Cheap Fisheye Lens

 by patholio
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How to make a cheap fisheye lens for a compact digital camera.

You will need:
(1) Your digital camera - I used a Canon Ixus 65
(2) An old or broken SLR zoom lens - I picked up a Sigma 28-200mm from the broken lenses box of a camera shop for 5 quid, I think the autofocus didn't work.
(3) some really tiny screwdrivers, these SLR lenses are held together with tiny screws
(4) Luck - plenty of it
(5) Black electrical tape, various tubes, superglue, elastic bands, anything else you can think of to make a mount for the lens.
 
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Step 1: Take the lens apart

sigma lens complete.jpg
sigma lens breakdown.jpg
Take the SLR lens apart using all the tools you can muster, you will probably need some very tiny screwdrivers.

You are after the lens element that sits just behind the front lens element. Keep all the other bits for other projects.
iamahuman says: Sep 12, 2011. 3:54 PM
Great Project! Would this lens work? http://astore.amazon.com/pennymon-20/detail/B005A0F5J6
iamahuman in reply to iamahumanSep 14, 2011. 4:36 PM
never mind. I purchased an old lens on Ebay that is more similar to yours.
sid duboid says: Jun 30, 2010. 4:39 PM
can u retract the orignal lens piece when the fish eye is on?
bertus52x11 in reply to sid duboidJul 24, 2010. 2:11 AM
By retracting, do you mean when switching the camera off? The answer is yes...
bertus52x11 says: May 31, 2010. 11:32 PM
Thanks for the great I'ble. Here is my fisheye:
 


CSC_1461.JPG
eulaliaaaa! in reply to bertus52x11Jul 10, 2010. 12:26 PM
Nice! I like the matching colors!
bertus52x11 says: Mar 24, 2010. 12:08 AM
Patholio, I have disassembled a 28-80 lens and the fish eye effect is less spectacular than in your case even though the focal length at the lower end is the same (28mm). Is this  because the set up of the lenses is different in both cases?
bertus52x11 says: Mar 23, 2010. 2:46 AM
Very nice! I will definitely make one of my own!
I like the fact that you use an old lens instead and the fact that it is secured to the body of the camera.

sjoobbani says: Dec 31, 2009. 11:10 PM
I have trouble with 2 things:
focus

Lighting.

Focus: i tried on landscape, i tried autofocus, and I tried macro. what to do? still blurry, i understand the edge's could be blurry, but the whole thing?

Lighting: everything seems a darker, and flash ruins things even more. tried different exposures, brightness... only thing to do, is use the Nightvision mode on the camera, from my 'ible : and that makes everything green, so...
please help.
lieuwe says: Oct 9, 2009. 7:01 AM
 the only problem might be that if you zoom in/out the cap might fall off or you might wreck your camera zoom-mechanism....
patholio (author) in reply to lieuweOct 9, 2009. 10:29 AM
Lieuwe, You do have to be a bit careful if you zoom, i found that I didn't have to as it only works in macro mode (no zoom), I was lucky I guess. I still have to be careful when I turn it on though.
sjoobbani in reply to patholioDec 31, 2009. 10:59 PM
I have mine set up so that It is slidable, and then I can move the support platform on a hinge, so it folds, also compact, so I turn the camera on, mount the lens, and flip the hinge, in a matter of seconds.
digjam says: Oct 14, 2009. 1:39 PM
Any suggestions for the leftover glass? 
patholio (author) in reply to digjamOct 26, 2009. 11:49 AM
Get a laser, spare bits of lenses are always handy if you have a laser, mind your eyes though.
patholio (author) says: Oct 26, 2009. 11:47 AM
Whiternoise, SRS camera shop in Watford has a bargain box. Most independent camera shops have a box of crap they would love to get rid of, just ask.
zenilorac says: Oct 16, 2009. 12:48 PM
good work sir!
Whiternoise says: Oct 13, 2009. 4:14 PM
Which camera shop was this that sells broken lenses for a fiver?
udijw says: Oct 6, 2009. 3:05 PM
A great mod, Pat. thanks for sharing the complete instructions
patholio (author) in reply to udijwOct 9, 2009. 10:30 AM
There was alot of pressure on me to do so after you blogged it :)
impulse94 says: Oct 6, 2009. 7:37 PM
Now I know what to do with all those old "useless" lenses!
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