Discover the expert in you.
Discover the expert in you.
One way to enjoy taking photographs without lugging around a camera bag is to use a neck strap. Neck straps also allow photographers to free up both hands without placing their cameras down and risking theft or damage. You can make a simple DIY camera strap with just a few feet of bungee cord, some rubber bands and shoestrings in as little as 20 minutes.
An aluminum slider is designed to help you capture smooth, seamless footage in a variety of different spaces and environments. While high quality aluminum sliders are costly, creating your own aluminum slider can be equally effective for a fraction of the cost. The actual composition of your aluminum slider depends on the size of the slider you are looking to make as well as the specific type of shots you are looking to get.
Sling straps are a relatively new innovation based on an old and simple concept. Mounting a camera, especially a heavy digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera, on a swiveling point so that it can be slung securely across the body keeps it secure and accessible. There are commercially-available sling strap kits, but a few inexpensive parts from a hardware store and an old shoulder strap from a purse or laptop case are all that's needed to put one together for less than the cost of an old-fashioned neck strap.
Photographers use lightboxes to concentrate lighting onto specific objects. Lightboxes also provide uniform, smooth, colored backgrounds to avoid distraction in the images. Most often, photographers use lightboxes to highlight products for advertising brochures, fliers or catalogs. You can make your own lightbox camera and settings to photograph personal objects, antiques or items you plan to sell.
A vertical camera stand mainly is used to photograph flat objects, such as photographic prints or other paper documents. It also may be useful copying slides or negatives if you have a light source beneath it. Digital scanners largely have replaced the need for vertical camera stands, but you still may want to use one, especially to copy a lot of old photos at once. It takes far less time to make these copies with a camera on a vertical stand than on a flatbed scanner.
Digital cameras are convenient for celebrations, events and vacations, but transporting expensive electronic equipment is risky if you don’t have the right protection. Without a protective case, the camera could be damaged if it is accidentally dropped or it could easily be left behind. Create a custom camera case to cushion any falls and make it easier to hang onto. Sewing a camera case saves money and gives you the option to choose the size, shape and color of the material.
A good camera sling is essential for carrying one or multiple cameras. The sling strap allows you to tote the camera off your shoulders, freeing your hands for other tasks and allowing for quick access to your camera when needed. Instead of purchasing an expensive sling strap, you can create one of your own out of an old tote bag.
Camera ring flashes, when purchased from a store, can be very expensive. The goal of a ring flash is to provide diffuse lighting from the area surrounding the front element of a lens. Ring flashes are useful for portraits and macro photography, when even front lighting is necessary. Fortunately, you do not need to spend a lot of money on a flash for your camera. With household materials, you can build your own camera ring flash using this inexpensive method.
Camera clamps are moldable and malleable strands of hard wire that connect to the camera via the screw hole on the camera's base. Sometimes referred to as an octopus mount, camera clamps are invaluable when trying to get shots of hard angles or time-lapse subjects. Many name brand clamps are on the market; however, by making your own, you save a few bucks and still end up with a reliable clamps for your photography.
Shooting video from overhead presents an uncommon angle that grabs the viewer’s attention. A Do-It-Yourself (DIY) camera wire rig will let you place the camera off the ground and move it from one point to the other safely. Tools and supplies from a hardware store will be needed, as will supplies from a photography store. No special skills are required.
Sometimes cameras and camera cases can seem boring. A good way to personalized and dress up your DSLR’s camera strap is to create a strap cover for it. A strap cover is an ideal way to decorate your camera, because it is removable and you can choose any colors you like. In addition, you can make the same strap cover in multiple colors to match your different outfits and moods. This ruffled camera strap cover will add and a fun and feminine touch to any camera.
A sliding camera rig is a movable photography support structure that allows a still or video camera to be moved along a linear axis smoothly and without rotating or twisting the focal plane. The rigs are used for capturing a moving video across a still background, like an audience, or for filming a ride-along process, like someone walking along on a sidewalk. The key to the success of its design is simplicity and effortless lateral motion across the length of the rig.
Controlling your camera in your absence is impossible, save for camera controller boards. You can use camera controller boards in trail cameras to take photos of wildlife. The controller board detects any physical motion using pyroelectric infrared sensor and switches on the camera, triggering it to take a photo. Camera controllers also enhance time-lapse photography.
