Lifehacker - How To Turn a Lens from a DVD Drive into a Powerful Macro Lens

[hipiema]

trolololololool moth



[Spazman100]

"For the unfamiliar, these bullets are extremely tiny and could easily fit inside the body of a big pen."

And some people are crazy enough to actually try...

[Kat3866Meow]

oh wow so simple dont't even have to take the phone apart :) and u can easily use a phone cover to hide the tape:) thanks this video tutorial was so easy to understand not complicated:) thanks

[emotacoful]

@garyh315223 theres another moth in 2:15

[TheZeroPD]

For all of the users saying "tried with CD -blank- and it did not work, don't bother trying" CD players DO NOT have the same lense as a DVD player, DVD lasers/lenses operate at a smaller wavelength and zoom in more.

STOP TRYING WITH CD PLAYERS.

[imilanioom]

It does work .just have to be so close to whatever you're trying to take a photo of.

[imilanioom]

Tried it with the lens from an old cd rom ....don't bother.

It doesn't work.

[luedriver]

would the lens from an old ps1 work???

[PCiOS3DS]

macro 3d putting these on a 3ds



[urouk]

does it have to be a burner, could it be a dvd play lens? in face my dvd player is a dvd burner. wel u can record tv and tht with it..

i watched this video with no sound.. i thought you was going to bust out a magic trick lol

[chazcov08]

Tried this with a CD burner lens from a Yamaha burner dated 2002. The quality was really REALLY crappy.  I'm wondering if there is a difference between an old CD lens and a newer DVD lens.

Anyone have any experience with this?

[emotacoful]

"aaaand thats a moth in my garage." xD

[GaryH315223]

@emotacoful

moths jus chillin

[alexisanne6]

I love being a nerd :)

[jimball009]

Just use a jewelers loop, easy to hold onto any phone camera and you can actually get closer in spots with uneven topography. Magnification looks the same as this to me. Loops are 20 bucks, they have a built in handle so you can go on the fly or you can easily tape it to the phone for longer vids..

[killerbeenl]

And be careful with the laser diodes the can be fun afterwards

[Nullstr1ng]

I love to make this as my weekend projecT!!

[Nullstr1ng]

an insect!

[2259happy]

Wiiiii

[nthOracle]

This is awesome. I used an old computer's CD/DVD drive's lens. Works perfect on my Droid. Takes GREAT quality photos.

[1988jgraves]

i used an old portable CD player i had lying around ... it had a bit of extra plastic attached to it but some sharp finger nail clippers will get rid of that.

[HelpfullScape]

Take apart DVD player! Get close pictures of things!

[asian4lifeppk]

does it have to be from a dvd player? can it also be from a cd player?

[pookyp1]

working farmville hack ---> /watch?v=nqZMILflFYo

[jozilife]

this absolutely genius, thank you lifehacker!! :D

[xXSurfUSAXx]

Wow! Huge ass fly at 3:11.

[poodle2426]

@xXSurfUSAXx that's called a moth.

[PSPGlover]

Moth...

[pabloseba35]

nice job, would love to see some pictures of the lens put backwards!

and thanks for the tip...

[lightmanx5]

Um, isn't cotton abrasive? (And therefore a poor material to use to clean a lens.)

~JOSh-X

[MajorGr00ve]

@lightmanx5 Abrasive? Compared to the khn of glass? you are joking, right?

[24Aeros]

@lightmanx5 Yes typically, since the lens is essentially trash there is no real risk. To mention a few scratches won't matter for all practical purposes.

Long term I would invest in a micro-fiber. As anectdote, I typically use my cotton shirt to wipe my lenses off when my micro-fiber is out of reach. There are no visible scratches, but not a good long-term use idea.

[weiss27md]

holy s***, I have the HTC hero!!!

[TWolfKaden]

awsomeness

[virustwin]

sweet! thanks

[LeTrueNoir]

lol nice