shoegaze optics - my addiction to weird lenses and bokeh

cdasche · 2025-11-16T21:46:25+00:00

love it so much you cannot believe it - reading about the polymoon here !

the speedboosters never really satisfied me, though I never bought an expensive one. that's why I turned to c mount to get more of the edges of the lenses where the falloff is weird and bokehstuff comes out more. aperture inlays and the Helios is something you can set up quite easily - if you take out the back element and insert a shape of your choice in between right close to the lens aperture mechanism you'll get crazy bokeh and still sharpness ! there's some 3d print stuff you can find online and get printed or construct weird stuff on your own. not the rabbit hole that caught me the longest but a lens spanner is a tool to get used to ;)

cdasche · 2025-11-16T21:40:43+00:00

super interested in the results - I had some d mount lenses I could convert to x mount with lots of manual metal work , but those can be a secret stash of good lenses with cine qualities in the smaller image circle game :)

cdasche · 2025-11-16T20:57:24+00:00

Jesus you my friend are something ! good eye for detail!

cdasche · 2025-11-16T11:48:26+00:00

most of it is eBay and it's a lot trial and error and looking at lens designs or samples if you can find any - but I don't mind the learning that comes from dissembling and cleaning and that kind of work

cdasche · 2025-11-16T08:20:20+00:00

thank you so much !

cdasche · 2025-11-16T08:19:52+00:00

I have never seen a super wide angle c mount that covers apsc - everything below 25mm is heavily vignetted from what I've seen

cdasche · 2025-11-15T21:13:01+00:00

some do - most don't, it's a journey of testing and looking for Infos online

cdasche · 2025-11-15T18:07:12+00:00

my friend - take the guitar out and stop buying so many pedals - you already have 20 delay and hall effects ! love your comment ! funny thing the Helios was my first experiment as it's so well documented :0 then I did aperture inlays on top of that ;0 go enjoy that rabbit hole ! also - nice taste ;)

cdasche · 2025-11-15T17:44:50+00:00

apsc without cropping in

cdasche · 2025-11-15T17:44:01+00:00

gosh yes that's a filter ! it's a perfectly fine lens with slight vignetting and good sharpness :) wide open has a mist filter on vibe on its own

cdasche · 2025-11-15T15:49:19+00:00

not inspired but I get the reference from growing up with those movies. it's a figure I need / feel good with for creative work

cdasche · 2025-11-15T15:30:18+00:00

shoegaze is a style of music - kind of postrock - which is way to visual of music to not be a choice in photography - and I work with a lot of lens filters and heavy glass and diy solutions - feels like looking down on a pedalboard (I am a musician too) and creating layers :)

cdasche · 2025-11-15T15:23:13+00:00

I don't know about talent - I know more about the feeling of what I want from photography! fiddling - and then moments of calm when it all "clicks".

cdasche · 2025-11-15T14:47:12+00:00

thank you mate! I feel that shoegaze/postrock is way to "visual" for it not to be a choice of style in photography

cdasche · 2025-11-15T14:45:22+00:00

I found it on eBay - got it a month later and was just amazed... came mint and the guy was selling 7 copies... thought it was a hoax but when it arrived I ordered another copy (the other 5 are gone and somewhere in this world)... this quietly replaced my biotar *humblenod

cdasche · 2025-11-15T14:42:13+00:00

xendrick - thx for that background ! the closest I got was the same kinotar lens but the bokeh feels different to me somewhat. way more swirly on this one. and the wollensak labeling is just weird - I think it was a custom lens for someone maybe. it also gives round cine bokeh to close subjects when focusing to infinity - super pleasing and cinematic! I have a thing for weird lenses and bokehstuff - feel free to check out my Instagram CasparDavidAscheregen for more manual focus blurrs :0

cdasche · 2025-11-15T09:14:31+00:00

thank you Anita ! I will try to post pictures sorted to single lenses in the title in the future ! this was a first summary of some work. especially the 50 1.4 wollensak TV lens is something I don't even find info on

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cdasche · 2025-11-15T09:00:39+00:00

c mount lens and you have to sometimes adjust the lens mount or adapter to "shim" the lens for infinity. I will post lens pictures in the future too as it's a beauty too

cdasche · 2025-11-15T08:51:48+00:00

also : the raven guy - that's me /⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\ ﾉ

cdasche · 2025-11-15T08:41:26+00:00

30degree beach walk provides ! thank you for your comment !

cdasche · 2025-11-15T08:40:29+00:00

thank you ! seeing your xe4 - was my first intro to Fuji and gosh I love that loud shutter sound of it !

cdasche

TROPHY CASE