Photo booths are seeing a renaissance in the world of photography recently. We’re not so much talking about the photo booths you’ll find at the mall, where you feed them a dollar and they take your picture. We’re talking about little contraptions that pros are building/buying nowadays and bringing along with them to parties and wedding shoots.
One great example is the Instagram-inspired DIY photo booth put together by Alexander Morris. Unfortunately, that one required a bit of electrical DIY skill to put together yourself, so for those of you looking for something similar minus the DIY part, Photoboop may be the perfect solution. Read more…
Here’s a fun piece of photographic/cinematographic history: the first ever portable motion picture camera was invented by a French scientist named Étienne-Jules Marey, and it was in the shape of a gun. Sort of a great grandfather to the the Mark III Hythe Machine Gun Camera used by the British during WWI to train aerial gunners, the Fusil Photographique (or “photographic rifle”) made its debut on the scene all the way back in 1882. Read more…
Many photographers want to give large format a shot, but carrying a massive 4×5 camera around with you isn’t always practical or realistic. Fortunately for those people, the folks of Wanderlust Cameras have hit Kickstarter with a new invention: the Travelwide 4×5. It’s an affordable, ultralight large-format camera that you can take with you anywhere. Read more…
JTT has released what looks to be the smallest consumer night vision camera in existence. About the size of your typical CF card, the CHOBi CAM 3 can snap 11MP photos and take 1080p video for up to 120 minutes on a charge — and it does it all in the dark. Read more…
Canon’s attention grabber at this year’s CES 2013 is a new compact camera designed to fight against the encroachment of smartphones: the PowerShot N.
The little guy is unlike most point-and-shoots you’ll find on the market. It’s extremely small, square, and simple. The design may seem gimmicky at first, but pick it up in your hands and your opinion might change.
Read more…
Need to bounce your flash but don’t have a suitable wall nearby? Bounce-Wall is a new lighting accessory that puts a large card to the side of your camera, providing a bounce surface wherever you need it. David Hobby over at Strobist got to play around with one, and writes,
Here is the thing: very few people will feel ambivalent about this thing. You’ll either love it or your’ll hate it.
A lot of people just won’t get this thing. But I suspect event and wedding shooters (i.e., for shooting during the reception. etc.) will flock to it.
[...] It’s a run-and-gun mod, rather than something for finely crafting light. Think big bounce card (but up and over about 18 inches) and you’ll be close. And it’s completely self-contained, and thus what every camera-topped fongsphere user should probably have on instead when they are working outside with no walls or ceilings. (I see those guys, and a reeeeally want to walk up and say something. But I have learned to just shut up and watch.)
Created by California Sunbounce, the Bounce-Wall will be launched at Photokina later this month. Head on over to Strobist for a closer look at this unique camera add-on.
Bounce-Wall: The Genius/Insanity Line Goes Commercial [Strobist]
Update: The price will reportedly be $99.
Image credit: Photograph by David Hobby and used with permission
The stated goal on “the Kick” is that they’re trying to “help you take better pictures, make better videos and have fun doing it.” But what they’ve really done is re-imagine, and maybe even revolutionize, portable lighting. That’s because the Kick, in particular the Kick Plus, can do so much: use it as a strobe, as a continuous light source, or to generate different colors or effects.
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Tripods are great, even necessary for a lot of photographic situations, but one thing they are not is pocket-sized. Amateur photographers especially will often find themselves within reach of their camera, but too far from their tripods; and if you’re just a photography enthusiast who likes to snap photos just about everywhere you go, forget carting around a tripod. That’s the dilema Matthew Baty found himself in, and so he developed the Statc, an ultra-portable magnetic tripod head that you can stick to just about any metal surface. Read more…
Want to shoot professional-looking shots of smaller objects. You can build your own tabletop studio using a collapsible clothes hamper, a white plastic sheet (e.g. a table cover), and a sheet of white posterboard. Stick the posterboard inside the hamper for your infinite white backdrop, and then use the plastic sheets on the sides to diffuse your light. Total cost? Less than 10 bucks!
Build a Collapsible DIY Macro Studio With Popup Laundry-Bag [DYIP]
If you’ve always wanted your own military-grade portable darkroom, today’s your lucky day! There’s a used US Army one for sale on eBay with the starting price of $4,500. The 4,500LB shelter contains 3 rooms with 614 cubic feet of space, and comes with all the darkroom equipment you need, including a fridge, film drying cabinet, film processors, sink, storage spaces, and an escape door! It even packs its own temperate water control system and heating/AC unit. You can find more photos here.
Used Dark Room Aluminum Shelter with Equipments (via tokyo camera style)
