Turn an Old Kit Lens Into a Macro Lens by Removing the Front Element

Turn an Old Kit Lens Into a Macro Lens by Removing the Front Element:

If you have an old plastic kit lenses lying around, something that you are not using for anything serious, you can give it a new life as a macro lens by removing the front element.



Here I have an old Canon 38-76mm lens. You can find these in eBay, second-hand stores, etc. The process may not be identical for other kit lenses, but should be similar.

Use a small flathead screwdriver to remove the plastic ring that is glued onto the front. Be careful not to tear or break it.

You’ll find tiny crosshead screws under the ring. They may be really tight. The cheapest tools won’t work here. Use a good, hardened, exact-fit screwdriver and keep it firmly in place, otherwise you may ruin the heads and then you won’t be able to remove the front element without breaking things. Try not to scratch the lens.

Pull the front element out. Now you have an odd-looking but fairly decent macro lens! Attach it normally to the camera (not in reverse; no adapters needed).

Keep the parts so you can put everything back together later if you ever get tired of using it as a macro lens. You can the lens cap and the front element together as a “lens cap” of the macro lens. A rubber band can keep it together.
With the widest aperture the depth of field will be very narrow, so you may want to shoot with the smallest aperture you can. In bright sunlight this should be no problem. Otherwise you may want to use a tripod and a remote, or the camera’s self-timer, and flash(es) etc. Without the front element the auto-focus will not work, so it’s better to turn it off. Focus by moving the camera or the subject.
Using an extender increases the magnification.
Here are some sample photos I shot using my makeshift macro lens:

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About the author: Juha Loukola is a photography enthusiast based in Finland. You can visit his Flickr page here.

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The posts and articles provided by our news desk our not always our own personal views.Tweet at #AceSocialNews #AceNewsServices and email us at News & Views 

Thank you, Ian [Editor]

A Remote Shutter Release for iOS Devices That Masquerades as a Roll of Film

A Remote Shutter Release for iOS Devices That Masquerades as a Roll of Film:

Ever since the launch of iOS 5 in mid-2011, iPhones, iPads, and iPods have accepted the “volume up” signal as a “take a picture” command, allowing Apple’s headphones to double as handy remote shutter releases. If triggering your camera’s shutter with a pair of earbuds in your hand isn’t “hip” enough for you, check out this new iCA Remote Shutter by Japanese novelty photo company Gizmon. It’s a dedicated shutter release for your iOS device that’s designed to look like a roll of film.



It comes with three pieces: the film cartridge shutter release, a retractable cord (an ordinary 3.5mm aux cable), and a holder for storing your cartridge on your keychain when it’s not being used:

Simply plug one end of the cable into your device, the other end into the film roll, and you’re set for shake-free picture taking (and for covert picture taking when you don’t want to reveal that you’re taking a picture).
The shutter releases themselves come in three flavors: red, yellow, and green:

The iCA Remote Shutter doesn’t come cheap: they cost $23 a pop over on Amazon.
Gizmon iCA Remote Shutter A (via Technabob)

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The posts and articles provided by our news desk our not always our own personal views.Tweet at #AceSocialNews #AceNewsServices and email us at News & Views

Thank you, Ian [Editor]

How Wearable “Sousveillance” Cameras Will Transform Our Society

How Wearable “Sousveillance” Cameras Will Transform Our Society:

Have you heard of the term sousveillance? It’s the inverse of surveillance: instead of a camera pointed at individuals, individuals wear their own cameras on themselves to document their activities. Wearable-camera pioneer Steve Mann has written a fascinating piece for Time, titled “Eye Am a Camera: Surveillance and Sousveillance in the Glassage“, in which he offers his vision of what the future will look like once wearable cameras such as Google Glass (seen above) become ubiquitous.



Mann argues that it will soon be absurd to enforce any “no photography” policy, even in private places, as “cameras become integrated into the very fabric and flesh of our society and the prosthetic territory of individuals”:

Consider the automobile or wheelchair as a middle ground between building-mounted (surveillance) cameras and wearable (sousveillance) cameras. Would a drive-in theater owner kick out a driver who had a rearview camera or dash camera? Would you throw someone in a wheelchair out of a movie theatre because a rear-view or auto-pilot camera was part of the wheelchair? We’re starting to see this trend in concert halls where organizers are giving up their fight against audience members using camera phones. But once cameras become part of the human mind and body, their fight will be completely lost.
[...] society will return to a world in which there is both sousveillance and surveillance (both “undersight” and oversight) rather than today’s world of [...] surveillance without sousveillance (oversight without undersight).

Here’s something crazy for you to think about: photography is often prevented these days because authorities can see the cameras being used, but what happens if/when the human eye can be used as a camera or if/when memories can be projected onto a screen? At that point, anything people can see and any location people can visit will be fair game for photographs, and society will simply have to adapt and live with it.
Eye Am a Camera: Surveillance and Sousveillance in the Glassage [Time]

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Thanks for sending in the tip, Phil!

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Image credit: Photograph of Google Glass camera by Chris Chabot

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The posts and articles provided by our news desk our not always our own personal views.Tweet at #AceSocialNews or #AceNewsServices and email us at News and Views at
Thank you, Ian [Editor]

Rent a Light Truck for Just $1,500 Per Day

Rent a Light Truck for Just $1,500 Per Day:

Want to illuminate an entire football field for a photo shoot, but can’t find enough friends who will let you borrow their external flashes? Have deep pockets? Here’s a “lighting accessory” you might want to add to your camera bag: the light truck.



Earlier this week, David Hobby of Strobist shared the results of experiments he conducted in lighting high school football games using way-off-camera flashes. He writes,

In the end, a lot of extra work for a chancy, potentially frustrating result [...] the final conclusion has to be that lighting night football is not practical [...] Even with near-optimal gear, no deadlines and a friendly home-field coach, the results were disappointing to say the least.

Hobby also asked his readers if they knew of any ways to light the field more reliably. A reader named Daniel responded with a comment saying,

Every problem has a solution. But some solutions are expensive. :) Rent a light truck.

What you see above is the “Sky High Lighting Rig” “light truck” by a SoCal-based company called DADCO. It features massive articulating lights, an onboard power generator, and dimmer controls. You can rent one to illuminate your outdoor photo shoot for just $1,500 per day.
Here’s another of the company’s light trucks called the “G-4 Nite Sun“, which features four 24kW lights that produce roughly 20 million lumens:

As an added bonus, it comes with “extension ears” that let you attach gels to the lights.
If you ever have the opportunity to use the light truck in any kind of photo shoot — perhaps you need to photograph a jumbo jet — be sure to share your experience and results with us!

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Thanks for sending in the tip, Phil!

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Image credits: Photographs by DADCO

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The posts and articles provided by our news desk are not always representative of our personal views of the story.Tweet at #AceSocialNews or email to News & Views Thank you, Ian [Editor]