Projection Microscope
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Recycle old camera lenses to turn your wall or ceiling (or shower) into a giant microscope!
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Model information
- Source
- Printables
- Category
- Other 3D Objects for Learning
- License
- Creative Commons — Attribution — Noncommercial
This project reuses old camera lenses to project microscope slides and 35mm film. Instead of looking through squinty ocular ports, projection microscopes are projectors that shoot the image of whatever you're looking at out into the room. You can point it at a whiteboard and circle details while kids and students watch together, or you can point it at paper and trace out the details of what you see. When you're done, pick your favorite slide and use it as an ambient light!
You can also raid thrift stores or photo albums for 35mm film and project them (as negatives) out onto the wall - This could possibly work as a film enlarger for printing and developing photos if you're familiar with film photography and need an enlarger setup :)
Different camera lenses produce different effects. Sharper lenses project sharper images, and more magnification can be attained by using a wider lens, zoom lens, or simply moving the projector further away. Focusing the image is just like focusing a camera. Lenses with a manual aperture ring will work the best, although if the aperture is mechanically controlled, you can usually hold it open with a shim.
Currently there are adapters for these types of lenses:
Canon EF Mount
Canon RF Mount
Nikon F Mount
Sony E Mount
Instructions
To build one of these Microscopes, you will need:
Two-to-four M3x12mm screws
A GU10 Light socket (such as this one)
An LED GU10 Bulb (such as this one) (It should be an LED, otherwise you will probably melt the printed part)
For Nikon F or Canon RF mounts, you will need four more M3 screws (12-16mm)
Four M3x16mm screws
And a 1/4-20 thumbscrew for the tilt adjustment knob
For printing, you should print with supports - I did all my testing with .3mm layer heights and a .4mm nozzle, so most print setting & printer configurations should work :-)
Thanks for checking this out!
If you make one of these, please share the results! I'd love to hear about your experience and see your photos.
If you want to see my other work and keep up with new releases, check out my website! If this project brought you joy and you'd like to support me, here's are some ways you can.