Photography Hack a macro lens from a zoom lens

I decided to make a more permanent macro lens.

The improvised one here was just too crazy to use. Everything had to be held together with tape, string, and luck.

It turns out its pretty easy to hack a macro lens, if you already have a short zoom lens you dont need.

There are a lot of canon kit lenses that came with the cameras floating around out there for only a few dollars. The best price I saw was $3.98 US.

The lens Im using is a canon EF 35-80mm zoom. I got it for free from someone who paid around $5 for it in Japan.

 The first step is to find some screws that might let you get inside.

The object here is to remove the front lens element.

My screws were found under a sticker, but different lenses hide the screws in different places.

Removing the sticker revealed 3 screws.

The sticker is useless after you remove it, so dont try this unless you want the change to be permanent.

Thats the wrinkled corpse of the sticker in the background.

Undo the screws.

This allows the top lens element to be removed.

This lens cluster does the focusing as far as I can tell.

At this point you can take a macro shot, but the lens will leak a lot of light onto your censor. The black plastic surround covers a gap between the outer lens casing, and the inner sleeve that controls the zoom.

In my lens, it wasnt possible to remove the lens from the plastic surround, so I had to cut it off.

If you were trying to do this as a temporary thing, and wanted to try it before you commit, all you need to do is cover the lens front with something light proof with a hole around 2cm in diameter in the centre.

Im guessing gaffer tape would work well.



The main thing is to create a cover for the gap between the outer casing and the inner zoom sleeve.

The lenses are of no use, but the plastic surround is very useful, because it has a screw thread to take filters.

A clear glass filter, or a UV filter will be the thing that keeps dust out of the lens.

The large black plastic thing is the bit we are keeping.

There was an extra hole that I filled with a screw to keep everything light tight.

A clear glass filter, and its all done.












The results are pleasantly surprising. The original lens could zoom into around 6cm in width. This is closer to 1cm.

The focus ring no longer does anything, but the zoom still zooms. 

There are two ways to focus. 

Moving the camera or the subject until the scene is in focus is where you start. The distance from the lens that the subject needs to be is only around 5cm. Once you have the subject roughly in place, you can use the zoom to change the point thats in sharp focus. 

The zoom also works as a zoom, and changes the field of view between 12mm and 25mm from one extreme to the other. ie at full zoom (as per the shot of the pencil, you can fill the frame with a 12mm object)

All in all, not quite as functional as a proper zoom lens, but for $5 it represents a pretty good compromise, and something Id call a total success.

120 Things in 20 years - If canon just made the front lens element removable, I wouldnt have needed to do this lens hack to convert a zoom lens to a macro. 

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Tweets from the FrancisFactor Conference in Albuquerque

Below are a handful of tweets from "The Francis Factor: How St. Francis & Pope Francis are Changing the World," featuring Richard Rohr, Shane Claiborne, and Ilia Delio

Pope Francis is s.master of symbolic action. Symbol is much more powerful than words -Richard Rohr #FrancisFactor.

— Carlos Navarro (@CNinABQ) August 31, 2015

RT @AKRicky: Richard Rohr to @ShaneClaiborne “You live a fire that I only talk about.” #francisfactor

— Richard Rohr, OFM (@RichardRohrOFM) August 31, 2015

#ShaneClaibornes ministry is very Franciscan. -Richard Rohr #FrancisFactor

— Carlos Navarro (@CNinABQ) August 31, 2015

RT @tasha7wahl: Evangelism is not forcing Gods love on the world, but fascinating the world with Gods love. @ShaneClaiborne #francisfactor

— CAC (@CACRadicalGrace) August 31, 2015

Ilia: The greatest suffering is not the suffering, its the suffering in the suffering. The isolation. The alienation. #francisfactor

— Ron Hofius (@r_hof) August 31, 2015

2. Restorative justice: the greater the wrongdoing the greater the need for love. @RichardRohrOFM #FrancisFactor

— Ed Bacon (@RevEdBacon) August 31, 2015

"Re: protests, "our goal is not to create enemies, but to courageously proclaim the vision of God. #ShaneClaiborne #FrancisFactor

— Carlos Navarro (@CNinABQ) August 31, 2015

"We must dispossess our consumptive patterns to live the virtue of enoughness." -Sr Ilia Delio #francisfactor

— Julie Ann Stevens (@tdastudio) August 31, 2015

"A life of poverty is not to live without things but to live without possessing things." Ilia Delio #francisfactor

