DIY photographic equipment

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onform

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matt
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As I mentioned in another thread I think it would be a great Idea if we had one location for everyone to show off their DIY photographic equipment and wacky gorilla style creations.

It does not matter how big or small it is or even if it actually works you can post photo's here and instructions on how you made it, where you got the materials from and cost etc. In the event that it didn't quite turn out the way you imagined it would, at least others won't make the same mistakes and even adapt and improve on the idea.

This would be very handy for people on a tight budget and/or people who just love making stuff and of course those who are always on the look out for pound land alternatives like reflectors and diffusers and such.

I will kick it off with the soft box I made today...:p
 
Well technically it's a hard box light modifier but you know what I mean...

I got bored today so I decided to take a walk into town to my local art supplies shop to see if I could find some materials to make a little diffuser for my flash guns, whilst in there i asked one of the assistants if they had any of this foam core stuff the Americans keep on about on youtube! Of course sir we have all sizes up to A1. Ah well in for a penny in for a pound as they say.

A bit of measuring, (I measured the size of the flash head that's all), some Selotape and a shower curtain later and here we have it, all in all it took about half an hour to make and probably cost me £20. The most important thing is to use a sharp knife to cut the board.

The next task is to fit some means of attaching it to a light stand/cheap or old tripod. oh and a way to fold it down for easy storage...lol

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I used my 580EXII flash gun at 1/4 power on an old tripod with flea bay trigger.

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It measures about 34 inches squared and weighs next to nothing.. this shot at 1/32 power


I had good fun making it and I will have even more testing it. The only problem is it does not fold down YET! and the missus although happy I saved a packet making it myself you could tell she was not happy about the size!! and where abouts it's gonna be stored....:lol:
 
Nothing really to show of my own, but I'm tempted to nick your idea :) Good job.
 
Following on from Onform... I made myself a ringflash adapter thingy for my normal flash (Jessops 300AFD) yesterday

A bad shot taken with the Z2 in poor lighting with the popup flash... of the adapter.
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I know it's not going to be as good as a proper ring flash, and none of my test images are great... I was in a hurry to grab something so I could attach the camera to my scopes for some astro photography ;) and I was getting very strange looks from the OH walking around with a large thing attached to the camera... These were all shot handheld 1/100, F14 @ ISO 100 with the 55-250 and Raynox. This gives me hope for bugs... as the year moves on.

1)
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2)
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3)
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4) This was shot with very little additional light, just enough to allow me to see the peg through the view finder. The background is rubbish... :D
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Considering that the tubes are made from cardboard that was going in the bin, lined with white paper, the ring is the top of a CD spindle, also lined with white paper, and the main sticking mechanism is duck tape.. all in cost probably about £1 I think the results are pretty good. What do you think ?

Not sure if this should be here or in Macro... as it's about a flash thingy for macro I decided here... Mods, if it's in the wrong place... if you wouldn't mind thanks...
 
Furtim said:
Nothing really to show of my own, but I'm tempted to nick your idea :) Good job.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I think it's as powerful with a 580EXII as I will ever need and as it is such a large light source it gives really smooth results. With a reflector I think it will be as good as one of my next door neighbours studio flashes although he has three of them...lol
 
jgs001 said:
Following on from Onform... I made myself a ringflash adapter thingy for my normal flash (Jessops 300AFD) yesterday

Not sure if this should be here or in Macro... as it's about a flash thingy for macro I decided here... Mods, if it's in the wrong place... if you wouldn't mind thanks...
Click to expand...

It's DIY isn't it.

I think the results are very promising the light on the coin is perfect and for £1 you can't go wrong.. well done.
 
:D oops I copied my seperate post from lighting into here. It's a total bargain for the money ;)
 
Ok I'll join in. heres a tripod made from a theodolite, it's solid as a rock but dammed heavy to lug around.
I scrounged the theodolite bit, it was being chucked out, I already had a spare tripod head, so it was just mating them together.
To make it work I had to make a plate to cover the largish hole in the top, I used polycarbonite (cause I had some laying around) and I needed a bit of thickness for the pan screw on the head to work properly. I also needed a 1/4 inch whitworth bolt (standard tripod screw thread) that was actually the tricky bit to get, a few washers and thats all there is to it. The original theodolite base is still fully intact, and cound be switched back if needed or to re-sell it. Wayne

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Did you book the JCB to come back for it.?:):thumbs::woot:
 
jockwav said:
Did you book the JCB to come back for it.?:):thumbs::woot:
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Yeah ok it isn't the lightest tripod in the world I'll admit, but it only cost me 2 quid for the bolt and washers (a bit steep I thought?) but you wouldn't want to carry it around all day. Wayne ;)
 
swanseamale47 said:
Yeah ok it isn't the lightest tripod in the world I'll admit, but it only cost me 2 quid for the bolt and washers (a bit steep I thought?) but you wouldn't want to carry it around all day. Wayne ;)
Click to expand...

Its only overkill till its blowing like a you know what then you will be the one smiling, nice bit of recycling, best thing about it is you can jump on the foot steps to bed it into the ground for extra stability.
 
swanseamale47 said:
Yeah ok it isn't the lightest tripod in the world I'll admit, but it only cost me 2 quid for the bolt and washers (a bit steep I thought?) but you wouldn't want to carry it around all day. Wayne ;)
Click to expand...

Dont want to burst your balloon there Wayne, but as a Surveyor I can confirm that the Theodolite is the bit on top, the bit it sits on is called "a tripod", so you have in fact made a tripod, from a tripod :D
 
Anyone made any home made reflectors?
 
This was my ghetto defuser thingy made from sticky back plastic and cardboard :).

