Creative reappropriation of camera gear

[Garbz]

We were in the photonics lab this week playing with various lasers and getting a strange result with one of our measurements of a spinning disc. Someone suggested that the disc may not be flat, but we had no equipment to find out if it really is or not. Enter our local lens collector in the lab with his brilliant idea.

One of the guys in the lab has a huge lens collection among which was a Canon T mount CCTV lens a 85mm f/1.8 I think it was. So while he ran to the workshop to have them quickly lathe out an adapter allowing us to mount the lens on standard Thorlabs optoelectronics equipment another guy dismantled a webcam. The lens was mounted onto a standard mount with about 5 extension pieces and the webcam mounted in the back. Volah! an almost microscope level imaging system, and probably the sharpest webcam in the southern hemisphere too.

We mounted a needle next to the spinning disc, focused on the tip of the needle (the needle itself now good 4cm across on the screen, put the needle almost touching the rotating disc, and shone a light at the contraption at 45 degrees. We measured the non-uniformity of the disc by how far the shadow moved on the resulting video. Theory proved, problem solved, beers drank.

Has anyone else ever found a cool alternate use for their camera gear?

 

[Chris of Arabia]

I used my Canon EF-S 17-55mm USM f2.8 IS to gather camel spit once - I didn't really want it, but in Middle Eastern culture, it's considered impolite to refuse a gift once offered...

 

[Garbz]

Quite. What did customs say after you brought it home

 

[dEARlEADER]

We were in the photonics lab this week playing with various lasers and getting a strange result with one of our measurements of a spinning disc. Someone suggested that the disc may not be flat, but we had no equipment to find out if it really is or not. Enter our local lens collector in the lab with his brilliant idea.

One of the guys in the lab has a huge lens collection among which was a Canon T mount CCTV lens a 85mm f/1.8 I think it was. So while he ran to the workshop to have them quickly lathe out an adapter allowing us to mount the lens on standard Thorlabs optoelectronics equipment another guy dismantled a webcam. The lens was mounted onto a standard mount with about 5 extension pieces and the webcam mounted in the back. Volah! an almost microscope level imaging system, and probably the sharpest webcam in the southern hemisphere too.

We mounted a needle next to the spinning disc, focused on the tip of the needle (the needle itself now good 4cm across on the screen, put the needle almost touching the rotating disc, and shone a light at the contraption at 45 degrees. We measured the non-uniformity of the disc by how far the shadow moved on the resulting video. Theory proved, problem solved, beers drank.

Has anyone else ever found a cool alternate use for their camera gear?

holy cow Garbz are you ever a nerd.....

one thing is for sure... you are gonna make a lot of money....

you'll probably end up with one of those big yachts with all the woman hanging off it......

 

[Sw1tchFX]

I used my Canon EF-S 17-55mm USM f2.8 IS to gather camel spit once - I didn't really want it, but in Middle Eastern culture, it's considered impolite to refuse a gift once offered...

What?!?!

 

[Chris of Arabia]

What?!?!

Full story --> HERE

 

[Do'Urden's Eyes]

i didnt see a 17-55 full of spit anywhere!

 

[Jedo_03]

We were in the photonics lab this week playing with various lasers and getting a strange result with one of our measurements of a spinning disc. Someone suggested that the disc may not be flat, but we had no equipment to find out if it really is or not. Enter our local lens collector in the lab with his brilliant idea.

One of the guys in the lab has a huge lens collection among which was a Canon T mount CCTV lens a 85mm f/1.8 I think it was. So while he ran to the workshop to have them quickly lathe out an adapter allowing us to mount the lens on standard Thorlabs optoelectronics equipment another guy dismantled a webcam. The lens was mounted onto a standard mount with about 5 extension pieces and the webcam mounted in the back. Volah! an almost microscope level imaging system, and probably the sharpest webcam in the southern hemisphere too.

We mounted a needle next to the spinning disc, focused on the tip of the needle (the needle itself now good 4cm across on the screen, put the needle almost touching the rotating disc, and shone a light at the contraption at 45 degrees. We measured the non-uniformity of the disc by how far the shadow moved on the resulting video. Theory proved, problem solved, beers drank.

Has anyone else ever found a cool alternate use for their camera gear?

LOL - while you and yer mates were p*ssf*rting round in the photonics lab proving the non-uniformity of the surface of a rotating disc - me and my mates were sampling the products of the Barossa and discussing the new methodologies of cerebral stem-cell implantation to improve limb function following stroke (CVA), and Professor XYZ mentioned that he was able to connect a Canon 3DS (or s'thing fancy) with a macro, to the stereoscopic operating microscope, and capture the 'actual implantation' of dental stem-cells into the motor-cortex of a 45 yr old female...
Technology - Eh..??
Jedo

 

[usayit]

LOL - while you and yer mates were p*ssf*rting

While you two were playin around with technology, I was actually p*ssf*rting on the crapper at home. So there!



The only "creative" use of equipment I remember was using the bottom of my 1d to get a dog off my leather boot.... seriously...


For those dog lovers, no the dog wasn't hurt too badly..... just enough to get him/her to stop.

 

[Garbz]

lol usayit you're so angry

Actually somewhere in the lab we have an image colour analyser, and from what I recall it has a Nikon F mount on the front. Interesting where you find these brands.

For those of you who don't know. Nikon / Canon make a fair chunk of their profits producing industrial steppers for silicon wafer manufacturing, making lenses for observatories and space telescopes, and very high end microscopes.

 

[usayit]

Not so angry .. I wanted to keep my toe.