Interest Replica Nikkor 8mm fisheye lens parts for HAL

[Yaan]

Would be interesting to see one of those lenses mounted and using an LED to see if that compares to the original.

I am still interested...

 

[Hylo133]

Hi there! Thanks for the reminder. I've been working slowly at this.

Basically I can commission the production of an acrylic lens that resembles the original fisheye's primary (outer) lens element, as described earlier. It looks okay, but it doesn't look the same as a genuine photographic lens. In particular it doesn't have all the internal lens elements that give that depth and complexity that real fisheye lenses have.

I've been buying various lens elements from lens factories, trying to find a couple of pieces that give the required effect, but none have been particularly convincing. The other challenge is to get the look of the recess to the original primary element you can kind of fake it with a planar-convex smaller lens, but that magnifies the light source. Whereas the original lens has a set of elements that makes the light source look miles away.

What do you think?

Thanks for the update!

Personally, I'd be happy with a lens that is accurate in outer appearance. The bulge of the lens being so characteristic, it would be great to reproduce that.

Should it also have a hint of the inner workings that would naturally be a nice plus.

Curious what others think.

 

[squidsicle]

interested in both

 

[nurturer]

Interested in option A

 

[3Dsf]

Would be interesting to see one of those lenses mounted and using an LED to see if that compares to the original.

It's worth mentioning that there is more than one "original" look in the film. The one we're most used to is the still frame used repeatedly throughout the movie - a lens that has been modified by removing most of the internal components, including the aperture diaphragm. However, when the HAL lens is seen on various control panels and so on the red light source mostly looks smaller in diameter.

 

[dr_slurpee]

Any progress on this?

 

[3Dsf]

Nothing to report at this point, I'm afraid. I'm testing various options, but I don't want to be one of those people asking for money before delivering anything. I'm going to fund this entirely myself and then ask people to pay when I'm ready to ship. So I'm keeping track of costs of this project carefully.

 

[ApostleofColor]

interested

 

[Yaan]

Is there a 3D Model from the original lens available? Maybe one could print that in clear resin?

 

[3Dsf]

Is there a 3D Model from the original lens available? Maybe one could print that in clear resin?

Available? Not as such. I mean, I've made one. But 3D-printing a lens that's clear and smooth enough to have optical properties is a ton of work. A lot of sanding and polishing is involved.

 

[Yaan]

I think its not possible to get real optical properties on a printed lens at all, but maybe it will be sufficient for mainly display reasons? I mean, a turned acrylic lens would be similar...

If you do have a 3D file and are willing to share, i would be willing to try and print one.

I already tried this couple of years ago with a blade runner prop, but way smaller:

Problem was that the resin was pretty yellowed, but as i said, maybe the reisns got better since.

 

[3Dsf]

This is where I'm at with lens testing, incidentally. It's difficult to get something that looks exactly like the film. First, the real lens contains large and expensive lens elements that I can't replicate precisely. Second, the HAL faceplate's lenses look different in a few shots - I'm pretty sure that internal lens elements were removed for the key face-on views that we see in the film. And third, I'm trying to make my replica shorter than the real lens, which sticks out the back a long way.

Anyway. This is a test showing the central part of the lens (ie: not the entire width) with three lens elements. Ignore the concentric rings - I did a test print at very low resolution, so that's actually stairstepping that you're seeing there.

 

[Yaan]

That looks promising.

I cannot find any lenses that have this dome style which the original fisheye has. Most (as my current "replacement") have a pretty flat design. No "ebay lenses" from SD show up, so i am still stuck with my prop. I will adapt to the stuff i have, maybe try to design and print a lens from clear resin myself.

3Dsf : are you willing to share files you already have? Lens and the engraved ring would be very useful for me. I do have one last promising lens, but shipping takes a bit longer than expected. I couldnt get any detailed info or measurements, its a shot in the dark. Will post when i get it.

 

[Yaan]

This is my build so far, all metal parts despite the 3D printed lensadapter and the grille.

 

[3Dsf]

This is my build so far, all metal parts despite the 3D printed lensadapter and the grille.

Your build's looking good. My main suggestion would be to lower the height of the "waves" in the grille part. The actual movie props had extremely low height waves. If they're too high you get a striped effect which you don't see in the film.

I don't have any plans at this point to distribute the files I'm working on, I'm afraid. If I do a part run as I plan it will cost me quite a bit of money, and I don't want to do anything that would prevent me from breaking even. Once that's all done I'll think about what I want to do with those things.

The actual primary lens is very curved, and also has a deep almost hemispherical inner part cut into it, which is the second challenge to getting something that looks right.

 

[Yaan]

Thanks alot. Well, this was the only part available on Thingiverse at that time - actually, the waves are not that high, maybe its the angle from the photo.

I understand totally, no worries. I am still interested if you have something to offer.

I do have a technical drawing from the original lens and will try to design something in Fusion and give it a shot to 3D print it...

 

[3Dsf]

Thanks alot. Well, this was the only part available on Thingiverse at that time - actually, the waves are not that high, maybe its the angle from the photo.

I did a bunch of 3D test prints and found that a "wave" height of 0.2mm was needed to avoid the striping problem.

The Age of Plastic - II: Ingredients of the Faceplate

Frame proportions All seven HAL faceplates that appear in the film have the same precise proportions and sizes, relative to the lens diameter. They also match the Ordway/Johnson blueprint proportions exactly. I stress this fact because there’s a persistent belief that there were variants in the

sites.google.com

 

[Yaan]

Thanks for letting me know, maybe i will correct it with a new print. The link helps alot and is quite entertaining.

Meanwhile, i could improve my lens setup. I will never get that 100%, but i can get closer to what i had before:

This is the lens i had before, el cheapo amazon one. Has a very low curvature but was the only lens half way decent.

This is the new lens i will be using, much much better. Have to make a new adapter, but this is as close as i can get it.

Any news on your side concerning acrylic lens or the 3d printed stuff?

 

[3Dsf]

The new lens looks much closer, for sure. Is the aluminium ring upside-down intentionally though?

I’ve had to go to Canada for a couple weeks and will pick up with the acrylic lens when I get back.

 

[3Dsf]

OK. Latest rendition. This version has a large uncoated acrylic primary element (planar convex), then a bulbous secondary in acrylic, then a double-concave coated glass lens at the bottom. This helps give a sense of depth, and makes it feel like you're looking into a much deeper lens. When in fact it doesn't extend below the edge of the HAL frame at all. There's also space to sandwich a piece of red gel if you want, or you can just stick a red LED in the middle if you're less concerned about looking slightly more like the original lens.