where there’s smoke there’s forum fire
There has been a few talks about homemade this and that, so what have you made or modified:
My Strap
My stand and flash diffuser
I tried to make my own Macro light from a round LED camp light, did not have enough power and gave a very blue color to things, wrong white balance
Pete
I haven't made much, other than a make shift snoot or two, but I have done my own repair work on my F3, I've replaced the rewind fork with a new one, and relubed it. Dismantled most of the MD-4 motor drive to correct a contact issue, too. Also fixed a bent out of shape aperture prong (the little one right inside the mount that stops down the lens for shooting), after an old lens mounted incorrectly and messed it up, causing the aperture to stick.
I LIKE where this thread might go.
My creations are, IIRC, limited to RPCubes, cardboard snoots, and straw grids. If you /really/ want I can post photos, but I don't think they're anything exciting.
Let me think and look what else I may have made.
EDIT:
Oh yea - 5/8" thread adapter (survey tripod) to 1/4" (or whatever camera tripod screw size is).
Hi Soap: you should post, they might give us ideas right and maybe mention if they work or what you think would make them work
BTW you should see my friends basement studio he has so many different homemade things, lights, reflectors etc that are pulled out of walls and ceilings and they all look homemade, but they work. He is a master of knowing how to build a picture with light
Pete
There are a few "mods" and " DIY" builds on my web page under Photography
Hope you enjoy them
Recently I made a Gimberley type head for my monopod and D300+70-200+TC14E. It cost me the price of the silver welding rods and black paint because the rest of the parts were two pieces of metal tubes from an old folding chair, part of an aluminium door handle, two small roller bearing taken from a small electrical motor, and an old 1/4" screw. Not so fancy as the Wimberley (http://www.tripodhead.com/products/wimberley-main.cfm) but close, very efficient, and a great lot cheaper !
I also made flash reflectors from plastic cards and a bit of velcro.
I also repaired lots of sub-miniature cameras which I collect. These are generally easy to maintain, and since I don't use them, it's just the satisfaction to get them back in working condition :o)
peterd said:
I have drawn grid lines with a pencil, dividing the focusing screen into thirds both vertically and horizontally on all my cameras. Allows me to keep basic composition while shooting without having to think much about it.
Tasty.
Which cameras have you done this on?
I'd really really REALLY like to add lines @ 5:4 on my bodies.
EDIT:
And do you take the viewfinder coverage factor into account when doing so? If so do you have a resource for what, exactly, the lack of coverage is on both axis?
I'm guessing peterd removes the focusing screens to do this, right?
peterd said:
I have drawn grid lines with a pencil, dividing the focusing screen into thirds both vertically and horizontally on all my cameras. Allows me to keep basic composition while shooting without having to think much about it.
It would be great if future cameras had electronic grid lines, to properly frames 4by5 portraits, and assist in the rule of thirds
Pete
bmxdad said:
It would be great if future cameras had electronic grid lines, to properly frames 4by5 portraits, and assist in the rule of thirds
Who needs those when you can have an excuse to get the D3S?
I believe it automatically blacks out the areas of the viewfinder that are not in use. By "black-out" I mean—well, take the battery out of your DSLR and look through the viewfinder and you'll get the idea.
I'm in the process of making a ring flash, but have not found a metal bowl big enough to make a good one. It will use at least one SB-600.
And on a non-photo related hand made device, I just finished a iPhone/Pod charging speaker box from a pair of logitec speakers with a broken wire and my iPhones AC-USB adapter. It's completely contained in an about 4 inch box.
QuadraPixel said:
I'm in the process of making a ring flash, but have not found a metal bowl big enough to make a good one. It will use at least one SB-600.And on a non-photo related hand made device, I just finished a iPhone/Pod charging speaker box from a pair of logitec speakers with a broken wire and my iPhones AC-USB adapter. It's completely contained in an about 4 inch box.
You should post a picture of your creation, also is the ring flash for Macro or a larger one for portraits
Pete
The ring flash would be for portraits. Could prob work well for macro to. No picts of that yet, it's still very much a WIP.
