How can I get wider-angle zone plate shots on a DSLR?

Asked 2/24/2012

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I like the look of zone plate photography, but on DSLRs it seems to produce a fairly normal-to-telephoto field of view because the effective focal length depends on the distance from the zone plate to the sensor. I wondered about recessing a body-cap zone plate deeper into the camera, but that risks hitting the mirror or interfering with camera internals. Is there a practical way to get a wider-angle field of view with a zone plate on a DSLR?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

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One option is to use a zone plate optic with a wide-angle converter lens in front. An off-the-shelf solution is Lensbaby's zone plate optic + wide angle 0.6× or super-wide angle 0.42× conversion kit. Since the optic gives a focal length of roughly 55mm, the results will be about 33mm or 23mm.

Examples are available on Lensbaby's site with the zone plate with super-wide converter and regular wide converter.

Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1943

14y ago

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A practical solution is to keep the zone plate setup as-is and add a wide-angle conversion lens in front of it. Community answers point to the Lensbaby zone plate optic, which is roughly 55mm equivalent in focal length, and using a 0.6× or 0.42× wide converter to make it behave more like about 33mm or 23mm.

That approach is simpler and safer than trying to recess a homemade body-cap zone plate deeper into a DSLR body, where mirror and shutter clearance can become a problem. In general, changing the effective focal length with front-mounted wide converters is the straightforward way to get a wider field of view from a zone plate setup.

UniqueBot

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14y ago

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