Modifying Russian lens for Nikon (Industar 50-2)

Yesterday I finally got M42 mount ring adapter for Nikon
the first lens I tried to put on the camera was the Helios 44-2, after I attached it on the camera I found that it have infinity focus problem so I have to modify the lens so it can go to infinity.



so today I took other old Russian lens that I own
the lens is Industar 50-2, standard 50mm f/3.5, probably on of the cheapest lens that been produced during the soviet time
you can get it from eBay for 20$
it came as a kit lens on Zenit-E

originally this lens designed for rangefinder cameras like Zorki or Kiev during the 50's
during it evolution it have been modify for Russian SLR film cameras.

so as I expected the moment I put this lens on my Nikon i found that it couldn't go to infinity, so as the Helios 44-2, the Industar 50-2 should went through some modification so it could go to infinity.

this time I found, or maybe this the problem, I couldn't find any information about how to modify this lens for DSLR.
so I went on trial and error. as the Helios 44-2 I guess that I should extend the rear lens
so the first step is taking the rear lens out

use screwdriver or some other hard material that can rotate the ring
when you pulling all your pressure on the screwdriver try to aim your force to the outer of the ring so if the screwdriver accidentally run away it wont scratch the lens


after releasing the ring take out the rear lens


now you have an access for the aperture system.
I noticed that a regular rubber wouldn't work here because the space between the lens and the bottom is big

I found much thicker rubber and place it on the bottom, the same Idea as the modification of the Helios 44

I put all the parts back and check the lens ,but the modification didn't work, it still couldn't go to infinity
I decide to create a ring that came before the rear lens and will extend it.
the hardest part was to find a good material that would be thick enough and easy to work
the first material was cork

but the cork been to soft and when I tried to screw the lens back it simply sink inside the cork
the next material was an artistically dens carbord, 4mm thick.

and this time it worked, the cardboard extend the rear lens

I put it on my camera and that how it look
now it can go to infinity focuses

 I didn't have time to check the lens and to write a review but I took some photo that compare diffident aperture situations
the first is the wide open aperture at f/3.5

it didn't look good here and when you crop to 100% you find another problem
the flares is very strong, I really don't know why I checking this lens.
probably because I always reads that old lens are sometimes better then today's lenses.
but if you want to use old equipment to get retro effect I think it be much cheaper to buy vaseline and rub your lend with it.
that what you get for 20$?
100% crop f/3.5

I went to f/8 and the whole image star improving
f/8 100% crop

the last stop was at f/16



the focused assist of the D7100 had some problems to tell me if i focused or not, but i believe that this photo been focus
for somehow it works better on f/8 than  f/16
I was pretty impressed for it capability on f/8 and it low price
it not a fast lens, I don't believe you gonna use f/3.5 for any photo, only to the low retro effect.
it good for outdoor in good light condition, and remember you get for what you pay for. I didn't have much time to check it, this post was more about how to modify your lens than reviewing it

I believe that it can be interesting to test this lens with standard nikkor lens like the kit 18-105

tank you for riding
If you have something to say or add or even to suggest you welcome

Tutorial: Photoshoped Tilt Shift

well, I will write a quick tutorial about tilt shift effect and how you make it in photoshop

first for this how don't know what is tilt shift:
"Tilt–shift photography is the use of camera movements on small- and medium-format cameras, and sometimes specifically refers to the use of tilt for selective focus, often for simulating a miniature scene. Sometimes the term is used when the large depth of field is simulated with digital post-processing; the name may derive from the tilt–shift lens normally required when the effect is produced optically." (taken from Wikipedia)

you can find many photos that was taken using this technique
it gives you the ability to play with the focus and to brake some optical laws of physics, It a lot of fun, it give another point of view on the space we living in but as you read in wiki or you know, you need an expensive lens for this kind of photos
but you can use photoshop to get the same effect and without buying an expensive equipment

because you going to photoshop the effect not all the photos will fit for this (after all we cant really copy the physics of the lens)
but still you can copy this technique on some of your photos
and this  how you chose the photo.
* the photo should be deep (landscape, Cityscape etc.)
* the photo should be clean, without many objects that disturb the photo  (better to search for photo with horizontal objects and not vertical like skyscrapers)
* the focused area also should be clean of extra objects
* the photo need to be taken from above (so it look more like a miniature after the editing)
* the photo should have 3 parts,
    - the front that should be unfocused
    - the middle , the main object
    - the background that is also unfocused

for the editing I chose this photo

open the photo in photoshop


select quick mask or press Q


select gradient tool or press G


chose reflected gradient or navigat using [  ]


decrease the range of the gradient


use the gradient to mark the focused area


prees Q again to select the area


go to fillter ->Blur -> Lens Blur


play with the Radius to get the amount of blueness you want


well, that done, now only final touches and that it


and that the final result



hope that this tutorial was useful for you
if you have something to say or advice (also spelling mistakes) you will be welcome

Modifying Russian lens for Nikon (Helios 44-2)

as most of you may know, in this days it not so hard and expensive to get an old Russian film camera like Zorki or Zenit
for example because my family and me originally came from USSR we have a lot of old Russian cameras at home
also many Russians immigrate to Israel and to the rest of the world during the 90's so it very easy to find second hand old camera.

