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Alexey Kljatov’s snowflake rig paired a Canon PowerShot A650 at maximum optical zoom with a reversed Helios 44M-5 lens. A wooden board, screw and bracket kept the two lenses aligned. The 2013 setup also offered two lighting approaches: illuminate flakes on glass from behind, or photograph them on dark wool in natural light.
How the homemade macro rig worked
The unusual magnification came from using the Helios lens as an external magnifier, not from mounting it normally as a macro lens. Kljatov reversed the Helios 44M-5 so its rear element faced the snowflake and its front element faced the compact camera. He extended the Canon PowerShot A650 lens to its maximum 6× optical zoom and aligned it against the Helios. In the reported configuration, he used autofocus rather than the camera’s macro mode. PetaPixel’s 2013 account reproduces Kljatov’s description of the arrangement.
The board acted as a rigid support for the paired optics. Kljatov described the alignment this way: “Then camera is put on a board so that the lens in the maximum optical zoom mode (6x) touched Helios lens and looked straight into them.” He secured the camera through its tripod socket with a screw and added a metal bracket to keep the opposite side from moving. The original report describes a narrow wooden board about 30 cm long. These are details of his specific camera-and-lens combination, not a universal mounting specification.
The Tool Desk
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| Part | Role in Kljatov’s setup |
|---|---|
| Canon PowerShot A650 | Compact camera; its lens was extended to maximum optical zoom and aligned with the external lens. |
| Helios 44M-5 | Reversed external optic, with its rear element facing the subject. |
| Narrow wooden board, about 30 cm long | Support for keeping the camera and external optic aligned. |
| Screw and metal bracket | Attached the camera at its tripod socket and steadied the opposite side. |
| Three narrow Zenit extension rings | Used in the described glass-and-backlight configuration to set the working distance. |
| Black plastic skirt | Covered the lens-to-camera junction to block stray light and help shield it from snow, ice and waterdrops. |
The account reports that, with the extension rings in place, the glass was roughly 2.5–3 cm from the lens assembly. The reported spacing and autofocus behavior belong to the A650 arrangement; they do not establish a focus distance or compatibility for other cameras. The 2013 technique account reproduced by DPReview is the source for the construction measurements and mounting details.
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Choose a lighting and background approach
Kljatov used two distinct approaches, rather than two tested versions of the same camera kit. Choose based on the look and setup you can manage:
| Approach | What it involves | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Snowflake on glass, backlit | Place the flake on glass and shine an LED flashlight from the opposite side. The described rig used three narrow extension rings and placed the glass about 2.5–3 cm from the lens. | When you want transmitted light and a bright, translucent-looking flake, and can position a light behind the glass. |
| Snowflake on dark wool, natural light | Photograph the flake against dark wool using natural light; this approach does not rely on light shining through glass. | When a dark backdrop suits the composition or a light cannot be positioned behind the subject. |
The lighting options are reported in the PetaPixel profile and interview; the sources do not provide a controlled comparison of image quality. For the glass method, an LED flashlight is the practical light source documented in the account, not a tested recommendation for a particular model.
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What to take from the build if you want to try it
- Start with the optical arrangement, not the materials. The reported magnification depended on the compact camera’s zoom working in alignment with a reversed lens. A board alone will not reproduce that result.
- Plan a stable, straight alignment. The screw and bracket addressed the risk of the camera shifting relative to the external optic.
- Treat the fit as system-specific. The sources document a Canon PowerShot A650, Helios 44M-5 and Zenit extension rings. They do not establish that a modern camera can be pressed against this lens, or that these parts will fit unrelated camera systems.
- Choose the subject support and light together. Glass allows light to pass through from behind; dark wool with natural light is a separate backdrop-and-lighting choice.
The construction story dates to 2013. The archived pointer says the original technique article was updated and moved to Kljatov’s artist website, but that moved tutorial was not accessible in the reviewed material. The build details here are therefore historical reporting, not a claim that the rig has recently been tested or that its components are currently available or compatible with present-day cameras.
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