Lenses made from plexiglass are easy to make.

Home made lenses

Lenses made from plexiglass are easy to make. They perform remarkebly well, and can be used for both collimination and for H2 focused image holograms without making a master. I have made two lenses so far. One big 50x50cm (20x20 inches) colliminator with 180cm focal length, as well as a 10x60cm vertical colliminator for Rainbow holograms. They are durable, solid and best of all, cheap to make. The price is probably around 1% compared to a 50x50cm mirror colliminator.

I am using 4mm (1/4 inch) thickness for the frame, and 1.5mm for the curved surfaces. After gluing, fill the lens with mineral oil or white spirit.

Here is a picture of two lenses.

Left: 10x60cm rainbow colliminator. Rigth: 50x50 cm colliminator

Once you have made a couple of lenses you will be using them all the time, also for single beam shots.. Take my word for it!

Below is another lens, half filled with liquid. Focal length is 40 cm, size 30x30 cm making it useful for making H2 holograms directly from the object without the need for a transmission master:

Below: Behind the 50x50 cm colliminator.