so what good about old Russian cameras and lenses?
in my opinion the biggest advantage of russian cameras and lens is that most of them have been replicated from German cameras like Leica. also some of the lens have been replicated.
this cameras and lens have been mass produced and sold cheap for the masses.
it hard to compare the Russian optics to the German but some of this lenses are quite good.
it gives you good optical value for the money
like the first lens I gonna check, the Zenit-E's Helios 44-2 (also I have the Jupiter 8 that I gonna check it when I get the mount ring)


so about tow years ago I mange to get this camera
this is Zenit-E Moscow's 1980 Olympic edition, this camera is one of the most sold Russian SLR
and it came with the Helios 44-2
a Russian copy of a German lens it equals for 58mm on 35mm format
and it maximum aperture is f/2
on ebay the Helios 44-2 costs 40$  (the Carl Zeiss minimum cost 300$ ) and the M42 mount ring for Nikon cost 2-10$
so for ~50$ you can get this interesting lens

so I order the M42 mount ring for nikon and it arrived today







immediately I mount the lens on the ring and put it on my D7100 but as the expectation came the disappointment.
It could focous only for ~3m and not beyond, that means you couldn't put it on infinity

first I thought that there is a problem with the mount ring but after a close inspection I noticed that this is a standard of the mount, so if there is a problem, it came from the lens, in this point I have to say that before ordering the mount ring I check the internet for photos that have been taken with this lens on Nikon and it possible. so I went again on the internet and searched for lens modification for Nikon and I found this on youtube, there is no sound or description for this video but it been obvious for me what I have to do, to extend the rear segment of the lens so the image will be projected on the sensor.

So I decide to do the modification right away
on the rear segment there is a tow rings, you have to release the inner ring first


now take carefully the rear lens


cut a rubber , it length should be like circumference of the ring


you can cut it into segments if you cant align it inside


close the lens, (make sure it clean) now the first segment is extended
you see the rubber threw the lens but it not disturbing the image 

now hold the outer ring and rotate it in order to take out the rear part.
now you have the access to the aperture system, be careful not to touch the blades


again, put a rubber to make more space between the parts, this will extend the rear lens


after you finish ,assemble it back and now it should go to infinity

set on infinity (taken on f/2) as you can see, the focus now is way beyond 3m (the focus is on the car and the tree line is out of focus)
Im not sure about the sharpness of this lens because it manual and it been set on f/2, like the manual nikon 50 f/1.8 it very hard to get sharp photos on 1.8, I hope to post updates soon about the preference of this lens on other setups


the contrast of the lens is very soft and the aperture blades are very rough, you can see it on the bokeh

 on hard light condition


I didn't have time to take more photos but for now I have a working Helios 44-2 on my Nikon
what you think about this lens?
which photos you want me to take and show you here if you're interested.

Think outside the box: Sparkles painting

It was late night and for many days I had an idea about try a new type pf photo technique, sparkles drawing. so that day I bought a lot of sparkles and call a friend to come and help me with my idea. I took my car and we drove outside the city, we came to a very dark place with minimum light source in the surrounding.

we decided to draw my car.
firs attempt was to seat the right setting to the came.
I noticed that the aperture that most suitable for this kind of photo and distance is f/13.
I put my camera on remote so this way I can expose as long as I want.

and we try and try
one sparkler gave us half minute so every half minute we have to light a new sparkler. to avoid an unwanted sparkler line in the photo when we light a new sparkler we hide it with our body so it not shown on the photo.

It took us 8 tries and a lot of sparklers to make a good resulted photo ( the one you can sea here)

and after this attempt I make another one

on other object 

 

 

Think Outside the Box: Scanography

not so long ago I bought a new A3 printer with scanner for my studies so I be able to print plans on A3 without going out from my apartment.
today I set it and check it and It prints very well
the next step was to check the scanner, it more practical then scanning with camera, you don't have to edit it after you take the photo of the scanned object. the printer did a quite good hob at scanning on of my sketches.
and then I thought that principally it doing the same job as a camera that aimed straight to the object.
could it work as a camera? could it be an artistic tool.
soon I went on the internet and I found my answer very fast.

well, there is a technique that called Scanography
you can create creative photos with scanner, so I decided to try it myself
I found some objects and placed them on the scanner surface.



the first one was taken during the daytime
as you can see the background is burned


on the internet I saw that most of the photos taken with this method had a black background
I guess that because my apartment was lighten by the day light Ive got the burned background.
also I noticed that the scanner creates it own light so I decided to wayt to the sun go down.
when the evening come down I tried again, I turn off all the lights in my apartment and make a try.



and it work
so I make some more tries





it not perfect, there is some downfalls
like, the depth of filed of the scanner is very sallow, only the surface area is focused
also you have to clean the surface after each scan or change in the composition.

it not a camera, it very limited in abilities.
but it giving you another point of view on thing you can do. it give you the ability to create a flatted scene
like creating a painting or a composition of something creative.
try to imagine a scene and create it with objects you have near you.

I hope it was interesting and I hope it gave you another prospective on the things you can do and how to create art in new way.

It can be interesting if you try it too
If you do post a link here and tell others about this technique