I’m a fan of projects that you can do at your work desk – print on the office printer, cut out with scissors and an exacto, and glue/tape together. The Dirkon paper pinhole camera might be the pinnacle of this type of project. This thing is cool – it’s a fully functional pinhole camera that looks like a papercraft SLR. It uses standard 35mm film, and actually advances the film. It has a makeshift “shutter release.” Maybe best of all, it looks super cool – the assembled version is a great decoration for your camera shelf or desktop. It’s been around for a while; I put one together a few years back myself.

The original instructions are in Czech, but have been translated with assembly tips. There are a couple sections that leave some questions, but use some intuition and it all comes together.

If you plan to use this for photography, you’ll need to use cardstock when printing it out – double-check that it doesn’t let light through (if so, line the inside to eliminate all light). Otherwise, standard xerox paper will be just fine.

Here’s the main page with writeup, notes and tips: Dirkon Pinhole Camera

This is the PDF to print out.

And while at it, check out the Rubikon 2, another print-and-fold camera that is an evolution of the Dirkon.

The pinhole.cz site also has some great information about determining exposure time for pinhole cameras.

Finally, get inspired by checking out Flickr pics of other Dirkons and the photos they create.

PDF of the Dirkon

The folks at diyphotography.net have a good post with seven easy DIY projects that will help beef up your photo studio. Beauty dish, dual speedlight mount, ring flash, softbox, snoot, suction cup mounts (very clever), and a PVC light stand. All of them are useful tools.

I like the beauty dish project as an easy, cheap way to get that softbox look. These things can range in price from the $50 range to a well over $200. The version described here will cost next to nothing, especially if you source the supplies at the local thrift store.  Here’s a good example of what a beauty dish does for lighting:

(no, that’s not me – it’s just an example I found online)

(Quick reminder: Simply RT this post or post a comment below to get in on the monthly giveaway. Many other easy ways to enter and up your odds, too!)

Steadycam test 2 – before and after from Nathan Carrick on Vimeo.

Shaky footage can be one of the biggest killers when shooting video. As cameras get smaller, and zoom ability gets more powerful, the effect of shake is multiplied greatly. This can still be fine for everyday, “snapshot” use – but to capture footage for any semi-serious use, you need to brace your camera against the jitters.

A way to retain mobility while combating shake is to move the center of gravity of the camera to a point that is not in line with the lens. This is the basic idea behind the steadicam, a mounting rig that is used by many professional camera operators. Typically, a counterweight is affixed to the camera at a certain distance via a mounting bracket. The length of the bracket and the heft of the counterweight are set for the specific style of shooting that you want to do. The displaced center of gravity helps nullify the small jitters from shaking the lens, and the added mass of the setup also helps keep the motion more fluid and less herky-jerky.

Normally, you’ll see high-end steadicams that have a nearly frictionless joint (gimbal) that allows the camera to remain steady as the rig twists, turns, and tilts. But satisfying results can be had with a simple unit that uses just the counterweight alone.

Johnny Chung Lee has a start-to-finish writeup on his site steadycam.org on how to build a $14 steadycam with everyday items. The gist: two short lengths of steel pipe are combined in a sideways T, one side for a handle, the vertical piece to hold the camera at top and the counterweight below. A small weight is affixed on the bottom, the camera is connected to the top with a modified endcap that has a mounting bolt in it, and voila: DIY steadicam.

DOIT reader Nathan Carrick sent me some photos and videos of his assembly of this project, and a before/after video of the results (the inspiration for this post). I’m impressed – you can see how this improves the quality and creates a smoother looking result.

Nathan's PVC endcap for the DIY Steadycam. The 1/4" mounting bolt on top is the standard size all cameras use.

Even though the odds of getting to see the darkness of space in person are slim - just over 500 people have traveled into space - it’s possible to still see it through the lens of your camera with a small assembly project and a few cheaply obtained materials. Including a styrofoam beer cooler.

A team of students from MIT recently set a goal to capture some photos of the curvature of the earth. Their off-the-shelf project cost them approximately $150, and the results have garnered them attention from CNN, Fox, ABC and more. Here’s how they made it:

Equipment Used in the Launch Capsule

One of the amazing parts of this project is that there were only two small modifications needed on the materials: The camera used was selected for its ability to use a timed shutter script through the CHDK firmware update (I use this same setup for most of my timelapse films), and the styrofoam cooler allowed for lightweight thermal insulation which can be easily cut to allow the lens of the camera to stick through.

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The most basic style of camera is the pinhole camera, usually a light-proof box that holds a piece of film inside. When the pinhole is uncovered, the film is exposed for an arbitrary amount of time, and later developed to discover the results. The images often have a soft, almost ghostly look that is very distinct and artsy.

With the advent of digital SLR cameras in the past few years, you can now make an easy version of this same simple camera that uses a digital sensor instead of film, and simple materials you already have at hand. Here’s how to make your own.

Costume mannequin. Photo shot with my Nikon D80 using the pinhole cap.

Materials
• Digital SLR camera
• Spare body cap (get one cheap on Amazon or Ebay)
• Drill
• Two drill bits, one small and one medium (1/16″ and 1/4″ should work fine)
• Aluminum foil
• Ruler/Triangle
• Marker
• Black electrical tape
• Gummy eraser or other similar material
• The thinnest needle you can find

Step One: Mark the center of the body cap. There are a couple easy ways to find the center of a circle, using a right triangle or a compass. I opted for the triangle method as I have a t-square handy.

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A few Holiday suggestions that I’ve been enjoying this year, for the science geek/builder/pizza fanatic in your life.

