Open the lens. Turn the ring.
Every lens we make, cut in half on your screen. Move the focus and the glass moves with it. The light is traced through the groups, and the viewfinder beside it shows what the sensor records.
Lens
Focus ring
Zoom ring
Aperture ring
Light source
View
Five lenses, one mount, all made on the island.
Two primes and three zooms for full-frame mirrorless bodies. Each has eleven rounded blades, so out-of-focus lights stay round until you stop down a long way.
We would rather show you the glass than describe it.
Most lens pages give you a diagram with coloured blocks and a line about sharpness. We opened ours up instead. What you move in the lab is what moves inside the barrel when you turn the ring.
The lab is honest about what it is. The construction of each lens, its focal range, its closest focus and its size are the real figures. The curves of each element are drawn to show the idea, not measured from a grinding sheet.
- TracedWhere the light meets, how far the focus group travels and how big each blur disc is are worked out from the lens, every time you move a ring.
- SqueezedThe street on the bench is a model. Its depth is squeezed so a view that runs to the mountains fits on a table, and every distance the lab prints is the real one.
- DrawnThe exact shape of each piece of glass. Real curvatures are a trade secret, and a guess presented as a measurement would be worse than a sketch.
- Held backThe artefacts toggle exaggerates flare and colour fringing so you can see them. Our coatings keep both far fainter than this.
Try one on your own camera.
The workshop has a fitting bench. Bring your body, pick a lens and shoot the street outside for as long as you like.
Where
Lot 12, Jalan Hilir Sungai Keluang, Bayan Lepas, Penang
When
Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm
What to bring
Your camera and a card. We have batteries for most bodies.