Hovering somewhere between “novel idea” and “pointlessly stupid,” InstaCRT is a new iOS app that bills itself as “the world’s first real camera filter.” Photographs processed through the app are given a CRT monitor look that doesn’t involve any digital fakery. Instead, your photo is actually sent to the creators’ machine located in Stockholm, Sweden, where it’s displayed on a tiny CRT monitor and then photographed by a DSLR. The new photo is then beamed back to your phone in less than a minute.
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Wondering whether or not the shutter speeds on your camera are accurate? Instead of taking it to a shop or buying expensive testing equipment, you can use an old television or CRT monitor as a simple shutter speed tester! Camera enthusiast Rick Oleson has an easy to understand diagram showing what you can expect to see from the screen at different shutter speeds. For a more technical explanation and tutorial, check out this article that appeared in a 1967 issue of Popular Science.

You already own a shutter speed tester [Rick Oleson]