— Brie Stoner (@briestonermusic) August 31, 2015

Perhaps vow of poverty is not the right term. We have to promote a "theology of enough." #ShaneClaiborne at #FrancisFactor conference

— Carlos Navarro (@CNinABQ) September 1, 2015

— Mike Morrell (@zoecarnate) August 31, 2015

When our need to be right eclipses our hunger to love, we must let go-"we are all just kids playing in Gods sandbox." Rohr #francisfactor

— Shelley Drake (@Shelley_Drake) August 31, 2015

Every few hundred years the Church needs a rummage sale. Lose the clutter. But you never sell everything. Keep the treasures. #francisfactor

— Ron Hofius (@r_hof) August 31, 2015

The opposite of faith is not doubt, its control -Richard Rohr. #francisfactor

— Carlos Navarro (@CNinABQ) August 30, 2015

The small people build cages for everyone. The sage keeps dropping keys for all the beautiful rowdy prisoners. #francisFactor #Hafiz

— Ed Bacon (@RevEdBacon) August 30, 2015

RT @RevEdBacon: Some of the loudest versions of Christianity havent always been the most beautiful. @ShaneClaiborne #FrancisFactor

— Richard Rohr, OFM (@RichardRohrOFM) August 31, 2015

To avoid misusing power we must embrace our own journeys of powerlessness. Thank you Richard. #francisfactor

— Julie Ann Stevens (@tdastudio) August 30, 2015

We are not punished for our sins. We are punished by our sins. -Richard Rohr. #FrancisFactor

— Carlos Navarro (@CNinABQ) August 31, 2015

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Stirling engines Balloon Power pistons

My original balloon power piston looked like this.

It had a connecting rod glued to the centre, and the other end of that rod connected to the cam shaft. The result was that as the air was heated in the chamber with the displacer, it expanded, filled this balloon, and pushed up the connecting rod.





I think it also pulls as the air cools and contracts, but that isnt very obvious either way. In that video (see link in first sentence) you can see the balloon inflating and giving the connecting rod a little push.

Im amazed that the air can expand and contract at such a high frequency. Im amazed these things work at all.

My power piston design was a little rough, and to be honest I was lucky that it worked at all.

The balloon kept slipping around under its rubber bands, making the connecting rod feel some resistance as the balloon reached its limits of free movement. The result was some extra friction where it wasnt necessary.

What I need is a bit more room for error.

With that in mind, I did some research and found what I think might be a useful design, and also came up with one myself that might work pretty well.

I found this one in use already and mine was made from a balloon neck, and a plastic bottle top.

To start with I created a plastic disk around 25mm in diameter by trimming off the sides of a plastic bottle cap. 

It was pretty easy to do with scissors, and a cut that went in a spiral gradually cutting away the side.

I also have a copper elbow that will be the power pistons basic form.

This will take the place of the ungainly plastic bottle with the hole hacked into the side as seen in the top-most picture on this post.

I cut the neck off a balloon and inserted the plastic disk. The connecting rod would be glued to the centre of this disk at the top.

The cut end of the neck is stretched over the copper elbow so that it looks like this when at its highest. (this would be the end of the power stroke)

And like this at its lowest.

It looks quite neat, and this is probably the design Ill use unless it proves to require too much air expansion to fill it.

My design includes the same section of balloon neck, and a cable tie to secure the top.

I tightened the cable tie with pliers  and then cut the rest of the balloon away with scissors.

It looks like this at its lowest. Or near its lowest.

It might be the case that this design will prove useful when used entirely at the low end. It requires much lass change in air volume to move 10mm up or down from its pictured position.







I have no idea if it will be of any benefit to use this (green) design, but It should be easy enough to try both with my adjustable cam shaft.




120 Things in 20 years - When it comes to balloon power pistons for Stirling engines, I have standards above which, I will not go.

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Starting From Seeds

Ive had a lot of trouble with my seed starts.  But today I read a forum discussion that made some very good points which I will begin to follow.  The following is a list of dos and donts.

Starting from seed requires moist, but not wet conditions.  Starting your seeds in the Deep Water Culture (DWC) may keep your small seedling too wet.  It would be better to water as needed; maybe two or three times per day depending on the heat and humidity.  Green House humidity may keep the seedlings too moist.  Using a fan to move air over the seedlings can be helpful, but you may also need to open the enclosure and let dry air in to bring the humidity down.

My seeds do well when started outside in open air, but Id like to be able to start seeds in the cold Winter months too.  Im thinking I will get a small heating pad and start my seeds in the garage.  The humidity will be lower so Pythium will be less likely to affect the small seedlings.  Once they harden off I will be able to move them into the garden room.


