Mobius 5MP Varifocal Zoom 6-22mm ƒ/1.6

You are unlikely to find any variable focal length CCTV lens with that level of barrel distortion correction. For one thing CCTV cameras have no need for that level of correction and for another, as a varifocal, the level of optical distortion will change as you go from the widest setting to the telephoto setting, decreasing at the longer lens extensions. As you can see in all of the (varifocal) telephoto images in this thread there is virtually no barrel distortion to be concerned with anyway and if you think about it, there is no compelling reason to use these varifocal lenses on a dash cam for anything other than their telephoto capabilities. Anyone seeking a distortion free wide angle lens on a dash cam would be better served by installing a well corrected fixed focal length lens.

Those pictures you posted made with the 6-22 Varifocal were simply amazing to me with better resolution and depth of field then I have seen on this forum or any where else for M12 type lenses.:cool: I completely gave up on finding a M12 12mm (fixed FL) lenses, none of them come close to the 6-22 Varifocal. I will be ordering another one as a backup in the near future. As for wide angle smaller FL companion lens, these have all ready been discussed in depth a few months ago and will take care of things in around the 4mm FL level. Now all I have to do is buy another camera to replace the stolen one. That bothers me because apparently the parts used in them (Mobius 1) are not at as high a level as the older cameras had quality wise!

I was hoping the new Mobius Maxi would fill the new camera gap but as you pointed out the M1 still has a greater level of massaging the best picture to be had. Why their people decided to go with another camera after the M2 fiasco and cutting short the massaging capabilities of the mother board is totally beyond apprehension. As it is the Maxi falls short of what it could have been because of the executive decisions at Mobius. The above are just my opinions:rolleyes:.
 
Wonder if there are any m12 zoom lens between 4-24mm that has less than 1% optical distortion.
This CS mount 4-10mm zero distortion lens from Peau Productions could possibly give approx 6-16mm on a 1/3" sensor camera with an appropriate stepping ring.
It's rather large to fit onto a Mobius, and it's not cheap!
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4-10mm f/1.4 GP41014CS (No Distortion)
 
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This is the lens close to its maximum width. This is my preference.
 
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OK, so Treeye sent me several 9.5mm IR-cut filters to play with and I installed one on my 6-22mm lens with great success. Treeye did a great job of getting the filters to me extremely fast as they arrived two days ago and they came extremely well packaged in a small cardboard carton when they just as easily could have been sent in an envelope.
I just received my batch of 9.5mm IR cut filters from Treeye. Very quick delivery in less than a week from placing the order, and once again safely packaged in a cardboard box.

Is there any difference in coatings between the front and back sides that I should be aware of to get the correct orientation?
 
I just received my batch of 9.5mm IR cut filters from Treeye. Very quick delivery in less than a week from placing the order, and once again safely packaged in a cardboard box.

Is there any difference in coatings between the front and back sides that I should be aware of to get the correct orientation?

The rule of thumb is to put the shiniest side towards the objective (pointing towards the direction the light is coming from). If it's hard to determine the shiniest side, you may find that when laying the filter horizontal then flipping it over, you'll probably be able to see a double reflection on one side (second surface reflection) and a single (first surface) reflection on the other side. It's the single reflection side that should face the front end of the lens. For dash cams, if you just can't figure out which side faces front don't worry about it as it's not likely to make much of a difference any of us could detect and it will still block near IR waves lengths. If you were installing a dichroic filter on a high end piece of laboratory equipment where precision results are mission critical, you would absolutely want to make sure everything is perfect.
 
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The rule of thumb is to put the shiniest side towards the objective (pointing towards the direction the light is coming from). If it's hard to determine the shiniest side, you may find that when laying the filter horizontal then flipping it over, you'll probably be able to see a double reflection on one side (second surface reflection) and a single (first surface) reflection on the other side. It's the single reflection side that should face the front end of the lens. For dash cams, if you just can't figure out which side faces front don't worry about it as it's not likely to make much of a difference any of us could detect and it will still block near IR waves lengths. If you were installing a dichroic filter on a high end piece of laboratory equipment where precision results are mission critical, you would absolutely want to make sure everything is perfect.


WHATo_O, you trying to say a Mobius1 isn't a precision piece of electronic equipment, BLASPHEMY, you know better:D
 
In the interest of experimentation, I have tried a Mobius 1 with the 6-22mm lens as a rear-facing camera.

This is close enough to observe other drivers using mobile phones etc. but is it too close?

 
In the interest of experimentation, I have tried a Mobius 1 with the 6-22mm lens as a rear-facing camera.

This is close enough to observe other drivers using mobile phones etc. but is it too close?

Too close? I guess it depends upon what it is you're looking to capture. Definitely could benefit from a polarizer though as it would allow you to see clearly into the vehicles.
 
Too close? I guess it depends upon what it is you're looking to capture. Definitely could benefit from a polarizer though as it would allow you to see clearly into the vehicles.
Did you come to any conclusions on using a polariser full-time on this lens? I don't have one the right size.
 
Haven't mounted the varifocal yet, the Mini series CPL looks to be a perfect fit.

1 - 1.png
 
Did you come to any conclusions on using a polariser full-time on this lens? I don't have one the right size.

For now, the polarizer is mounted on my varifocal lens permanently as I have a reason to see the behavior of certain drivers coming from the opposite direction.
 
Haven't mounted the varifocal yet, the Mini series CPL looks to be a perfect fit.

