what shooters expect from a lens adapter,” said Bohus Blahut, marketing director for Fotodiox Pro. “Today’s mirrorless cameras are amazing, but they suffer from too few native lens choices. The DLX Stretch adapters bring those choices back. Additionally, the DLX Stretch offers amazing imaging flexibility with its built-in macro-focusing helicoid as well as our revolutionary drop-in filter system for rapid-fire filter changes. With DLX Stretch lens adapters, you can get more done with a single lens than ever before.”
DLX Stretch adapters are available for the following lens mounts: Canon EOS, Canon FD, Contax/Yashica, Leica R. Minolta MD, Nikon, Olympus Zuiko (OM), and Pentax K. Select models of the DLX Stretch also include additional aperture control for lenses that lack an aperture control ring. They are available now at FotodioxPro.com.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
[ By SA Rogers in Design & Guerilla Ads & Marketing. ]
The same ad spaces that shouted about insurance and laundry detergent last week now contain nothing but fluffy cats, as an art collective uses the internet’s number-one obsession to temporarily transform the London Tube system. The Citizens Advertising Takeover Service (CATS) is the result of a Kickstarter campaign by brand-new collective Glimpse aiming to “create a rip in the space time continuum.”
The group raised enough money to buy all of the ad spaces in the Clapham Common station – a total of 68 – for a two-week period, and the new posters feature cats from the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and the Cats Protection charity. The organizers are careful to note that they’re not against advertising per se, but rather hope that the project will “inspire people to think differently about the world and realize they have the power to change it.”
But the broader point – and appeal – of CATS is the citizen takeover of public spaces, with everyday people getting to decide what they want to look at as they navigate their cities. Wouldn’t you rather be surrounded by what essentially functions as an ad for animal rescue services than dozens of posters pushing a bunch of junk corporations want you to purchase?
“Back in February we asked ourselves to ‘imagine a world where friends and experiences were more valuable than stuff you can buy,’” says Glimpse founder James Turner in a post on Medium. “The team began thinking about crowdfunding to replace Tube adverts with something else. Beautiful forests? Time spent with family? Hmmm. We wanted this to become famous, so we needed something the internet would love. Frame it that way and the answer’s obvious. Cats.”
“We’ve been on the news in China, and one of our backers is flying in from America to see his cat in one of the final posters. This project has uncorked a kind of energy that I haven’t experienced before. When you talk about CATS, eyes light up and new ideas start to flow. We don’t know exactly how Glimpse is going to work, but we want to carry this energy with us as we grow up.”
[ By SA Rogers in Design & Guerilla Ads & Marketing. ]
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[ By Steph in Drawing & Digital. ]
Test your climbing skills with a vertical ascent through three stories of a gallery atrium with the newest interactive installation by design collective Numen/For Use. Occupying Austria’s Architekturforum Tirol, ‘Tube’ is a network of connected safety nets suspended from the walls and ceiling, inviting visitors to crawl, slide and scramble until they hit various dead ends providing vantage points out the windows or onto other areas of the installation.
The angles are as irregular and organic as if they’d been woven by a spider or silkworm, creating a sort of human cocoon. The cables attaching the installation to the wall are elastic so the whole thing gently bobs up and down with the movement of its occupants at any given time. The structural support is designed in such a way that anyone climbing inside experiences the sensation of free-floating.
Stretching upward through an oculus in the gallery’s second floor, ‘Tube’ is an abstract composition, its jagged black form like a brushstroke against a network of erratic geometric lines. Contrasting against the white surfaces of the space, the installation stands out in stark relief, placing the emphasis on the shape of the nets and the bulges created by the people moving around inside.
Numen/For Use previously created a grid of climbable strings, a bounce house for adults and a network of translucent tunnels made of packing tape, humans crawling around inside like trapped insects.
Stretching from one end of the Palais de Tokyo gallery in Paris to the other, these strange translucent tunnels look like human-sized versions of the …
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Some London residents have recently acquired an incredible ability to scale walls with ease. They climb the facade of a building, sit quietly on windowsills, …
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These 15 art installations transformed galleries and other spaces into surreal, often interactive environments with amazing visuals and optical illusions.
