A decade ago, I stumbled upon a page where someone detailed their process for crafting their own instant film, something similar to Polaroid Type55 or the New55. At that time, the instructions seemed too complex for me to tackle, and I never ventured into the world of instant film creation.
Recently I bought a film camera from the 1970s, the Canon A-1. Considering that the camera is almost three times older than me, it was no surprise that there are a few issues with it.
Over the past year, it seems the whole world has been on hold due to the rampages of COVID-19. In the Facebook groups I’m in, many users were seeing shortages in analog photography supplies. Some online stores stopped shipping Rodinal (a caustic liquid) and other products were just nowhere to be found.
A Japanese tinkerer who goes by the name Sanasol has created something pretty cool. Using a homebrew sensor cartridge, he's converted his classic Nikon FM SLR into a functional digital camera without having to alter the 35mm film camera at all.
The folks at Fotodiox found one of the weirdest, most threatening lenses you'll ever see at an antique store recently. Totally homemade—the thing doesn't even include an aperture—this rifle stock lens is one we do NOT suggest you travel with... unless you really want to freak out the TSA.
So what is a "Universal Tripod L-Bracket"? Well, I'm not sure, because I couldn't find another on the market quite like it. Some tripod manufacturers make L-brackets specific to their own tripod, but I found nothing universal.
Affordable, high-quality high speed cameras a tough to come by. But that might soon change, thanks to Kickstarter and years of work by one diligent engineer.
Hey, not everybody wants a homemade gun. So how about using that 3D printer you've borrowed to make your own home-brew point-and-shoot digital camera?
DIY portal Instructables now has directions to do just that, thanks to creator Randy Sarafan's plans -- including a downloadable template to print the body -- and RadioShack's mighty JPEG Color Camera Board to go inside. The final product would make a fine companion to the OpenReflex 3D-printable film SLR for those ready to go digital.
Feast your eyes on this gorgeous twin-lens reflex camera that was designed and built from scratch by photographer Kevin Kadooka, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Portland. It uses a Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5 Chrome lens and has a Polaroid back for shooting 4.25x3.5-inch instant film, and is crafted out of laser-cut birch plywood.
Here’s a step-by-step video tutorial teaching how to develop your B&W film using instant coffee and powdered vitamin C …
Freddy Wong's YouTube channel is a must-subscribe if you're interested in video editing and home-brewed CGI. A couple months ago we featured an amazing video they made where an entire action scene was done using light-painting techniques. What's neat about their channel is that they also create behind-the-scenes clips explaining how each one was made.
Self-described creative technologist Thiago Avancini hacked this Atari 2600 joystick into a shutter release cable -- complete with an autofocus control for his Canon T2i. The controller is considerably larger than the average cable release or remote control, but it's a pretty nifty.
About a week ago, San Francisco hackerspace Noisebridge launched its own space program, Spacebridge.