Experimental Coffee Cup Micro Lens

This instructable shows you how to make a low quality micro lens for a DSLR camera using coffee cups, a magnifying glass and black tape only.

You will need three coffee cups, black tape and a large magnifying glass (about 2"in diameter).

You need to cut the base of all the cups and the upper rim of two of the cups as shown in the images.

To put the lens together insert the magnifying glass into one of the cups that has no upper rim so that it sits in the bottom. Insert the other cup with no upper rim into the cup with the magnifying glass so that it holds the glass in place.

Put the third cup on top of these two so that they face 'mouth to mouth'. (see images)

To place the lens on the camera insert the lens mount on your camera body inside the open base of the cup and secure with black tape. Also secure the place where the cups join with black tape to avoid light leaks.

The first thing you'll notice is that when you look through your camera the image will not be sharp. To focus you will need to move close (about 5in) to the object you want to photograph, focusing is done by moving the camera or the object nearer or further.

Exposure can be done using levels according to this other instructable.

Here are some sample photos, as you can see this lens gives a unique experimental look as the images are taken using a magnifying glass which is not intended for photography.