Tools

Flexible shaft precision screwdriver: Don’t tell Apple but I’ve taken my Macbook apart plenty of times, made easy with this mini-screwdriver. It has 6 double-ended bits: standard, philips and torx. The shaft can be extended out of the body to snake it around those tricky corners, great to remove that one metal strip that the RAM modules hide behind. I got mine at OSH.

Cameras/Video

Canon 7D: I don’t have this but I want it. Bad. Like, I might sell my Nikon gear because of this camera. Its the next step in the game-changing video enabled DSLR realm. And at $1699 for the body, you get access to film like effects that were only available on cameras costing over $100,000 a few years ago. Check out the sharpness and rich color.

Kodak Zx1: The Zx1 is Kodak’s response to the Flip. 720p HD video, and shoots 30 or 60fps. The video is sharp and clean, but like the Flip, the lack of image stabilization and optical zoom made me want something more. I got mine for about $100, but it needs an SD card so factor that in to the price.
I used it to film this clip of a catapult launching a bowling ball. Here’s another good example of its quality.

Panasonic FX37: I bought this directly from that desire for image stabilization and optical zoom. I dig this camera because it’s got a wide-angle lens that is fairly fast – more useful for low light conditions than the Powershots that I always buy, although not as impressive as the amazing Panasonic LX3. This FX37 is being phased out, so you can get some good deals on it. I got mine for $169 at Sixth Avenue Electronics.

A side-by-side comparison of these two cameras is on its way.

Pizza Supplies

Mario Batali Pizza Slicer: As mentioned in my post on building a temporary pizza oven, the Batali pizza slicer is amazing. $15 and worth every penny.

Bike Gear

Blackburn Mars 3.0 rear bike light: I wrote about this in Wired a few years ago. Still the best rear bike light I’ve found. $16. While at it, build your own mega-bright LED front light.

Shoot your own “In your face!” photos – very rad. This project is from MaximumPC.

Overview:
- Install the StereoData Maker script onto two CHDK-modifiable Canon Powershot cameras. The script allows the cameras to be triggered through their USB ports. The page lists the compatible cameras; I use the Canon A460 – it was cheap!

- Mount the two cameras side by side, on an S-bracket.

- Use an easily built, two-camera USB switch to simultaneously take photos. A 5v power source (three AAA batteries) will actuate the shutters.

- Process the photos using StereoPhoto Maker software, which calibrates the images and assembles them into a 3-d viewable photo, just like the classic movies.

Up next: experimenting with the video mode of the cameras, then extracting the individual frames (easily done with Quicktime Pro), processing those with StereoPhoto Maker, and reassembling into a classic 1950’s 3D movie experience. Coming soon!

My Canon SD1000 with Gorillapod perched on a SF parking garage ledge shooting a full moon timelapse

I love my Gorillapod – it comes with me everywhere I go, camera bag, backpack or suitcase. The versatility of it extends beyond “turn-anything-into-a-tripod” – it’s also an amazingly entertaining toy for children, and some people have even looked to hack them into “helping hands” for soldering projects.

One thing with the G-pod though, I rarely get a perfectly level shot when using it. The alternative makes it worthwhile, but Instructable user Zomie took on that same hindrance and devised an LED-lit bubble level mount for his SLR Gorillapod. Cheaply found components make it an attractive addition to us nighttime photography fans.

Have you ever shot in low light conditions and noticed your shots were off level? Well I certainly have!  I have been doing a lot of work lately with long exposure photography and when I am out in the field using a gorillapod I find myself running into this quite often.

I know I can buy a shoe mount camera level, but at night it is very difficult to see.  I clearly needed to make my own, so please follow along in this instructable to see how to make your own.  Here is a quick video walk through showing you what you can build by the end of this instructable.

Read the whole writeup: How to build a light up camera level for a DSLR

Gorgeous colors, beautiful movement, rich light. All from the new Canon 7D.

(The interview shots are done on the Panasonic HVX 200)

I’ve been meaning to post about the new Canon camera for a couple months, and this parasailing video finally me to do so. The recently released Canon 7D is the current pinnacle of video-enabled digital SLR cameras. Perhaps because they’ve got a history in the video segment, and understand it better than Nikon does, Canon has made some desirable moves in video functionality on their cameras with each new release.

• The 7D finally gives video makers a range of framerates: 23.97, 29.97 50 and 60
• An impressive bitrate of 50 mbps
• Manual exposure control
• And the price is totally reasonable: just under/around $2000 (check it on Amazon)

This camera is a filmmaker’s dream. The APS-C sized sensor does tasty things with the background blur, and works great with older Canon lenses by dropping the fringy edges from the shots – something that a full frame sensor would pick up.

DIY video expert Eugenia Loli-Queru posted a great 7D entry on her blog with additional information and excitement.
Here’s another great wrap-up of 7D info, with a wish list for the next generation (autofocus being #1)

Makes me think about selling my Nikon.

Universal, 2 Gyro Image stabilizer – More DIY How To Projects

The most extreme camera operators use a gyro attachment for their camera to get smooth, steady shots. This applies to both still and motion (video) photography. The attachment works by two internal gyroscopes spinning in opposite directions, creating an X-Y stabilization pattern. In an rough, rocky environment (helicopters, boats, Deadliest Catch), the gyroscopic effect holds the camera steady, resulting in a much smoother shot.

You can buy camera gyros from places like Kenyon Laboratories, however such high precision results in a seriously high price tag – they can easily cost over $10k. Or, if you have a couple external hard drives laying around, plus some USB phone chargers and a few scraps of wood, you can assemble your own lightweight gyro assembly following the steps in this great Instructable.

Two things to try:
-Use 2.5″ laptop drives for size (they may not have enough mass to stabilize anything larger than the smallest pocket cameras)
-Putting the drives in-line instead of a 90º offset

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