Getting up close with an optical drive lens mod for camera-phones

Leonard Goh | Aug 26, 2009

Astro Boy to the rescue for our macro shots! (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)

DIY site Make.com wrote about how one reader ripped an old DVD player apart and fitted the optical drive lens onto a camera-phone for some awesome macro shots. We couldn't resist trying it out with an old CD reader that we have.

While we did get some pretty impressive closeup shots with the puny lens and our Nokia E71, here are a few things we noted.

On the left is a closeup shot of a number on a coin, and the right shows a font size 12 letter on an A4 paper. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)

With the macro lens attached, the focusing distance became extremely narrow and we had to hover our phone slightly above the subject in order to get a sharp image. The slightest movement or hand shake would also cause the image to be blurred. Since the device was just right above the subject, it blocked light sources and caused the photo to look dark. Which made me wonder how the guy on Make.com got such good macro shots.

Left: Pixels on a LCD screen. Right: Surface of a tree bark. (Credit: Leonard Goh/CNET Asia)

Nevertheless, this is an interesting DIY project if you have a faulty optical drive device lying around. Do send us your pictures if you are attempting to do something similar.

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Mobile Phones
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