Is DIY BS?

[Grandpa Ron]

One thing I have learned about a DYI is, the first one costs you very little, mostly because it is made from things on hand or less durable materials. If you try to make and sell 1000 of them you generally discover why they cost so much.

I wanted a large cone shaped lens hood to match a 58mm diameter lens. I made one from paper and masking tape, with scissors, protractor and a lot of "cut and try". Then I opened it up and taped it flat to a piece of pasteboard and rolled it into a cone. The cost less than a dollar. It works great, but is not very durable.

To try to make and sell any significant number of these would require a time and improved materials investment. Not what I would like to spend my time doing.

 

[RacePhoto]

Has it been another month already? Here's another one of my projects.

This was not an overnight sensation. I made various versions and adjustments. The final (ha?) nearly complete version is this.

12V power, so I can take the camera anywhere. If things look a little white or dusty, that's frost. But the lens has none of that because it's got 100+ turns of wire around it, plugged into the 12V. And not showing very much is the continuous power battery replacement in the grip. One battery and one battery eliminator set at 9V. And finally a remote shutter cable.

Clear night skies are a must. That's a used 40-D and 14mm Rokinon f/2.8 lens. 100% crop, 30 second exposure.

 

[RacePhoto]

No one interested in a dew free lens?

 

[Grandpa Ron]

Nice star photo.

If I ever get a clear night I will try it. The sky glow at my place, is bight enough to take night photos with an f2.8 lens.

 

[RacePhoto]

Well as usual, I'm slacking off. I skipped February altogether and here we are in March? Lets see, Macro, camera on a stick, where have I been. Night sky minus the dew and here's something a little older. I made this for shooting over the corn. Does anyone want to know why? Just imagine, there's corn and I wanted to shoot the field or the Sunset.

Only three extensions actually, and two camera mounts. The top one is just a straight Mic threading to 1/4x20 and the side mount has the ball so it can be adjusted better. It was an old light stand for a stage light, that I've been dragging around for ages.

This one doesn't go on the road.

 

[Rickbb]

No one interested in a dew free lens?

I keep condensation off by putting the gear outside for an hour before I want to shoot. Letting it acclimate slowly seems to work.

 

[RacePhoto]

I keep condensation off by putting the gear outside for an hour before I want to shoot. Letting it acclimate slowly seems to work.

I used to do that, but still with the weather and conditions around here, the drop in temperature overnight creates dew, sometimes frost. I probably didn't have the details, but things run pretty much like this. Camera out before Sunset, when it's starting to get dark in the West, I start the camera, which is aimed NE.

Then I lock the shutter release with the camera set to 30 second exposure. It takes a shot, processes, and takes another shot. That's starting at dusk and running until dawn. Yeah, continuous, overnight. That's why I used, and used up, 10-D until I got a 20-D and now I found a used 40-D.

Meanwhile the temperature keeps dropping and without the heater, I'd still get dew and frost. The idea of winding fine wire around the lens, is based upon what people do with telescopes.

On a nice Summer night, I don't have these problems. But if it starts warmer and gets cooler and the humidity builds, there's no escape. I'm not sure if being 4 miles from Lake Michigan actually makes a difference. I used to be 2 miles and it's easy to feel the effects. By 4 miles it's much more subtle. E Central Wisconsin. I'm sure things would be OK in OK.

Here's one from Fall last year. The white on the tripod and the battery unit is frost. This shot is morning when I picked up the camera. The lens is nice and clear. I was very pleased. It took some tries before I got it to work right.

First wrap is masking tape, sticky side up, sealed in RTV silicone, then heat shrink tape was added over that. The plan is, if I ever get to that, slide off the heater wires and use the lens in the field for other things, without the ugly additions.

This is the 8mm, from the first attempt. Aluminum foil to distribute the heat, then fine wire, covered in foam and then some "eatra special" yellow masking tape over the whole thing.

Everything is either 12V or uses a lighter plug to USB adapter. The idea behind that is one plug, any battery pack will do.

 

[pendennis]

Nothing at all wrong with DIY. Most photographers I know have skills in carpentry, metal working, and even electrical. Well before "the web" there were needs for background supports, scrims, camera mounts, and repairs to lights (mostly hot). You couldn't always find a skilled tradesman to handle a small job, much less for a decent price. So, out comes the circular and jig saws, tubing cutters, and even the volt meters and pliers.

A lot of the things are common sense, nothing arcane or exotic about what you need. If you needed a background support, off to the lumber yard for 2x2, 2x4, etc. lumber. In addition, I was able to find lightweight conduit which could be hung as a paper core, so I could use different backgrounds just by rolling or unrolling a different color. When my Smith-Victor lights gave me problems, I sat down, sketched out the circuit, and repaired connections, switches, etc. When I needed some custom plates for a view camera base, I went to the hardware store, bought the necessary plates, cut them, drilled and tapped them, and voila.

I had a Sunset tripod which started coming apart at the geared column riser. It was a handy beast, but luckily, I knew a maintenance foreman (my Dad), who took it to the shop, and had a machinist retool the bearings and sleeves. A case of beer was all it cost me.

Yes, there are things I wouldn't touch. Electronic flash repair is best left to folks who understand instantaneous high voltage discharge.
Things were not quite as complicated in the 70's and 80's, even into the 90's, but I didn't know many photographers who didn't have some carpenter, machinist, or electrician inside themselves.

 

[RacePhoto]

Waiting until April for the next, but I will say... I know how to have fun?

I don't always build everything. Sometimes I just adapt parts and pieces. The 40 foot big yellow monopod (which is less than that, but it started at 40 feet) came home because I saw it sticking out of a dumpster. The last segment was broken off. Easy enough, epoxy and a wooden plug, drill a hole and put in a stud for the 1/4 x 20 camera mount. Later I added a ball head.

Super monopod! Able to peek over tall fences.