The box is 90% done, but I will prob redo it with better craftsmanship. It's currently held together with tape and needs to be painted or something.
Enjoy the mess on my desk!
soap said:
Tasty.
Which cameras have you done this on?
I'd really really REALLY like to add lines @ 5:4 on my bodies.EDIT:
And do you take the viewfinder coverage factor into account when doing so? If so do you have a resource for what, exactly, the lack of coverage is on both axis?
Soap, I have done this to many cameras over the years. My two current bodies are a Nikon D700 and a Hasselblad H3D 39. In both cases I remove the focus screen, sharpen a pencil and with a straight edge draw lines. My viewfinders and sensors are approximately 100% so I don't have to worry about conversion factors.
I came to me in a rare moment of clarity one day. I have had no negative repercussions from it. I can replace the focusing screen for a nominal fee when I sell the camera. BTW i'll be selling both of these in 2010
peterd said:
Soap, I have done this to many cameras over the years. My two current bodies are a Nikon D700 and a Hasselblad H3D 39. < snip > My viewfinders and sensors are approximately 100% so I don't have to worry about conversion factors.
Hmm, my D200 and D700 are both ~95% coverage. Focusing screens are cheap, if you say that's close enough I'll likely give this a try on one of them this weekend.
I made a GPS unit for my D200 long before the official Nikon unit.
I have also made several other DIY camera gears.
I have put all my DIY in public on my own hobby website at http://www.stockholmviews.com
Where you can find
1.DIY 6x17 film camera mad of aircraft grade aluminum.
2.Tripod head mod for a cheep Manfroto tripod.
3.Cheep diy lens protection gear.
4.Nikon GPS tagging unit.
5.Cheep and easy to build Panorama head.
6.A Flatbed scanning back for LF camera.
I constantly looking for more good projects to publish so if you think
you have the right thing for me, please contact me (Contact info on stockholmviews.com)
Regards/ Stefan
Lets see,
Home made MC-35 GPS adapter
Modified Nikon TCs to fit on Sigma lenses
Home made lens foot for quick release on my 200 f/2
High power LED light fixtures for Macro work
Most recently some macro accessories for my tripod
Here the tripod set-up with a couple of the LED light fixtures
Macro of a red Luxeon III LED done with the above rig
Just started making a ring flash yesterday, I'll post pictures later today or tomorrow, depending on when the paint dries!
That motleypixel ring flash tutorial is the best one I've seen. It's what I'm using as my guide, but I have not been able to find those video's for a few months. So, thanks for posting it! Now I can pick up where I left off and get it done.
Anyone here made one of those yet? I'd love a ring light and that's a tight looking product.
My concerns are:
1 - single strobe
2 - thin front material.
3 - no apparent baffle reflector:
(Note how the strobe is visible through the front material, and that's with weak ambient light passing twice - I'd be concerned about powerful strobe light passing once)
Does it hotspot?
I'm sure you wouldn't see it on macro, but on portrait (at least in the catchlights) I'm a tiny bit concerned about that.
soap said:
Anyone here made one of those yet? I'd love a ring light and that's a tight looking product.Does it hotspot?
I'm sure you wouldn't see it on macro, but on portrait (at least in the catchlights) I'm a tiny bit concerned about that.
Your answer is in the EYE of the BEEholder. On the demo website he has images he has captured. Look at the bee on the flower, in his eye is a reflection that clearly shows the hotspot.
Soap, I just finished that flash last night, want me to shoot anything specific to give you an idea of how it shoots?
Any specific questions? I have to figure out a way to shoot it, since my camera is attached to it and I don't have my P&S with me... plus my relatives just left to Death Valley and took the other DSLRs hahaha.
kellenfreeman said:
Soap, I just finished that flash last night, want me to shoot anything specific to give you an idea of how it shoots?
I'm most interested in the reflections it makes. If there is a visible hotspot or not in the reflections.
Like shooting black acrylic or irises.
If you're talking orders I'll take two reflection shots, please, one @ 1/1 and one @ 1/16th. ;)
You must log in to post.