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Oh i'll upload my reflectors :P tinfoil coated cardboard sheet works well :) and aluminium off cuts, also did some work for a Lighting company while back and used some reflective aluminum sheets they use to line strip light cases :).
 
I bought a 65mm Super Angulon lens a few weeks ago. this lens just covers 5x4 but I decided to make a 6x12 format camera for 120 roll film.

With the help of the CNC router/drill at work, I have made a start on these parts:

Body with film holders (this will all fit into an oak box):

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An old Minolta lens has been taken apart to supply a helical focusing mount. It was either that or spend £240 on a real one!

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And then it will need a viewfinder. Either spend £100+ on the Voigtlander 21mm viewer (same 90 degree field of view) or make my own:

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And the view through it:

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The actual view is much better than this with the mask being square and crisp. This is a view holding it up to a digital compact on macro setting.

More pictures to follow as it progresses.



Steve.
 
DIY Lightbox made from 5 sheets of A3 foamboard and 2 sheets of tracing paper, held together with velcro tabs so it can be flatpacked when not in use...



and the shot it was being used for...



Works pretty nicely :thumbs:
 
Made a ring flash thingy similar to the one on here,took this with it.
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Has anyone got any idea's about how I can mount my flash and soft-box on one tripod? has anyone done this before???
 
MJ Stebbings said:
Anyone made any home made reflectors?
Click to expand...

Well, I always carry a piece of A4 board, white on one side (as a reflector) and black on the other (as a French flag). Have thought about sticking some crumpled foil on the white side to increase reflectivity but the plain white works well enough for me!
 
Nod said:
Well, I always carry a piece of A4 board, white on one side (as a reflector) and black on the other (as a French flag). Have thought about sticking some crumpled foil on the white side to increase reflectivity but the plain white works well enough for me!
Click to expand...

I think you will find that the french flag is blue, white and red :lol:
 
This is a Panoramic bracket I made for my G6 camera out of Ash, Leather, bolt, lock nut and over size washer. I now use a NN3 11 with my 40 D but this is a very light weight alternative . I made a a micro adjuster for the "Nodal" point. The two fixed parts were Joined with finger joints and casein glue.

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Terrywoodenpic said:
This is a Panoramic bracket I made for my G6 camera out of Ash, Leather, bolt, lock nut and over size washer. I now use a NN3 11 with my 40 D but this is a very light weight alternative . I made a a micro adjuster for the "Nodal" point. The two fixed parts were Joined with finger joints and casein glue.

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That's woodwork to be proud of there. I would'nt even bother if it worked it just looks A1.:thumbs:


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I made my own background stand out of pvc waste pipe, the main structure is out of 40mm solvent weld pipe with then the top section out of 32mm so that it slides inside the 40mm pipe to make it fully adjustable for height

theres braces on the bottom section attached to the uprights and base to triangulate it to stop it wobbling

theres a pole for taking 1.7m wide cloth backdrops and then a top rail that can either be used as a light rail and sit forward of the main rail to light the background or use as a hair light stand, or can be put inline with the main pole and used to hang a 2m wide vinyl or cloth

it all comes apart into sections so its easy to store or move

pictures not the best but will do some more if people want them

3388141978_b7437c2d24.jpg
 
Philtrum said:
I made my own background stand out of pvc waste pipe, the main structure is out of 40mm solvent weld pipe with then the top section out of 32mm so that it slides inside the 40mm pipe to make it fully adjustable for height

theres braces on the bottom section attached to the uprights and base to triangulate it to stop it wobbling

theres a pole for taking 1.7m wide cloth backdrops and then a top rail that can either be used as a light rail and sit forward of the main rail to light the background or use as a hair light stand, or can be put inline with the main pole and used to hang a 2m wide vinyl or cloth

it all comes apart into sections so its easy to store or move

pictures not the best but will do some more if people want them

3388141978_b7437c2d24.jpg
Click to expand...

Thats pretty awesome, i have been thinking about making my own backdrop and support. I was wondering about fabricating something out of old tent poles.....but i have no old tent poles to test it out with :lol:
 
There's a feature in this weeks Amateur Photographer Magazine showing you how to make a DIY Fisheye Lens out of a door viewer (to fit compact digital cameras)
Brian
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
This is a Panoramic bracket I made for my G6 camera out of Ash, Leather, bolt, lock nut and over size washer. I now use a NN3 11 with my 40 D but this is a very light weight alternative . I made a a micro adjuster for the "Nodal" point. The two fixed parts were Joined with finger joints and casein glue.

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:eek: Thats some craftsmanship that went into that, certainly in a different league to what most could muster :notworthy:
 
here's my "Mk I home-made milk container flash diffuser"......

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and the results, all at 1/200 f/4 Canon 580EX II

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here's the setup:

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Many thanks to jgs001 for the ring flash idea,did these with the one i made.
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MJ Stebbings said:
Thats pretty awesome, i have been thinking about making my own backdrop and support. I was wondering about fabricating something out of old tent poles.....but i have no old tent poles to test it out with :lol:
Click to expand...

I was the same, but thought it would end up heavy and needing guide ropes to stabilise it lol ... so read about people making them out of plumbing pipe, and then designed my own to be more stable etc, its not hard to do and works well for me atm :)

glad you like it
Phil
 
Martyn... said:
Dont want to burst your balloon there Wayne, but as a Surveyor I can confirm that the Theodolite is the bit on top, the bit it sits on is called "a tripod", so you have in fact made a tripod, from a tripod :D
Click to expand...

Oh b****r!
Anybody got a theodolite they don't want? I'm going to make..... well probably a theodolite if my track record is anything to go by ;)
Wayne
 
James, all credit where it's due, there was a link posted on here, that I now can't find to 43 photography hacks, and this was one of them. However, it's working very nicely.
 
That's the one Stuart. Item #12.
 
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