PCX Lens, Frosted CD, Support, Distance for the XL2

[Devin Doyle]

Hello everyone! It's been quite a while since I last logged into DVinfo, but it's good to be back. I've been following the DIY mini-35 movement for quite some time now, and am re-entering the fray and hoping to upgrade/mod the existing adapter I made for my GL1 to the XL2. Here are some old pictures of the rig.

http://www.par-t-com.net/mini50_guts.JPG
http://www.par-t-com.net/mini50_wide.JPG
http://www.par-t-com.net/mini50_front.JPG

As it stands my set-up is 20x lens > B+W NL5 Macro Lens > spinning frosted CD > plastic magnifying card > prime lens

I gaff taped the rig together to see if it would even function on the XL2, and that test can be found here http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~dd208802/mini35_test.mov (about 50mb).

As you can see there are several problems going on here and I wanted to post to see if anyone had any advice.

1. The vignetting. I was reading around about acquiring a PCX convex lens to combat this. I have one of those flimsy plastic magnifying cards in front of the spinning, frosted cd but it doesn't appear to be doing much good. You can see the massive hot spot and vignetting in the footage. I saw this specific convex lens recommended: http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l3385.html. Has anyone used this and been met with success? The problem seems to be worse on longer, slower lenses. The 50mm isn't as bad as the 80-205mm zoom. To me a larger convex lens like this one would be better at disbursing light than the small plastic magnifying card I have in use. Any notes on placement of such a lens in the system?

2. The frosted CD. Mine is scratched from flying off the motor a time or two (should have used a small piece of gaff tape), and this is apparent in footage with the 80-205mm zoom. Has anyone gotten in contact with a manufacturer about getting frosted CDs direct from the source? Or are there any specific brands that have recently been shipping them out on their spindles? Back when I built mine there were blue Maxell 50 packs that had them. I see those spindles around today but am unsure as to whether or not they hold the golden ticket.

3. Support. I'm thinking about getting the Cavision RS-15IIM support for the camera, but I don't think the 10" rods will be long enough. Anyone ordered longer rods from them or have any reviews on this system? I think it'd be great to have because everything is adjustable - which helps with those minor tweaks.

4. Sound. My system hums a bit when at full speed. I was looking around for a thin insulation to install to help deaden the noise. Any advice here? I was told to try using thin foam board to absorb the drone. Has anyone else found a better solution?

5. Distance. Methinks my NL5 filter isn't powerful enough to get the camera as close as necessary. Is there a good middle ground as far as the strength of macro lenses where the image isn't that distorted, yet the glass is powerful enough to get the camera snug with the adapter?

Alright, that concludes my question session for now! Thanks for any and all help. I appreciate it!