Starting seeds directly in the net pot, or media that the plant will live its life in saves a lot of time.  Let me directly quote  Vlad Jovanovic 

           Link to Comment

"All the stuff you see in my rafts were germinated directly in net pots filled with hydroton. I just dont put them in the DWC trough until about 10-15 days after they germinate, but they all seeds start off directly in hydroton. This has a number of advantages.
1). There is no transplant shock for the seedlings Since the seed is started in the same place it will live out its life, so no waiting days and days for them to get over transplant shock and start growing again. So better for them.
2) Its a HUGE time and energy saver. Transplanting seedlings sucks IMO and is a totally un-necessary waste of your time/labor in most AP scenarios. So better for you.
3) Its also cheaper that way, since there is no coco-coir, vermiculite, perlite etc...to buy.
4) No soil born pests or pathogens (even in bagged and bought products Ive often come across various larva and who knows what else that you cant see...fungal/bacterial).
Starting seeds off in soil, or any other medium, seems pointlessly time consuming, counterproductive, more expensive, and doesnt give germination results that are any better than starting them off in a LECA media, and can be the source of many a pathogenic headache."

Old seeds dont germinate. 
Get your seeds fresh from a reputable source.  Your local hardware store or grocer may not turn over enough stock to ensure that  the seeds are new.

Begin with a sterile media.   Here is a tip from Jon Parr

 Link to Comment

 I would personally mist the plants and surrounding area lightly with hydrogen peroxide to kill spores while handling, and to help prevent any spores from going airborne. No big deal, but H2O2 is a relatively safe disinfectant, and leaves nothing behind but water and oxygen.

I have tried this and ran into problems when my H2O2 solution was too strong.   A 3% solution is a common topical strength found at drug stores and would not need to be diluted.

After many of my seedling failed due to Damping Off and more specifically Pythium – a genus of parasitic oomycete I have taken to is boiling the media I plant in.  Starting with a sterile media, and avoiding contaminates from sources such your dirt garden will help to ward off these parasites. Nursery transplants are generally pretty sterile, but since you dont really know it does not hurt to be cautious.  

Jon also offered this tip!
Link to Conversation

Indeed, be careful about using H2O2 or any dissinfectant in AP, of course. But in order to harm your bio filter, it must reach your biofilter as active H2O2. If you dump a whole bottle of hardware store 3% in your grow bed, the H2O2 will kill single celled organisms indiscriminately as it disperses through the system, leaving in its wake a sterile pathway. Big deal. If it doesnt wipe out the whole system, the system will recover, probably without hiccup. That cant be said of any other disinfectant. The truth is that H2O2 is very short lived in an abundance of bacteria, as the bacteria it kills robs the extra O, and leaves behind H2O. Of course you can do damage, but it is a very mild risk for the benefit it carries. If your media is dry for 2" like its supposed to be, then you can fog the plants and surface liberally (use your noggin), and the H2O2 wont make it to the fish or the biofilter. I do it all the time.
The fact is that spore carry the problem to other areas, and stick around to cause problems again, and H2O2 kills spore. It doesnt kill the fungus, it doesnt kill the plants, it doesnt kill insects, but it does kill spore and bacteria. If you really want to impress your friends, use a cap-full of H2O2 for the first watering after you plant seeds. It will kill any spore and bacteria immediately surrounding the seed, and rapidly quicken the softening of the hull, cut germination times in half, and increase germination rate. It may even fix your infected seeds, IDK. 
Yes Bob, 1 1/2 to 3% can be put straight in a spray bottle, and is a good disinfectant to use for your garden tools, cleaning pumps and hoses, test equipment, fish nets, etc.
Dont let any go straight to the fish tank, as there are far fewer bacteria to sacrifice before it hits the fishs gills, which could be lethal.

In Summary:
 Keep it dry
  Water only as needed
 Keep it sterile 
  Spray with Hydrogen Peroxide
  Boil the media
 Use fresh seeds
  

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Is Water Flushed From A Filter Better

Ive often heard people say water flushed from a filter is better for your plants. 
I wondered how true that is.  Is It higher in Nitrate?
Heres the test.

Its higher in some trace elements, but dont count on it for Nitrate.

The problem with dumping this on your terra-garden  is that this nutrients are lost from the aquaponic system.

