.‘Are you kidding me? How can I use a manual lens?’
In 200 years of camera history, AF (Auto Focus) was developed just 40 years ago. However, people’s ignorance of manual lens made me decide to show them the greatness of MF lenses. And it was already 3 months ago and I’ve been trying to solve the weakness of MF lenses. There were a lot of trials and errors for these 3 months.
My camera was damaged and my parents told me to study not do this, but I finally made it.
Thank you very much for your help. All I’ve got to do is to make a great review of remodeling, right?
Let’s do it.
Because the Samsung GX-10 had been damaged right before, I was looking for a new body to renovate and I found this amazing thing.
<Source : Samsungimaging.com>
It’s Samsung NX10
With the concept of mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, the NX10 has some special feature, even though it didn’t receive pleasing reviews from a lot of tester.
1) Short Flange back
<Mount comparison between Previous DSLR (Nikon D1x) and NX10>
Because it has relatively short distance between the lens and mount, it’s easier to put some modules for remodeling than other cameras.
2) 1:1.5 CCD
As it’s mentioned in the manual of the NX10, the NX10 has the largest sensor among mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. Actually, sensors of micro four third are little bit smaller. Some people say the sensor size is everything. Besides, micro four third body is only great when using its own lens, not great for remodeling a manual lens manufactured for FF body.
3) 30mm lens
When I looked at the 30mm F2.0 Pancake lens of the NX10, I saw something. I thought It might be able to make an AF adapter to set the focus of MF lens in the NX10.
Then, I just started disassembling the 30mm right away in order to find out the possibility of remodeling.
<AF lens disassembling video>
<Disassembling video -2- AF motor part>
(Disassembling)
Usually, I spent long time explaining this part, but it was so simple because I made it as videos. Anyway, I like I could easily proceed this.
Let me summarize the result.
A. 100% Electronic operating lens
Even manual focus ring works when it’s mounted and MF mode is selected.
Because there’s no way to control AF and all the aperture functions, I think it’s very difficult to remodel the lens to be used for another mount. But it doesn’t mean whether other lenses can be used for the NX10.
B. DC motor for AF operation
AS I explained in a video, a DC motor works when +,- voltages are engaged. It’s easy to remodel it, because a separate electronic circuit is not needed.
C. Plastic material
Plastic was used to reduce the weight. It might be as strong as a metal, but couldn’t have been better for remodeling.
D. Step motor for adjusting aperture
Step motor which need +,- poles and pulse to control the rotating speed is more difficult to remodel it, because it needs more electronic work to control the rotating speed / direction. Of course, my goal is to make the adapter which can control the aperture, but this chapter is only about the possibility to make AF adapter.
E. Lens is fixed on the barrel
I just found out this. Without taking out this part, there was no way to disassemble the lens and if I can, its small caliber will disturb to receive light. I decided to cut it out.
However, when I disassembled the lens, I realized that the possibility to create the AF adapter is really high with the 30mm F2.0 lens of the NX10.
Then with the big hope, I started it.
Then, how?
Do you know the principle of focusing in camera?
It’s too simple to record a video, but for more understanding, I recorded a video.
In a word, it’s set by moving the lens back and forth.
Of course, some lenses only moves partly, but they are also not that different. These lenses also set a focus by moving back and forth.
Then, what should I do to set it automatically?
It’s even simpler. I can just make the lens automatically move back and forth.
It’s really not easy to make a lens move if there’s nothing. But every function was already in the 30mm F2 lens, so I was not that difficult.
I just need to take out the lens and connect the moving barrel to the MF lens. Is it really that simple? I don’t think optics isn’t that simple. For those who worry about it, let me explain the focus principle of the NX10.
The Samsung NX10 uses contrast AF. When the focus is right, the outline of subjects becomes vivid in this way. It means that the motor is detecting the outline contrast from minimum focus length to maximum, and when it becomes the most vivid, it activates ‘beep’ sound.
The difficult thing is to find ‘the most vivid’ outline contrast. It’s not that often we get the really vivid outline depending on the feature of the lens or environment. Right focus doesn’t exactly assure the perfect vividness. Because the standard to detect the right focus is unclear, the NX10 tries to detect the whole range even after detecting a right or similar focus, and when it finishes the search, then it goes back to the point and makes ‘beep’ sound, I think.
It was long, but the point is that ‘When focusing, AF detection is only made by digital calculation.’ It means that it doesn’t care for which lens is mounted. I saw the bright future. Therefore, I crossed a river that I can’t return.
<Structure of renovated adapter>
<Lens mount for the renovated adapter>
<Test Shot>
There was Seoul Comic in YangJae (Seoul/Korea) on Apr, 10th and 11th. I went there to take pictures with the renovated adapter.
Nikon 85mm F1.4 + AF adapter + Samsung NX10
It’s 88mm F1.4 everyone dreams of, but not easy to use as a MF. Nikon 85mm F1.4 takes really great pictures except its chromatism. I liked this the most after the renovation. I didn’t know that AF in continuous mode is that convenient. To be honest, I didn’t know, because I haven’t used semi zoom AF lenses. Through this, I could realize why people like AF lenses.
<Video recording with 85.4>
Canon FL 58mm F1.2 + AF adapter + Samsung NX10
The reason I like to introduce a manual lens is the old lens manufacturing technology.
In this lens, in order to increase reflection rate and brightness, thorium was inserted. That made amazing F1.2. The sharpness in maximum open is not that great, but it has the greatest out-focusing in a short distance.
Schneider Cine Xenon 25mm F1.4 + AF adapter + Samsung NX10
It’s for movie recording. This is used a lot by micro four third users and there’s vignetting in micro four third.
It’s new used in the NX10
I liked its out focusing and colors.
It was supposed to show the great sharpness as Carl Zeiss, but it wasn’t, because the lens status was so bad.
Carl Zeiss Distagon 28mm F2.8 (Assumed)
It was the lens making me start this. I heard it was T* coated Carl Zeiss Distagon 28mm lens, but after finding out that there’s no 28mm F2.8 lens from Carl Zeiss, I lost it.
However, the greatest sharpness of Carl Zeiss made me excited. It shows great color, sharpness, and angle for half body shot in a cropped body.
MF lens to AF lens. I made it.
This reminds me of a copyright “Impossible is nothing”
Making dreams come true. It’s in you with huge potential energy. It’s just difficult to find out, but everyone has it.
Have your strong goal and will. Then, the world starts to change for you.
We can see the possibility from impossibility.
It’s valuable, because everybody thinks it’s impossible.
Then, the impossible subject became possible.
I hope my long time trial for months could make you try to achieve your goal in your life, not just a camera.
Thank you for reading this.
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