Look what you can do with a hacked Canon A650 & Helios 44M-5 lens

canon a650
Hacked Canon A650 with Helios 44M-5 lens

These are the hacks I love most. Alexey Kljatov took a Canon A650 (2007) and did his own thing mounting a Helios 44M-5 58mm f/2 lens on the camera. To make this hack really fit for macro photography, the lens was attached backwards.

The hack appears to be made quickly and doesn’t look neat. However, it produces amazing images like the snowflake photo below. That’s the real hacker spirit: take gear, modify it following an idea, realise something awesome.

Kudos Alexey Kljatov for the cool hack! Be sure to have a look at his website for more amazing macro shots done with the hacked Canon A650, and to learn the how to of his macro setup plus a ton of information about macro photography.

canon a650
Shot with the hacked Canon A650
[via Mirrorless Rumors]

Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens deal – $839 (reg. $1,089, today only)

Sigma 150-600mm

At a glance:

  • Canon EF Lens/Full Frame
  • Aperture Range: f/5-6.3 to 22
  • One FLD and Three SLD Elements
  • Hyper Sonic Motor AF System
  • Optical Stabilizer with Accelerometer
  • Zoom Lock & Manual Override Switches
  • Minimum Focus Distance: 110.2″
  • Splash and Dust Proof Mount
  • Lens Hood & Tripod Collar
  • Compatible with Sigma USB Dock

Another B&H Photo DealZone deal. The Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens (Canon EF mount) on sale at $839. Compare at $1,089. Free shipping. Today only!

Canon PIXMA MG6821 Wireless Photo All-in-One Inkjet Printer deal – $34.95 (today only)

Pixma

At a glance:

  • Print, Scan, Copy
  • Max Resolution: 4800 x 1200 dpi
  • Print Speed: 4 x 6″ Photo in 41 Seconds
  • Borderless Printing up to 8.5″ Wide
  • Optical Scan Resolution: 2400 x 1200 dpi
  • Max Document Scan Size: 8.5 x 11.7″
  • Automatic Duplex
  • 3.0″ Touchscreen LCD Display
  • SD and Memory Stick Duo Card Slots
  • USB 2.0 & Wi-Fi Connectivity

B&H Photo’s DealZone deal of today. The Canon PIXMA MG6821 Wireless Photo All-in-One Inkjet Printer on sale at $34.95. Compare at $149.95. Today only!

Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II lenses used to discover a new “Dark Galaxy” with Dragonfly Telephoto Array

Dragonfly Telephoto Array

Do you remember the Dragonfly Telephoto Array developed by the University of Toronto’s Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics? Well, there are some news.

First things first. What is the Dragonfly Telephoto Array?

Dragonfly is an innovative, multi-lens array designed for ultra-low surface brightness astronomy at visible wavelengths. Commissioned in 2013 with only three lenses, the array is growing in size and proving capable of detecting extremely faint, complex structure around galaxies. The most recent upgrade—completed in 2016—saw Dragonfly grow to 48 lenses in two clusters.

Last time I reported about Dragonfly it had 10 lenses mounted, now the lenses are 48. To build the Dragonfly, scientists used Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II lenses, because of “unprecedented nano-fabricated coatings with sub-wavelength structure on optical glasses“. I guess the lenses were modified according to the scientists’ needs.

Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II
Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II, yours for $10,000.

Next, what is the Dragonfly Telephoto Array good for?

Dragonfly is designed to reveal the faint structure [of the universe] by greatly reducing scattered light and internal reflections within its optics. It achieves this using commercially available Canon 400mm lenses with unprecedented nano-fabricated coatings with sub-wavelength structure on optical glasses.

Also, Dragonfly images a galaxy through multiple lenses simultaneously—akin to a dragonfly’s compound eye—enabling further removal of unwanted light. The result is an image in which extremely faint galaxy structure is visible.

Well, scientists discovered a previously unknown Dark Galaxy by using the Dragonfly Telephoto Array. The galaxy was named after the array. As The Atlantic reports:

Dragonfly 44 is a dim galaxy, with one star for every hundred in our Milky Way. But it spans roughly as much space as the Milky Way. In addition, it’s heavy enough to rival our own galaxy in mass, according to results published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters at the end of August. That odd combination is crucial: Dragonfly 44 is so dark, so fluffy, and so heavy that some astronomers believe it will either force a revision of our theories of galaxy formation or help us understand the properties of dark matter, the mysterious stuff that interacts with normal matter via gravity and not much else.

The discovery was made by astronomers Pieter van Dokkum of Yale University and Roberto Abraham of the University of Toronto. They did not use Canon sensors, tough. The lenses are mounted on SBIG STF-8300M CCD cameras. The array began imaging targets in 2013 from its home at the New Mexico Skies hosting facility.

If you are interested and want to know more, go for the videos below.

About the Dragonfly Telephoto Array

Below: about the newly discovered galaxy

[via The Atlantic]

Macphun Luminar photo editing deal – $59 (plus bonuses worth $250)

Macphun Luminar

Macphun has a limited time promotion for their Luminar photo editing software (Mac only). Get Macphun Luminar at discounted price plus bonuses worth over $250 for just $59. Expires 12/31.

  • Bonus 1 – 3 Mastering eBooks from Andrew Gibson: Mastering Photography, Mastering Composition & Mastering Lenses. Value: $40
  • Bonus 2 – Over 300 high resolution sky overlays: warm, blue & dramatic skies. Value: $155
  • Bonus 3 – Creative Portraits Preset Pack for Luminar. Value: $30
  • Bonus 4 – “How to shoot in the desert” Video Guide. Value: $30

Luminar has recently been updated to include Touch Bar support, batch processing, and a number of new filters. For more info, get in touch.

