Freelensing

[minicoop1985]

Has anyone ever done this with much success? I believe I've found a new method that makes it MUCH easier to accomplish. With a standard lens for a 35mm or APS-C based camera, you'll find that there's virtually no distance to play with. Knowing that the flange distance on a medium format camera is much longer than that of a standard DSLR, I thought it would be fun to try a Mamiya 645AF lens on a Canon 5D3. Much to my surprise, it works, and it works very well. I'll post up a result once the bossman gets off his ass and sends it to me (forgot to snag the card). I would highly recommend trying this-it's fun and free if you have some MF lenses laying around (or cheap if you don't-M645 manual lenses are dirt cheap).

 

[pixmedic]

Freelensing?
I do that sometimes...
I thought it was called "going commando" though...
ah, kids and their newfangled phrases.

 

[petrochemist]

SLR lenses on a mirrorless camera should work equally well, but so far I've only given it a brief play using an enlarger lens on my DSLR
IIRC this was with my 75mm:
freelensing portrait by Mike Kanssen, on Flickr
The 50mm was rather more restrictive in tilt.

 

[minicoop1985]

Since my boss is being a pain by not responding, I'll go take another with my wife's Sony and my 80mm 2.8 Mamiya.

 

[minicoop1985]

Dangit, I tried it with the wife's camera, but couldn't get it to work out. Too much light getting in behind the lens.

 

[dennybeall]

Interesting challenge but what is the result you're trying to achieve?

 

[480sparky]

Interesting challenge but what is the result you're trying to achieve?

Altering the plane of the optics and/or image surface in relationship to the subject(s) is a common way to change the depth of field in the resulting image without changing aperture.

 

[minicoop1985]

I know what I'm trying to do, but describing it is nigh impossible.

 

[paigew]

I have tried it but it really scares me b/c I don't want to get dust + dirt in my sensor. That is why I decided to buy a lensbaby. Same result, no risk

 

[480sparky]

I have tried it but it really scares me b/c I don't want to get dust + dirt in my sensor. That is why I decided to buy a lensbaby. Same result, no risk

If you use a DSLR, you will get dust on your sensor. No lens you use will prevent that. Cameras and lenses are not assembled in a clean room at the factory nor are they hermetically sealed.

 

[SCraig]

I have tried it but it really scares me b/c I don't want to get dust + dirt in my sensor. That is why I decided to buy a lensbaby. Same result, no risk

If you use a DSLR, you will get dust on your sensor. No lens you use will prevent that. Cameras and lenses are not assembled in a clean room at the factory nor are they hermetically sealed.

Nor are they CHANGED in a clean room.

I can clean my sensor and then have dust on it again in a week. I'm headed for Arizona next month, pretty much guaranteed I'll have to clean it again when I get back.

 

[paigew]

I have tried it but it really scares me b/c I don't want to get dust + dirt in my sensor. That is why I decided to buy a lensbaby. Same result, no risk

If you use a DSLR, you will get dust on your sensor. No lens you use will prevent that. Cameras and lenses are not assembled in a clean room at the factory nor are they hermetically sealed.

yeah but freelensing is shooting with your lens completely off your camera. Way higher chance of crap getting in there. No thank you

 

[Solarflare]

If you use a DSLR, you will get dust on your sensor. No lens you use will prevent that. Cameras and lenses are not assembled in a clean room at the factory nor are they hermetically sealed.

You're wrong about that one, there are plenty of clean rooms involved in both camera and lens production.

For example, have you ever bought a brand new lens ? They are perfectly clean. A single piece of dust in a lens, no matter how small, will cause it getting rejected.

And obviously every integrated circuit requires clean rooms of quite extreme quality, otherwise successfully putting such small structures on the chip would be a doomed endeavor.

 

[480sparky]

If you use a DSLR, you will get dust on your sensor. No lens you use will prevent that. Cameras and lenses are not assembled in a clean room at the factory nor are they hermetically sealed.

You're wrong about that one, there are plenty of clean rooms involved in both camera and lens production.

For example, have you ever bought a brand new lens ? They are perfectly clean. A single piece of dust in a lens, no matter how small, will cause it getting rejected.

And obviously every integrated circuit requires clean rooms of quite extreme quality, otherwise successfully putting such small structures on the chip would be a doomed endeavor.

Yes, certain parts of gear are manufactured in clean rooms. But not assembled. Why? Because the lenses are not sealed. The simple act of using a camera and lens will cause it to breathe. That air movement causes it to ingest dust. As soon as it is used, dust starts to get in. Even if a maker does use a clean room to assemble things, in the end it's an exercise in futility.

And since even new lenses are assembled in an 'ordinary' atmosphere, they have dust in them. No manufacturer is going to reject 99.9% of their products.

 

[petrochemist]

yeah but freelensing is shooting with your lens completely off your camera. Way higher chance of crap getting in there. No thank you

Sensor muck is a real issue with freelensing, but not as bad as trying pinhole photography. The tiny apertures ensure every speck on your sensor shows at the highest possible contrast, you wouldn't believe the amount of muck I've seen on some sensors, while the owner was blissfully oblivious to it's presence.

When playing with freelensing I used a section of rubber gaiter to restrict the amount of crap getting to the sensor.