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A Reply from the Congresswoman

The children who attended Vacation Bible School at St. John XXIII Catholic Community in Albuquerque this summer wrote messages on paper plates urging Congress to end hunger and poverty in our country.  We distributed the 88 paper-plate messages as evenly as we could among Sen. Tom Udall, Sen. Martin Heinrich and Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham. They were almost all great messages, and I dont recall which plates went to which of our legislators. What we know is that the messages touched Rep. Lujan Grisham, who sent a nice reply to the VBS children of our parish. (The children of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church and All Saints Lutheran Church also sent paper-plate messages to Congress).

Here are some excerpts of Rep. Lujan Grishams reply (with the full letter below)

Children of St. John XXIII Catholic Community:

"Thank you for taking time to make such beautiful personalized messages highlighting the poverty children face in our state and country," Lujan Grisham.  I want you to know that I take this issue seriously.

"Hungry children should not have to bear the burden of balancing our nations budget."

"Thank you for writing to me -- your passion energizes my desire to eliminate poverty in our state. Together we can work to ensure that no child is left hungry." 

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If I could design a system from scratch

A Perfect Day
If I could design a system from scratch, and if I didnt have any constraints, I would:

• Use a bell siphon for my ebb and flow (already in heaven on this)
  
• Use locally sourced expanded shale aggregate for my grow medium
  
• Site the greenhouse in a clear area with only norther shade
  
• Make the walkway 36" wide and paved, so it is wheelchair accessible
  
• Sink the fishtank and sump so the growbeds are about 30" high
  
• Install a rocket mass heater under the walkway for winter
  
• Install a rain catchment and storage system
  
• Install a biosand water filter
  
• Install a windmill and solar panels for power
  
• Have a nifty greenhouse (like this Royal Victorian)
  

The Royal Victorian 10 x 15 Greenhouse
In the mean time, I have a wonderfully robust system where the plants are exploding, from which Im already been able to harvest lettuce, beans, peas, strawberries, mustard, and basil.

Last night we had homemade pizza with pesto sauce made from basil in the garden. So Im already in heaven!

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What I Learned From My 2014 Summer Garden

I wanted a record of this years garden.  The foliage grew so thick in the hydroponic section I was unable to track down a leak.  Usage became ridiculous and I ended up filling the sump twice a day with water rather than waste the hydroponic fertilizer. 

The bioponic systems did well.  Summer heat put a damper on everything including the tomatoes.  Even the squash seemed to regain vigor once the 100+ days passed.  Bell peppers in the hydroponic system did well, but failed due to blossom end rot in the bioponic systems.  I found [this article about Blossom End Rot] that may be helpful.

One Earthan bed became clogged by a root and I lost all the flowers on my Tomatillo, but even though a second set of flowers came back, I doubts I will get a crop.

My wicking barrels did not wick quite as well as I would have liked.  So Ill adjust the soil mix.  These barrels did not get enough sun in this location, so I will have to find a different location.  That is one of the best attributes of this simple low cost design.  Relocation is not a problem.

The vertical section will get a modification to the water supply.  I plan to install a check valve after the pump and a high pressure connection after that.  When the 1/4" tubes clog I will simply give it a blast of fresh water.   In fact this is how I will maintain the level in the sump tank.  Each time I fill the sump I will be clearing the 1/4" lines.

The 8W Earthan Bed system performed well over the summer.  Water usage was extremely low in both the wicking barrels and the 8W Earthan Beds.  Without a doubt I feel these two systems hold the most promise.  But one thing Ive learned is that any garden that relies on a mechanical system is prone to some type of failure which places the wicking barrels squarely in the best position.

I began the season using weed teas, fish emulsion, and kelp in the 8W Earthan Bed and the Vertical Garden, but the Vertical Garden was abandoned due to high maintenance (clogging).

After the other bioponic Earthan Bed clogged I began to fear that the system might become clogged, but I now feel it would have been okay since it was a root not muck that caused the problem.

But this caused me to switch the 8W Earthan Bed over to plain well water with an occasional slurp of fish emulsion and liquid kelp plus a little Fe DTPA, MgSO4, and HCl after only a few weeks.  My goal for this system was to use no urine.

Clogging is a concern I will eventually have to face with all of the Earthan Beds as I doubt even the worms will be able to keep the rock bed clear forever.   The advantage is that the water stays well aerated which should increase plant vitality and vigor. 

Water use was extremely low in this systems even though I top watered every few days.   

Im still enjoying handfuls of cherry tomatoes from every section of the garden everyday The soil less section of the bioponic system produced more cherry tomatoes than we could eat. This and the hydroponic section were the best performers.  I credit this to aeration and high nutrient levels.  The main bioponic garden (not the 8W garden) received about 50% of my fresh urine plus fish emulsion, kelp, Fe DTPA, MgSO4, and HCl.

