Do-it-yourself optics: Why buy a lens when you can build your own?

 

 

When sharing DIY photography projects we see on the web, we try to ensure that they strike a balance between utility, cost and achievability. This one from Mats Wernersson might not check that last box for most of us because he built his own Petzval-inspired 90mm f/2.8 lens, even machining the glass himself. So while surely not as easy to make as your own lightbox, for example, Wernersson’s project is too cool not to share.

Wernersson started with a premade lens mount, diaphragm blades and helicoid, but fabricated the barrel and many metal parts himself. He also ground and polished the glass elements. It’s impressive to watch Wernersson craft the optic, but the sample shots at the end are perhaps more impressive. Check out the build and sample shots in the video.

(Via Fstoppers)