DS VH-57X Ver. 2.

0 with optional interchangeable gg-holder plates

for Canon EOS extension tubes
focal flange ready!

for
Canon Ee-S / Ee-A for
focusing screen Nikon D (red dot)
for
focusing screen
custom made focusing element i.e.
wax-gg, acrylic-gg,
light shaping diffusor...

Tutorial for Canon HV20 with VH-57X

(may also work with other cams like Sony HC1...)

How to build a compact vibrating 35mm

dof adapter with interchangeable
gg’s for the Canon HV20.

2007 by Daniel Schweinert - [email protected] - http://www.jetsetmodels.info/news.htm

1

If you want to make your 35mm dof adapter dust sealed then do it now because later it
wont be that easy. Go and buy yourself a 49mm UV-Filter it has to be multicoated,
dont buy a cheap one or you will get some nasty internal reflections or streaks in your
adapter. Put the UV-Filter on a flat surface and gently push on the basering of the
VH-57X until the UV-Filter is completely inside the basering of the VH-57X.

Use some drops of super glue or jb-weld to fix the VH-57X to the bayonetring of the
Canon EOS extension tubes. Put the glue around the edge of the basering. Also check
that the VH-57X is aligned with the bayonet ring. The red dot should point upwards.

2007 by Daniel Schweinert - [email protected] - http://www.jetsetmodels.info/news.htm

3

If you bought the optional Nikon D gg-holder plate then read on. If you have the Canon
Ee-S or Ee-A gg-holder plate than go on to the next step.
Push the Nikon D focusing screen into the gg-holder plate it should stay fixed without
gluing. If not than use some drops of hot glue to fix the Nikon D screen in place.
Fix the the gg-holder plate with the Nikon D screen inside to the VH-57X basic unit.
Use the 2 small screws to fix the gg-holder plate. The matte side of the Nikon D
should face upwards.

Use one drop of hotglue in each corner to fix the Canon Ee-S / Ee-A screen to the
gg-holder plate. (Don’t use superglue the gases will destroy your focusing screen)
The small pin should be on the left side! Use the 2 screws to fix the gg-holder plate.
Be careful and dont push too hard on the screws or you may break the carbon pins!

2007 by Daniel Schweinert - [email protected] - http://www.jetsetmodels.info/news.htm

5

Take ring nr. 2 and screw it on the bayonet ring like in the pic. Drill a small hole into
ring nr. 2 for the cables. You can also drill the hole on the right side where the green
arrow points at. Then you have later more space for soldering the coiled cable.
The important part here is to let the cables of the motor long enough to vibrate properly.
I bend them to the left and right like in the bottom pic.

Because the Canon EOS extension tubes have a non standard threading of 60mm you have
to do a workaround. I found out that a 55mm UV-Filter fits exactly the Canon EOS tubes. Use
the JB-Weld glue to fix the 55mm UV-Filter inside ring nr. 1 to get a standard threading of 55mm.
(Tip: Put some coins under the UV-Filter to get the right height!)
If you dont want to glue I also offer now 55-60mm Step-Up rings.
The HV20 Achromat unit (Item: HV20ACHR1) includes already the 55-60mm Step-Up ring.

2007 by Daniel Schweinert - [email protected] - http://www.jetsetmodels.info/news.htm

 ring 1 with 55mm UV-Filter

7 ring 3

ring 2
with hole

bayonet ring

Screw ring nr. 3 over ring nr. 2 and finally screw ring nr. 1 with the 55mm UV-Filter made
in step 6. In the end add also a 55mm Circular polarizing filter (without the glass).
You need it only for aligning the adapter horizontally to your camcorder.
Then put a step-up ring from 43mm - 55mm for the HV20. I also added a small achromat
to eliminate the barrel distortion. You can still focus without achromat on the gg but you
will notice a slight barrel distortion in your footage. If you also want that achromat
you can get it from www.surplushed.com its the L4673. The appropriate holder with the
43-55mm Step-Up ring you can get from me. Check my homepage for the L4673-2 holder.

Im not going here into much detail. Solder the coiled cable to the motor and glue it to
the ring - to avoid pulling it out. Buy a battery case and solder the other end of the coiled
cable to it. Fix the battery case with velcro to the handstrap of the HV20. Inside the
battery case you can also implement a switch and my micro-rheostat for adjusting the
vibration.