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Back from my travels

Double Rainbow with supernumerary bands, Nebraska
Its good to get back to my garden again!

I was in France and all across the United States over the past three weeks, so didnt have much to post about my garden. I was a bit worried, in fact, since local temperatures have been up over 100 degrees Fahrenheit several times, and consistently above 90 degrees.

Thankfully I had someone who could check in on my fish and water levels, and everything is thriving (Id had visions of coming home to sun-baked black plastic tanks and dessicated remains of plants and fish...).

There were some garden-related points of interest during my travels, aside from the amazing double rainbow with supernumerary bands (extra inner rainbows) we saw while driving across Nebraska:

• Notre Dame Gardens - I had the chance to visit Paris while in France, and quite enjoyed the garden around the famous cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. As always, its fascinating to realize that Paris is further north than any point in the state of Maine.
  
• UW Botanic Gardens and Center for Urban Agriculture - From Paris, I flew to Seattle for several more perfect days. Locals tell me that Seattle is usually overcast and wet, so the perfect weather was a rare treat. The Center for Urban Agriculture is lovely, and there are several walking tours one can take of the surrounding Botanical Gardens. If you cant visit in person, you can always listen to the online audio tours.
  
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park - I was surprised to learn that this is America’s most visited national park, with over 9 million visitors each year. This part of the southern Appalachian mountains was located just south of the ice cap during the most recent ice age, so animals and plants from more northerly regions migrated to these mountains. When the ice receded, many of the species remained in ecological niches on the mountain slopes. This area is the most biologically diverse of any similar-sized temperate area, with upwards of 100,000 species of plants, animals, and invertebrates believed to live within the parks borders.
  

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Connecting the Tanks Pictures from 29 April

Piping connecting the fish tank to the sump

To achieve a "constant height of pond" (CHOP) in my bigger tank, I needed to install pipes to let water flow down to the sump.

I used 3/4" pipes to plumb through the tank walls, because that way I could get away with using the 1" drill bit. I drilled two holes near the top of the tank, in the recessed ribs so the piping wouldnt stick out as far. If I was doing this a second time, I would locate the holes a couple of inches lower, but this works.

Once the two pipes coming from the fish tank join, I transition to 1" piping, to make sure flow out of the fish tank isnt restricted by the plumbing joining the tanks.

[After I already had the fish in the tank, I realized I would have to turn the tank so the side with the ribs close together faced the sump. Not sure the fishes liked having the water drained down to almost empty, but I was glad to be able to move the tank without having to net everyone out.]

The fish tank, with pipes to suck water up from the bottom

The 3/4" pipes in the fish tank extend down to the bottom, forcing water from the bottom of the tank to flow out of the tank when the grow beds drain into the fish tank. I drilled a pattern of 13 holes in each end-cap and cut small slices at the very end of the pipe with my miter saw. This allows enough flow through the bottom of the pipe so water drains well (else the fish tank could overflow). The reason to use two pipes is so drainage can still happen even if one pipe gets blocked.

This picture was taken before I actually plumbed the two tanks together, so the 1000 gph pump is still in the fish tank. I used regular 5/8 hose and a garden hose splitter. Turns out 5/8" no-kink garden hose and regular splitters work fine - they are inexpensive and come with built in ball valves. After these pictures were taken, I replaced the green hose with white hose that is lead-free and certified safe to use with drinking water.

Goldfish in the sump

Once I get to the sump, I transition back to 3/4" pipes, again so I could get away with my 1" drill bit. You can see the 45 degree joint that lets the water from the grow beds and fish tank flow into the sump with minimum noise.

Ive been running the system for almost a week since these pictures were taking, and it works just fine.

Grow bed 1 of 4 (lots of different plants)

For the record, heres what the grow beds looked like when I plumbed the tanks together.

Grow bed 2 of 4 (lots of basil)

Grow bed 3 of 4

I ended up adding hydroton to all my beds when I couldnt coordinate getting the expanded shale delivered before my fish had to be bought. Too much travel, between spring break vacation and work trips.

Even though I would have preferred the expanded shale, a nice thing about the hydroton is it is distinctly different in color and shape from couple inches of gravel from my original system in the bottom of each grow-bed.

Grow bed 4 of 4 (check out the banana plant)

In the week since these pictures were taken, Ive shifted the pump to the sump, invented a way to keep the water topped up, and built kiddie covers for the tanks. But Ill cover those items in future posts.

Gnight!

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Test results Rock Dust BioChar pH

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