HTC Vive/Gear VR Lense Mod

[El-ahrairah]

I just did this lens mod for my HTC Vive and its amazing.

Has anyone else had a crack at this?

 

[Jeremy Ford]

Yep. Very recently.

 

[El-ahrairah]

Yep. Very recently.

How many times did you have to clean for dust? Honestly that's the only drawback of this mod for me. I feel like unless you're in a laboratory your gunna get a bit of dust under the lens. Took me 3 or so cleans with compressed air after the initial install to get it clean.

 

[Jeremy Ford]

It was the same for me, I had to blast it a few times to clear the bits out. Some of the debris is the rubber sealant from the lenses that fall inside when you remove the original lenses. I didn't think it was a massive problem against the improvement these lenses make.

I've been entertaining the idea of upgrading to the Index, but the image improvement is incredible with the Gear VR lenses that I'm not bothered about upgrading right now.

 

[El-ahrairah]

For sure, the pain of cleaning dust is worth the upgrade.

Such a big improvement for such little cost. Makes you wonder why HTC opted for the crappy fresnal. I've seen others who've done the upgrade complain there's more "fly screen" effect. It's probably valid, but the trade-off still outweigh drawbacks of the original lens.

 

[Jeremy Ford]

The screen door is slightly more obvious as there's no longer the fresnel lens blur which softens the image. For me, the cleaner/sharper image from the Gear VR lenses is the better trade-off.

 

[millen]

I have a HP explorer and wanted to try and do this, can't remember if it's possible with the HP though, will maybe look into it again. As I have shelved my VR stuff for months now and haven't used it..

Did you guys buy GearVR and dismantle it or just buy the lenses by themselves from somewhere?

 

[Jeremy Ford]

I have a HP explorer and wanted to try and do this, can't remember if it's possible with the HP though, will maybe look into it again. As I have shelved my VR stuff for months now and haven't used it..

Did you guys buy GearVR and dismantle it or just buy the lenses by themselves from somewhere?

I 3D printed the adaptors and bought a secondhand Gear VR. This mod won't work properly with WMR headsets, because it's not possible to adjust the software settings to account for barrel distortion.

 

[millen]

I 3D printed the adaptors and bought a secondhand Gear VR. This mod won't work properly with WMR headsets, because it's not possible to adjust the software settings to account for barrel distortion.

Ah yes. That does ring a bell now that you've said that, from last time I investigated it.
Oh well. It can stay on the shelf.

Glad you guys are enjoying it. The choice of the fresnal lens always confused me when it can be done without them, as with the GearVR for example...

 

[El-ahrairah]

I have a HP explorer and wanted to try and do this, can't remember if it's possible with the HP though, will maybe look into it again. As I have shelved my VR stuff for months now and haven't used it..

Did you guys buy GearVR and dismantle it or just buy the lenses by themselves from somewhere?

Yes part of the process is to buy a whole Gear VR and basically scavenge the lenses from it. They are super cheap though. I managed to buy all the components to do the mod (including 3d printing) for $45 AUD in total.

 

[Jeremy Ford]

Ah yes. That does ring a bell now that you've said that, from last time I investigated it.
Oh well. It can stay on the shelf.

Glad you guys are enjoying it. The choice of the fresnal lens always confused me when it can be done without them, as with the GearVR for example...

Fresnel lenses are quite thin, which is the only technical advantage I can work out for their use. But it would be interesting to find out their reasoning. Because the Gear VR lens mod transforms the picture quality and does make you wonder why the stock Vive is using shitty lenses.

 

[Bjarne Hansen]

Fresnel lenses are as you write thin and typical lighter than 'normal lenses.
Also with 'normal' lenses you need to correct for the color distortions towards the edges of the lenses.
And my guess is the Fresnel are cheaper.
Not sure why expensive headsets are using Fresnel didn't used to in the past!