Canon patent for 12-60mm f/2-4 lens for 1.5″ sensors (PowerShot G1 X Mark III?)

Powershot G1 X

Canon patent for an optical formula for a 12-60mm f/2-4 lens for 1.5″ sensors. This resolves to 24-105mm on 35mm equivalent. The PowerShot G1 X Mark II has an 1.5″ sensor, and a similar lens. Does this patent refer to the Powershot G1 X Mark III?

  • Patent publication number 2016-212248
    • Release date 2016.12.15
    • Application date 2015.5.8
  • Example
    • Zoom ratio 4.72
    • Focal length 12.84 20.16 60.62
    • F number 2.06 3.50 4.02
    • Half angle of view (degree) 41.74 28.80 10.33
    • Image height 9.22 10.23 11.25
    • Lens total length 83.06 84.07 101.55
    • BF 8.02 12.32 13.44
powershot g1 x mark ii
Is this patent referring the next iteration of the PowerShot G1 X series?

Excerpt for the patent literature (machine translated):

[Claim(s)] [Claim 1] In order, it comprises an object side to the image side from a rear group which has the 1st lens group of positive refracting power, the 2nd lens group of negative refracting power, the 3rd lens group of positive refracting power, and one or more lens groups,
It is a zoom lens from which an interval of said 1st lens group and said 2nd lens group spreads on the occasion of zooming from a wide angle end to telephoto end, and an interval of a lens group in which an interval of said 2nd lens group and said 3rd lens group is adjacent to on the occasion of narrowing and zooming changes,
Said 1st lens group has a positive lens and a negative lens,
When an Abbe number of material of a positive lens contained in said 1st lens group is set to nu1p and relative partial dispersion is set to thetagF1p, it is said 1st lens group,
nu1p<60.0
1.571×10 -5xnu1p2-3.437×10 -3xnu1p+6.976×10 -1<thetagF1p
It has the positive lens G1p with which it is satisfied of a becoming conditional expression,
When an Abbe number of material of a negative lens contained in said 1st lens group is set to nu1n and relative partial dispersion is set to thetagF1n, it is said 1st lens group,
nu1n<27.0
thetagF1n<-2.750×10 -3xnu1n+6.820×10 -1
It has the negative lens G1n with which it is satisfied of a becoming conditional expression,
When setting a focal distance of the whole system [ in / for a focal distance of the aforementioned positive lens G1p / f1p and a wide angle end ] to fw,
2.6<f1p/fw<30.0
A zoom lens satisfying a becoming conditional expression.
[Claim 2] When setting an aforementioned negative lens [ G1n ] focal distance to f1n,
-50.0<f1n/fw<-6.0
The zoom lens according to claim 1 satisfying a becoming conditional expression.
[Claim 3] When setting a focal distance of d1n and said 1st lens group to f1 for aforementioned negative lens [ G1n ] center thickness,
0.005<d1n/f1<0.050
The zoom lens according to claim 1 or 2 satisfying a becoming conditional expression.
[Claim 4] When setting a focal distance of d1p and said 1st lens group to f1 for center thickness of the aforementioned positive lens G1p,
0.030<d1p/f1<0.200
A zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-3 satisfying a becoming conditional expression.
[Claim 5] When the aforementioned positive lens G1p is arranged at the aforementioned negative lens [ G1n ] image side and a focal distance of d1a and said 1st lens group is set to f1 for distance on an optic axis from a lens surface on the image side which is the aforementioned negative lens G1n to a lens surface on the object side of the aforementioned positive lens G1p,
0.002<d1a/f1<0.070
A zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-4 satisfying a becoming conditional expression.
[Claim 6] In a zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-5,
-0.002<(thetagF1n-thetagF1p)/(nu1 n-nu 1p) <0.002
A zoom lens satisfying a becoming conditional expression.
[Claim 7] When setting a refractive index of aforementioned negative lens [ G1n ] material to N1n,
1.77<N1n
A zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-6 satisfying a becoming conditional expression.
[Claim 8] When setting a focal distance of said 1st lens group to f1,
3.0<f1/fw<50.0
A zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-7 satisfying a becoming conditional expression.
[Claim 9] When setting a focal distance of said 2nd lens group to f2,
-5.0<f2/fw<-0.5
A zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-8 satisfying a becoming conditional expression.
[Claim 10] When setting a focal distance of said 3rd lens group to f3,
1.3<f3/fw<8.0
A zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-9 satisfying a becoming conditional expression.
[Claim 11] When setting movement magnitude of said 1st lens group for zooming from a wide angle end to telephoto end to M1,
-20.0<M1/fw<-0.7
A zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-10 satisfying a becoming conditional expression.
[Claim 12] When setting movement magnitude of said 3rd lens group for zooming from a wide angle end to telephoto end to M3,
-6.0<M3/fw<-0.1
A zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-11 satisfying a becoming conditional expression.
[Claim 13] A zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-12, wherein the aforementioned rear group comprises an object side in order to the image side from the 4th lens group of negative refracting power, and the 5th lens group of positive refracting power.
[Claim 14] A zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-12, wherein the aforementioned rear group comprises the 4th lens group of positive refracting power.
[Claim 15] A zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-12, wherein the aforementioned rear group comprises an object side in order to the image side from the 4th lens group of positive refracting power, the 5th lens group of negative refracting power, and the 6th lens group of positive refracting power.
[Claim 16] A zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-12, wherein the aforementioned rear group comprises an object side in order to the image side from the 4th lens group of positive refracting power, and the 5th lens group of negative refracting power.
[Claim 17] An imaging device comprising:
A zoom lens of a description in any 1 item of Claims 1-16.
An optoelectric transducer which carries out light reception of the image formed by the zoom lens.

[via Egami]