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[ By Steph in Drawing & Digital. ]
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[ By WebUrbanist in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]
A proposal by an international architecture firm would reduce travel time in the London Underground, not with faster rail cars but by using people movers of the kind generally found in airports. Closing the loop on questions of congestion, this strategy would stop trains in their tracks.
Aimed at the congested Circle Line looping through the heart of the city, the design from NBBJ Architects incorporates three parallel walkways moving at different speeds (up to a maximum of 15 miles per hour). That may sound slow until you consider that the top speed of the trains currently running these sections of Tube is around 20 MPH due to congestion.
Commuters and travelers would step from the slowest-moving walkway across to increasingly faster lanes, using the replacement paths to connect to work or other (generally faster) lines of the Underground. People walking down the fast lane could actually end up moving more quickly than a train. Others could potentially sit down along one side on fold-down seats (as with an escalator railing, these would speed along at the same pace as the track below).
While the odds of implementation are slim, the data is compelling – the system could accommodate more passengers than the current trains and would eliminate the frustration of waiting in queues. The Circle Line in particular is infamous for delays, with an average of 10 reported per day.
Christian Coop of NBBJ cites a challenge from think tank New London Architecture for the inspiration to create these strange proposal. If nothing else, it might be something to consider for the vast expanses of derelict underground rail space running through the city.
Transforming unused sections of the London Underground, this bold proposal envisions a network of subterranean paths for pedestrians and cyclists as well …
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Saving time, energy and bridging the gap between high-speed rail and local-only service, these proposed solutions (each in their own unique way) let people …
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Called the New Tube, the next phase in London’s Underground system will feature partially and entirely automated cars, including ones that let passengers …
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[ By WebUrbanist in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]
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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]
Tapping unused sections of the London Underground, this bold proposal would create a network of subterranean paths for pedestrians and cyclists as well as spaces for pop-up shops, cafes and cultural events, all situated in stations and subway stretches of rail currently sitting idle and empty.
In the spirit of New York’s proposed Low Line, the plan involves main disused tunnels serving as primary areas for circulation and interaction. Simultaneously, putting existing but unused infrastructural voids to better use, the design calls for old reservoir chambers and exchanges to connect these larger and more open sections of the Tube.
Architects at Gensler, the firm behind the idea, developed it to address a series of issues in the densely-populated capital of England, including bicyclist fatalities on surface streets, a lack of public space and ease of movement across the city.
As a bonus, special panels lining the interior of these underground spaces would be used to generate kinetic energy from people passing through and walking on surfaces, obviating the need for external power sources. Indeed, the technology for this system already exists, and this would be a great potential application for both cost and sustainability reasons.
The development process could also be incremental, moving in stages to make transition and restoration costs more manageable and to test usage patterns. The default plan is to start with voids between Green Park and Holborn, working stations that could provide access to unused portions of the Tube spanning them. In turn, tying these spaces into the existing Underground network would make them more accessible to visitors coming into the city and locals alike.
Unlike other conceptual projects for London, like the SkyCycle,or serious proposals, like the Garden Bridge, very little would have to be added or displaced for this reprogramming approach to work. The Under Line may also borrow a bit of inspiration from this clever idea to transform Paris Metro stops into event spaces.
100 feet beneath the surface, below even the level of the London Underground, there is another layer of World War Two shelters where something amazing is …
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A unique green retreat and pedestrian pathway is set to rival elevated parks around the world, including New York’s own High Line, right in the heart of …
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New York’s elevated park is expanding in new directions both physically and proverbially, its new addition a stark circular shift from the overall linear …
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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]
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See this? This is an 80mm lens from my old Hasselblad film camera. It was built 50 years ago. The leaf shutter is built into the lens. It syncs at 1/500th of a second.
My current 80/2.8LS is a PhaseOne leaf-shutter lens. It syncs at 1/1600th. And it would be very possible—perhaps even simple—to manufacture an inexpensive tube to marry a PhaseOne LS lens to a Nikon or Canon DSLR.
Why, and how, inside. Read more »
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