A reversing camera or backup camera is a tiny camera attached to the back of a vehicle. The camera transmits the images to a monitor in the front of the vehicle for the driver to see. This helps the driver reverse without having to turn his head to estimate distance. Reversing cameras improve the safety of reversing in a vehicle. Installation of a reversing camera can take a few minutes or a few hours. This will depend on the model of camera selected.
The idea of using a camera on a blimp has been around for many years. It is a common sight at a major sporting event to see a blimp circling the stadium, providing a bird's-eye vantage point for those at home to view the game. However, you do not need to spend a lot of money in order to make a camera blimp. With a little time and knowledge, you can create your own radio-controlled camera blimp from home.
The Sony Cybershot is a hand-held digital camera. There are various models of the Cybershot. Megapixels range from 6 to 14, and they each have different-size viewing screens. All the cameras share a Carl Zeiss lens, built-in flash, and a lithium-ion battery. Their functions are basically the same, which makes it easy to switch from one camera to another. Learning how to shoot with these cameras is simple with the built-in automatic functions.
Pole cameras provide a different view and allow a unique photo composition. A pole camera system simply mounts a camera on an extendable shaft. The extended pole gives a bird’s eye view to the photographs. The system is used by creative photographers, building inspectors and sports photographers. A telescoping pole camera system can be made by do-it-yourselfers with modest abilities and tools.
If you are interested in macro photography but don’t want to spend a lot of money on the necessary equipment, there is a simple project you can do to save money. Constructing your own bellow is an easy project that will allow you get the most out of your macro photography. The bellow is attached to the lens of your camera and extends out toward your subject matter to block out any light interfering with your shot. You can make as many as you wish to fit any type of camera, all using the same basic method.
A camera is a simple concept. The basic design has a light-proof box with an opening which allows light to come in and strike the photographic film. Complex camera models are on the market which use complex mirror and lens systems. However, all cameras operate in essentially the same manner. To build a camera at home, the easiest model to build is a pinhole camera.
If your hobby is photography, then you are probably already aware that photography equipment is expensive. Everything from camera bodies to lenses and flashes to the computers used to edit digital photos costs money. It's no wonder that some photographers, both professional and serious amateurs, have gotten a little bit creative with homemade equipment. There are a number of different devices that you can save money on by creating yourself.
Touching the camera while taking a picture causes vibration in any manual or digital camera. This vibration causes blur in the photograph. A cable release, on-board timer or 10-second countdown is necessary to eliminate this problem. Making your own cable release is relatively easy. The cost to make your own camera shutter release is under $20.
Robots are cool in and of themselves, but make that robot wirelessly mobile and able to stream high-resolution digital video, and the awesome-meter goes haywire. Luckily, because of highly efficient, cheap consumer electronics, you can build a homemade spybot in your own home with nothing but some parts, knowledge and friendly guidance.
Camera triggers are devices that can connect to any camera with a stereo jack--typically only SLRs (single lens reflex cameras)--that can trigger the shutter without the user having to press the on-camera shutter release button. They can be useful to reduce camera shake (as the user does not have to interact directly with the camera to trigger the shutter) or to capture high-speed objects. There are three main types of camera triggers: a release cable, a remote camera trigger and a light/sound trigger.
The concept of the camera was in existence long before an actual camera existed. Greek philosophers including Aristotle described something called a camera obscura, which consisted of a lightless room with a single aperture (a hole through which light can pass into the camera). But it wasn't until 1850, when light sensitive emulsions were developed, that the first photo was taken using a smaller version of the camera obscura known as a pinhole camera. Today, you can make your own pinhole camera using a few easy-to-find household items.
In some situations, camera beanpods make reliable substitutes for tripods. Camera beanpods allow the photographer to essentially get down on the ground with her camera. Also, in precarious situations where a tripod will topple over (jagged rocks near a beach, for example) just place the camera beanpod directly on the rocks and it will take the shape of the underlying material, allowing the camera to easily rest without falling.
A steady cam is a device used to stabilize or steady a video camera while it's moving. There are a variety of commercial models available that are used by many cameramen, although these models can be quite expensive. You can choose to build your own steady cam in an effort to save money. The complexity of the home-built steady cam will vary with your abilities and budget.