2007 by Daniel Schweinert - [email protected] - http://www.jetsetmodels.info/news.htm

9
Manfrotto 293 telephoto
Nikon to Canon EOS lens holder

If you want to use different lenses i.e. Nikon, Contax-Yashica, Pentax, Leica,
M42, Olympus, Canon FD... then buy one of these adapter mounts.
You can find them very cheap (10-20 USD) in ebay.

I choosed the Canon EOS tubes because they can take many lenses with these
adapter mounts. So you always can change to different lenses without modifying
your dof adapter.

Nikon to Canon EOS

Canon FD to Canon EOS
M42 to Canon EOS
...

Also for safety reasons I recommend using a telephoto lens holder i.e. Manfrotto 293 or
search for cheaper ones. Without a telephoto lens holder your risk to break the 43mm
plastic threading of your Canon HV20.

I hope you understand this little tutorial. If something is not clear just ask!
If you need parts or custom made things contact me via e-mail I have a little cnc-machine
that can do some pretty nice things :-)

Have fun
Daniel Schweinert
e-mail: [email protected]

2007 by Daniel Schweinert - [email protected] - http://www.jetsetmodels.info/news.htm

 PARTS LIST (compact vibrating DOF adapter for Canon HV20 or other small camcorders)

(you can obtain from me www.jetsetmodels.info/news.htm)

01 1x VH-57X (incl. Motor and Canon Ee-S / Ee-A or Nikon-D gg-holder plate)
02 1x Micro-Rheostat 20 or 50 Ohm (for adjusting the vibration)
03 1x Switch
04 1x L4673-2 achromat holder + 43-55mm Step-Up ring
(Get the achromat from www.surplushed.com its the L4673)

(get it from ebay or your local-photo / electronics store)

05 1x Coiled cable
06 1x Battery 1.2V Ni-MH
07 1x Battery holder
08 1x Battery case
09 1x 49mm UV-Filter (multicoated i.e. Hoya, Marumi, B+W...)
10 1x 55mm UV-Filter (the cheapest one take out the glass)
11 1x Canon EOS extension tubes
12 1x Canon Ee-A or Ee-S focusing screen

1x 55mm CPL circular polarizing filter (the cheapest one and take out the glass)

If you want to use different lenses i.e Nikon you’ll need also this:
Nikon to EOS mount adapter

I recommend also a telephoto lens support:

Manfrotto 293 or cheaper one

i.e. Nikon lenses:

35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 135mm (f1:1.4 or the cheaper ones f1:1.8)
Don’t use lenses that are slower (above f1:2.8) or you will get hotspot or vignetting.

11 05

06
07

08
04
01

12
02

09 10
03

2007 by Daniel Schweinert - [email protected] - http://www.jetsetmodels.info/news.htm

UPDATE 18.Sept.2007

Do you want the highest possible image quality from your dof adapter?

If you want higher quality and distortion free images and better edge to edge sharpness
then some little changes are necessary.

1. First you will need 2 extension tubes instead of one.

2. Instead of the surplushed achromat, L4673-2 holder, 55mm CPL filter and 43-55mm Step-Up
ring you’ll need only the high quality HV20 Zeiss Achromat unit (Item: HV20ACHR1)

See the updated parts list below:

PARTS LIST (high quality vibrating DOF adapter for Canon HV20 or other small camcorders)

(parts you can obtain from me www.jetsetmodels.info/news.htm)

1x VH-57X (incl. Motor and Canon Ee-S / Ee-A or Nikon-D gg-holder plate)
1x MR-50 (Micro-Rheostat 50 Ohm for adjusting the vibration)
1x Switch
1x HV20ACHR1 (HV20 Zeiss Achromat unit incl. 43-55mm, 55-60mm Step-Up rings, 55mm rotateable ring,
no more gluing necessary. Check out my homepage for more infos about the HV20 Zeiss Achromat unit.

(get it from ebay or your local-photo / electronics store)

1x Coiled cable
1x Battery 1.2V Ni-MH
1x Battery holder
1x Battery case
1x 49mm UV-Filter (multicoated i.e. Hoya, Marumi, B+W...)
2x Canon EOS extension tubes
1x Canon Ee-A or Ee-S focusing screen

The adapter will be a little longer but you will get the highest possible quality by using
the HV20 Zeiss Achromat unit and the rings shown below.

2007 by Daniel Schweinert - [email protected] - http://www.jetsetmodels.info/news.htm