<<<-- Originally posted by Danny Tan : what do you mean fake cds? -->>>

They are the CDS that protect the CDR in the 50 spindle packs, they are useless, and they are crystal clear. but some have a traslucent texture in one side that works a like a perfect GG

Agus,
Are you saying do not sand the translucent CD we get in the case? Fake CDs, this is all I can think of. "ook for fake cds what are already translucent." Then, what is the purpose of spinning them? I have all the stuff sitting in front of me to make the AGUS35, but want the best results...that's why I haven't made it yet! Spill the beans Agus! We need detailed news! You are the man....

Clay

No no no ... most spindles comes up with fakes cds that are absolutely clear, but some of them in one side have a sanded texture just like a real Ground Glass, those are not needed to be sanded... cause they have a sanded texture already made..

i have been trying to build a baseplate with rods similar to http://www.jbkcine.com/i-1.JPG

i made it, but still isnt too rigid. need to work more...

ANOTHER TIP..

when painting the Agus35, be sure to paint the inside side, cause if you dont, any scratch could ruin your paint and you dont want any outside light to ruin the image in the GG

Agus,

What brand of CDs are you buying that have this "already grounded glass?" The two I have are clear, so I must frost them myself (man I hope I don't screw both up!). As for the support, I am hoping to get some long rectangular aluminum brackets that create a mount to both my camera and box (I plan to use lots of washers). We'll see what old Lowe's (a hardware store here in Texas) comes up with! The more the better...keep posting everyone!!!!

Clay

By "haze" I mean that the image has some crisp details that are obscured as if they're shot through a fog. I'm re-attempting my initial design today, using the Radio Shack motor instead. If increasing the disc's rotation doesn't help, I'll assume it's the ground glass that's causing my problem.

Agus -- what kind of motor are you using to spin your GG?

I can tell you the best motor by far is one from a cd disc man

Well, that remains to be seen. I've already used one, and it's certainly quiet and stable, but it may not rotate at a high enough rate.

More to the point -- I've seen a lot of Agus's footage, but little of everyone else's. So I'm inclined to use Agus's design as the best point of reference.

DOF, lenses, etc...
 

I really want to build an Agus35 but before I do I want to get my info right, so please bear with me on this one.

Does the .7x wide angle converter (Century Optics) or the Achromatic Diopters (Century Optics) create depth of field to be used with the Agus35?

I'm not to keen about the physics of light and the lenses you guys are using. What lenses do you guys recommend to a novice like myself who doesn't know much about SLR lenses?

I want to do some close up work, like with the achromatic diopter mentioned above. What lenses would you guys recommend?

Is a eBay a good source to find these things? What about Ritz, or B&H Photo Video, etc.?

The interchangeability of lenses have been adressed before and I wanted to know all lenses were compatible with the F to C mount adapter mentioned in a post earlier. Thanks for your guys' help!! :]

Randy,

I had the same confusion with the wide angle adapters, but they are saying you need to get one that is wide angle and macro so that you can use the macro part, not the wide angle part. Go to ebay and type "wide angle macro ??mm", with the ?? being your thread size needed. That's where I got mine, and it was only $32. As for the SLR lens, get the best one you can. I would try to find a 50mm f1.8. The 50mm is the closest to what the eye sees. Remember, you want the best lens possible! Good Luck...

Clay

if you had a 50mm slr lense then you would want a wide angle macro 50mm?

nvm, i found a wide and macro lense where the front lense detaches and then it becomes a macro lense! perfect for this right? and also, i bought some fresnel lense. would that help the vigenetting and stuff if i put it between of the macro lense(connected to camera lense) ang the ground glass?

Danny,

The macro is for the video camera. You don't need the wide angle part. Here:

Camera - macro - spinning cd - fresnel - SLR lens

That's the order. If you are confused about mm, look at your video camera lens and there will be a number (37 for mine) with a circle and a line through it next to the number. This is the thread size for filters, extensions, wide angle and macro lenses to be added to the video camera. Hope that helps...

Clay

ok i get it now. so the wide angle macro lense with the detachable wide angle lense will work then right?

yea probably. agus used a magnifying glass in his original one i think

Some pics of my adapter....
 

I call it the Agus35 Mark III.

http://www.sillydaddy.com/Agus35_MarkIII.html

I Haven't shot any video with it yet, I need to close the sides and build a way to mount it to my video camera and maybe paint it.

I'm thinking a bellows would look really cool and make it look like a professional piece of equipment.

Also a cover over the motor and battery would help make it look nicer.

A few of notes,

I used the bolts so I could adjust the distance from the lens to the GG. The double nuts are tightend agains each other but not tight toward the front. This lets the bolt spin.

I used Blind Nuts/T-Nuts on the back. I cut the barbs off and smoothed them down. I then put them through the back and used some hot glue to hold them.

Once I got the distance right, I put nuts on the part of the bolts that protruded from the back and tightened them to hold it all in place.

The cost so far....

$1.50 for the 1/8" hardboard
$3.00 for the bolts, nuts and washers
$0 for the CD motor and spindle, The player was broken ($12.00 for a new player)
$0 for the GG, It was lying around in an empty CD spindle.
$2.50 for Battery Holder