Pappmaskin.no

My iPhone 3G – ready to get a camera makeover.

The camera on the iPhone is actually quite horrible compared to most newer mobile phones. The resolution is poor, the light sensitivity is awful, and the way it scans the image makes it hard to avoid distortions. The rest of the iPhone is absolutely state of the art, but the camera could hardly suck more. But perhaps we can add a little more fun to it by making a macro lens from an old cd-rom or dvd-player!

Old cd-rom drive

Or perhaps it is a dvd-rom, I’m actually not quite sure. This is from an old workstation that died many years ago, but I have a hard time throwing cool junk away, so it’s been sitting in the basement collection dust. I’ve canabalized this computer before when making other strange things, and I have plans for the motors on the drive, but I haven’t had any use for the laser lens until now. Let’s start cracking!

Lens closeup

The lens is wrapped in a black plastic cap, which I pried off with a screw driver. I then unscrewed everything I could see and took out the entire laser mechanism. I won’t go into details, in my experience every cd/dvd player is completely different in design.

Laser module removed

Plastic cover removed

I pried loose the black plastic cap and uncovered a metal holder held in place by four small but strong magnets that I will probably save for another project, or perhaps just use as refridgerator magnets. The metal holder is basically completely loose, exept for the thin cableribbon you can see on the right. Just lift up the metal lens holder and cut the ribbon. (or do whatever you need to do to get yours free).

Pretty steampunk jewelry!

There is something VERY steampunky about this object! I must find some use for the metal holder in a later project. But for now I must find a way to pry the lens loose without damaging it. I have no idea how hard it is fastened.

Using a knife

I started prodding a little with a knife, and noticed that the lens was glued in place with four tiny droplets for glue, silicon, or rubber cement. All I had to do was cut under them all like I did in this picture, and the lens was free.

Use tweezers

I used a pair of tweezers for moving the lens, to avoid fingermarks on it.

Spooky steampunk picture without function

Clear tape

I had to figure a way to get the lens to stay in place over the iPhones camera. I decided on clear tape, after considering making a cardboard frame or something to hold it in place. Drag the tape out in a smooth motion to try to avoild creases or blemishes that might later blur the picture.

Place the lens

At this point I was very unsure about which way to actually place the lens. I noticed that one of the sides was flat, while the other side protruded quite a bit, so I desided to place the flat side of the lens UP on the tape (so it would lay down flat on the iPhones camera later). I haven’t tested the other way around, so please tell me what you experience if you try this yourself).

Tape the lens over the iPhone camera

I didn’t know if the lens would work so I kept the tape quite loose so I could take it off and perhaps flip the lens around for a better effect.

Lens in place.

All ready to test! Exited!

My first test subject

Or perhaps object is the right word.

My first iPhone macro lens shot

Damn, the lens magnifies a lot more than I thought! This is an extreme closeup of the grip on the tweezers! And I’m finding it really hard to keep the iPhone still enough to get a sharp image!

Tip of tweezer

This is amazing. It’s hell to get the images sharp (ish), but you get incredibly close! I’m holding the lens is just a few millimeters from the the tip of the pair of tweezers, resting the bottom of the iPhone against the table for much needed support.

Guess what!

Can you guess what this is?

Pour some sugar on me

Paper landscape

The edge of a piece of paper

Keyring

Knife's edge

Knifes edge 2

Golden keyring

photo

A fly's ass, photographed with a homemade diy macro lens and an iPhone

A fly, photographed with a homemade diy macro lens and an iPhone

Wing of a fly

A fly's wing, photographed with a homemade diy macro lens and an iPhone #4

The head of a pin!

The tiny tip of a pin!

Copper wire

Salt crystal

About 1mm on it’s shortest side.

Tip of a screwdriver

The hologram on a 5 EURO bill

The hologram on a 5 EURO bill

50 øre

The leg of a green beetle

A fly's wing, photographed with a homemade diy macro lens and an iPhone #1

A fly's wing, photographed with a homemade diy macro lens and an iPhone #3

Closeup of newspaper #1

Closeup of newspaper #3

This is actually Eli Hagen :)

Closeup of newspaper #2