Thanks Jimmy, if there is any grain it's pretty negligible and a small amount probably adds to "the look". I'm happy enough with your design that I've gone ahead & ordered the parts, except I'm going with a Thorlabs 1500 GG and DCX rather than PCX.

For those wanting a microwax screen I'd suggest you contact these guys...
http://www.glasscreen.com/

I'm going with a Thorlabs 1500 GG
From what I remember these have swirls and imperfections, and from my own experience the Optosigma 1500 grit doesn't diffuse enough. You might want to reconsider.

yes, I like it... please put up parts list/tutorial.

if ya dont want to POST it... email it to me.

very interested in building one.

Don't forget everyone that this static design was created by Richard Mellor, not Jimmy, at this thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=37296

there's a parts list available as part of Mellor's first post.

Jimmy, (or someone else who has done it this way) how would you recommend going from the C-mount to the 2" tube? I seem to remember someone saying the tube is 52mm, and I read online that the C-mount is 28mm. I should just be able to step between them, right?

Edit: Never mind... I guess it's not 28mm after all. So my question still stands: What's the best way to go from the C-mount adapter to the 52mm tube? It seems like a lot of people are just gluing it... does that work okay? What kind of glue are you using? Alternatively, Thorlabs sells a C-mount to SM1 tube adapter, but I'd still have to step up from there to the SM2 tube. Anyone know what the thread diameter would be on that?

Edit again: Okay, I read the thread again, and now people are talking about the BR-3 adapter and I've looked that up, and it looks really good. Am I correct in thinking it already has 52mm threads on it? Meaning it can be screwed directly into the Thorlabs tube, right?

I really like the BR-3 adapter but it's a nikon F-mount. I never used a c-mount. Before the BR-3 adapter I glued the f-mount from an old camera on a filterring (52mm).

Hey Jimmy,

Just a quick question. Which side did you put the BR-3 adapter on?

Rh

Hey Jimmy,

Just a quick question. Which side of the thorlabs tube did you put the BR-3 adapter on?

Rh

On the female side with a coupler between nikon f-mount female thread > coupler > female threaded tube. The good thing with the coupler is that you can adjust the distance between lens and groundglass to do some fine adjustments.

Jimmy,

Yeah, I saw that you mentioned that earlier in your thread. I just was premature when asking. So the coupler works pretty good eh? I was thinking of using a male/male ring and using that because it is much cheaper that way.

Rh

How many retaining rings do you need for this? Because the spec sheet of the 2" tube says that one ring comes with it, so then buying two more would actually total 3, which wouldn't be very useful, since you pretty much need them in pairs, right? It was my understanding that inside the tube it would be:

Ring-GG-ring-{16mm space or so}-ring-condenser-ring

Right? So then I would need to order three?

Joel, when I built this adapter, the condenser works absolutely great right up against the ground glass--meaning you only have to buy one extra retaining ring.

On that note, I must add that I have a FL=70mm PCXL (the same used in richard mellor's design) that I got from Optosigma available for sale, in great condition, as well as a retaining ring. If you're interested I'll sell you both a retaining ring and the PCX for $30. Let me know.

Thanks for the offer Ben, but I've decided to go with an aspheric PCX for my model and see how that compares to other people's standard PCXs. If you just want to sell the ring, I'd take it off your hands, but I understand if you'd rather sell them together. Email me if you're interested.

Sounds good Joel. By the way, if you really want to, just take apart a 52mm UV filter; you'll find a "retaining ring" in there :)

You have one ring with the tube and have to buy three extra, two for gg and two for pcx-lens.