Chapter 2:  A Crazy Self-made Microscope Camera

Next, this was the most challenging thing that I did 12 years ago.  I decided to build the camera myself using pieces plywood.  It’s not only a camera, it was also a microscope.  I could only use it in my room with all the lights switched off, and the curtains closed. I turned my room into a dark room which was not for printing photo but for taking photo.  It’s hard to describe the microscope camera without pictures.  I used the magnifying glass as the lens, 4 pieces of plywood which created a tube to allow the light to reach the film.  The lens was attached to one end of the wooden tube, and a piece of trace paper was attached to the other end which allowed me to do focusing.  The light source I used was a torchlight.

My objects were the transparent plastic ruler, leaves, and insects.  The ruler would be the best things to tell me how much the lens can enlarge the objects onto the film.  All of the objects must be semi-transparent because I used the “Backlight” method for the light source.  Before I took the photo, I needed to hide the film from light, and then I switched on the torchlight and do the focusing on the trace paper.  When the image was sharp on the trace paper, I switched off the torchlight and remove the trace paper.  Now there was a challenging thing to do.  I needed to pull out the film.  How long should I pull, and which part on the film I should use were all done in the dark, and based on estimation.  I did not have a light meter; therefore the exposure time was also estimated.

My brother sent the film to the photo lab.  The staff said that the camera was broken.  He just rolled up the film and stuck a piece cello tape to it.  No photo was printed.  He didn’t even put the film into the film pocket.  My brother didn’t tell him anything.  What I can see from the film are the images that were either overlap with each other, under exposure, over exposure or out of focus.  The shape of the frame is also not in rectangle. It’s trapezium.

It looks like this.

Overlapped frame.

Not exactly in rectangular shape.

Abnormal edge.

Although it’s not successful, I did focus the objects properly on the trace paper and I have learned a lot from this experience.  I saw the ruler enlarge at least 2 times larger than the real object and show its images on the trace paper.  If I were able to print it out on photo paper, it will be more than 10 times larger on a 3R or 4R photo.  Although the result was disappointing but the process was fun.  That’s the one and only one time I tried before the self-made microscope camera was discarded.

Later I got my first SRL camera.  I don’t think I am going to repeat it again because I have got a digital camera now.

To be continued……