View attachment 40306

I'm not surprised to see that the 24mm polarizer fits as that is basically what tripped me up previously when I described my 30mm as 24mm, however from the looks of it I think you "might" experience some vignetting depending upon how much you have the lens zoomed in or out. Of course, with the lens set to its widest focal length the front objective will be all the way forward thus reducing the chances for vignetting. Personally, I have the lens set fairly wide as it seems to be providing optimal results for an auxiliary telephoto dash cam (for me). Let us know if the 24mm works for you or if you do indeed encounter any vignetting issues.

Just the other day I happened to notice that the lens cap that came with my 6-22mm varifocal is marked "28" on the inside which matches the 28mm threads on the 30mm filter I've attached. So far I'm finding the 30mm to be a good choice since it provides just enough extra coverage to avoid any vignetting issues from this CCTV lens which was never designed for a polarizer in the first place.
 
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I'm not surprised to see that the 24mm polarizer fits as that is basically what tripped me up previously when I described my 30mm as 24mm, however from the looks of it I think you "might" experience some vignetting depending upon how much you have the lens zoomed in or out. Of course, with the lens set to its widest focal length the front objective will be all the way forward thus reducing the chances for vignetting. Personally, I have the lens set fairly wide as it seems to be providing optimal results for an auxiliary telephoto dash cam (for me). Let us know if the 24mm works for you or if you do indeed encounter any vignetting issues.

Just the other day I happened to notice that the lens cap that came with my 6-22mm varifocal is marked "28" on the inside which matches the 28mm threads on the 30mm filter I've attached. So far I'm finding the 30mm to be a good choice since it provides just enough extra coverage to avoid any vignetting issues from this lens which was never designed for a polarizer in the first place.

My hunch is that there won't be any vignetting. Only one way to actually find out, will mount it and check later this week.
 
I'm not surprised to see that the 24mm polarizer fits as that is basically what tripped me up previously when I described my 30mm as 24mm, however from the looks of it I think you "might" experience some vignetting depending upon how much you have the lens zoomed in or out. Of course, with the lens set to its widest focal length the front objective will be all the way forward thus reducing the chances for vignetting. Personally, I have the lens set fairly wide as it seems to be providing optimal results for an auxiliary telephoto dash cam (for me). Let us know if the 24mm works for you or if you do indeed encounter any vignetting issues.

Just the other day I happened to notice that the lens cap that came with my 6-22mm varifocal is marked "28" on the inside which matches the 28mm threads on the 30mm filter I've attached. So far I'm finding the 30mm to be a good choice since it provides just enough extra coverage to avoid any vignetting issues from this lens which was never designed for a polarizer in the first place.

I have been looking for parts on AliExpress and usually the smallest polarizer filter I see is 37mm. I just received 28mm x 30mm and a 28mm x 37mm filter adapters and they are not going to work for me the way I want them to. As for *Harsh's 24mm filter it's sitting on top of the first tiny ring of the lens housing (27mm) and I'm sorry to say I would be really surprised if it didn't cause vignetting, possibly not to good, since it is practically touching the lens. Hope I'm wrong though.

About 1/2 way down this link it shows a schematic of the 6-22 lens, that shows exactly what we are talking about.
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/mobius-5mp-varifocal-zoom-6-22mm-ƒ-1-6.34263/page-9
 
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I have been looking for parts on AliExpress and usually the smallest polarizer filter I see is 37mm. I just received 28mm x 30mm and a 28mm x 37mm filter adapters and they are not going to work for me the way I want them to. As for *Harsh's 24mm filter it's sitting on top of the first tiny ring of the lens housing and I'm sorry to say I would be really surprised if it didn't cause vignetting, possibly fairly bad, since it is practically touching the lens.


https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/mobius-5mp-varifocal-zoom-6-22mm-ƒ-1-6.34263/page-9

Of course, I don't quite know what you mean when you say, "they are not going to work for me the way I want them to", so I can only speak to my own experience so far. As I've mentioned, I just happened to have this old CPL sitting in my drawer and I got it to fit. The metal bezel of the CPL measures an O.D of 32.28mm with the actual front glass surface of the filter measuring only 25.58mm. On the back threaded side the I.D. of the threads measure just about 28mm and so it just makes it around the outside of the len's front bezel allowing me to glue it in place with UV cement on the outside of the lens housing. This is important because you want to be certain to avoid doing anything with the UV cement that might impede the ability to zoom the lens in and out.

I was surprised to discover that this 30mm CPL only has a glass that measures 25.58mm in diameter and I don't know if other similar CPLs are the same but I have not had any issues with vignetting. I would think that a 37mm CPL with 28mm threads should and could be made to fit this lens just fine but I'm saying that without knowing what it looks like. As for @Harsh's 24mm CPL working without vignetting, I too am skeptical that it will work and I am now wondering what the actual diameter of the 24mm CPL's glass is but we'll have to wait and see what he reports back. One thing about the CPL I installed compared with the style Harsh has in that mine is fully mechanically adjustable even after gluing it to the bezel of the lens which has been a big plus here. One reason I seem to have obtained such good results with this CPL is that I've been able to drive to an optimal location (supermarket parking lot) and hook the camera up to my 7 inch LCD monitor and "tune-in" the CPL to my precise preferences for eliminating windshield reflections from cars in the FOV as opposed to internal windshield reflections from my own vehicle. (although there is some beneficial overlap anyway)
 
Dashmellow,
Have you checked for aperture vignetting with your CPL?
Hard black circle cutoff is obvious.
Loss of full aperture and light loss in the corners is not as noticeable.
 
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