DIY Camera Challenge!

[Hamish Gill]

Since we have now closed the Cheap as Chips Challenge I thought I would start another one ...
A hard one!

For this challenge the camera or lens has to be home made!!

That I imagine sounds pretty daunting?

Well dont let it be, the simplest option is to make a pin hole lens for an slr!
this can be done by drilling a hole in a lens cap, putting a bit of tin foil over the hole and poking a pin through it... simple!

I am going to attempt to build a camera from scratch ... very probably a pin hole camera, but a camera none the less!

If anyone has any ideas or links to DIY camera projects to give people some ideas post them in this thread!

Here is a nice little tutorial on making a match box pin hole camera!
[video=youtube;Eot7qtknZ0Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eot7qtknZ0Y&feature=related[/video]

The deadline date (which i will stick to this time) is 14/05/12 ... lots of time!
3 photo entry
post the photos with a little description of you camera in a thread called "(title) my DIY Camera Photos"

Good luck!

 

[Hamish Gill]

No one up for this one then?

 

[Allan Batchelor]

hmm

 

[Paul Lange]

I have an idea for a full DIY camera but problem is I haven't got round to using my Boots Amica pinhole special yet let alone another camera. Very tempted though as I think my idea would be quite interesting.

 

[Dan Cattermole]

Okay, right, this is going to be interesting! Lol.
I'll give it a go..... Can't promise anything..... I'm in!

 

[Pete Askew]

Hammer and nails are at the ready!!

 

[Hamish Gill]

Aces!
Like I say, it doesn't have to be all DIY, just an element of home build, be that in the camera or lens...
I was thinking of using a lens from a ohp... But I might work up to that one ...

 

[Duane Stanton]

Count me in!!

 

[Brian Moore]

in.

 

[Peter Blake]

I had actually been playing around with a pinhole adapter for Nikon very recently; Polaroid backs can be picked up here for next to nothing, might have a go with some very outdated flim.

 

[Thomas brookes]

Think we should have 2 votes 1 for final result and 1 for camera/ lens ingenuity

 

[Hamish Gill]

not a bad call that one ... i have a stack of ideas... not sure how good they are though ...
bought some mdf to play with the other day though, so thats a start!

 

[Darren Turner]

PASS...........my middle name is John not Canon, Nikon Or Pentax

 

[Hamish Gill]

Surly you got tin foil in that kitchen of yours ...

[video=youtube;N82qDeyZXhk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N82qDeyZXhk&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]

 

[Peter Blake]

above we see the fledgling beginnings of the tilt/shift project known as FrankenCam. essentially, I wanted proper lens movements in a relatively portable form. not just something for the studio.

there are various solutions on the market already, the Horseman View Camera Converter, a similar effort from Cambo, and some dubious looking products from the Ukraine. I have zero mechanical/engineering experience, as I am sure you can see from the pics!

based on the Fuji GX680 body, which is fairly cheap and plentiful where I live (Tokyo). 680 does offer a digital option, but at rather more expense than I would like, plus the whole assembly is rather cumbersome and not particularly suited to being carried around, except perhaps in a car or truck. the very nice thing about the 680 is, the front standard has proper movements & is superbly engineered.

so the pics above illustrate the state of play at the present time. I need to chop most of the Mamiya extension tube off, just leaving the mount, so that this can be mounted in a custom panel, thus enabling the Mamiya 645 lens range to be utilised. I hope I have made a good choice with this range of lenses, comments or suggestions quite welcome!

then need to figure out how to attach the camera body which, in my case, will be some kind of Nikon DSLR - to the rear of the bellows. probably using a PK-13 tube or perhaps BR2a ring, as illustrated here. perhaps this is my excuse for buying a D800?

finally need to fabricate a mounting platform for the camera. I am tempted to put some kind of arca-swiss compatible mounting plate there, but will perhaps leave that for the MK2.....

suggestions/scorn always most welcome

 

[Hamish Gill]

Brilliant! High praise for any man willing to throw wome money at a bunch of disparate bits then chuck it in the air and hope a camera lands ...
cant wait to see the result!
have a look at Petes LF DIY camera ... Mental thing ... Brilliant!

 

[Pete Askew]

This certainly should be interesting. Do you plan to mount the camera to the rails or do you still want to able to rotate it?

 

[Peter Blake]

This certainly should be interesting. Do you plan to mount the camera to the rails or do you still want to able to rotate it?

I've got a spare Mamiya rotator unit, though it definitely doesn't 'rotate the camera around the central axis of the lens'. I know Custom Brackets make one, but that will defeat the object of a low cost unit. probably use something along the lines of that manfrotto L-shaped bracket that they make. the camera body would be mounted just over the space where I have crudely hacked off the old Fuji mirror box & screen assembly. spending a little time this morning filing down the sharp bits

 

[Peter Blake]

seems, after a little research, that the Stroboframe vertaflip, will probably do the job, and won't break the bank either at $50. also picked up a front body cap for the GX today, this will do as a template for a custom panel. I wonder if Fuji would sell me all their remaining GX parts?