DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Altoids To The Rescue – The Minty Strobe

Oct 26, 2007 by Udi Tirosh Add Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

altoidsThere is some great stuff going on at DIYPhotography.net instructables group. This fantastic group is a true demonstration of the DIY spirit that is behind this site. I have talked before on the subject of creating your own flash. In that article Avner Richard explained how to utilize xenon tubes to create some real Watts/Second power flashes. It is a great piece for the ones that are electrically capable.

If you are not an electrician and fear the high voltage involved, Martin (AKA PKM) has posted an Instructable just for you.

minty-strobeIn this Instructable martin explains how to build a portable flash from an Altoids tin and a disposable camera. (Yes this is not a typo – Altoids, those fine minty candies that saves you when you experience that end of day dinosaur breath). No wonder Martin has named it The Minty Strobe. It’s the perfect way to take fresh pictures. It is also the freshest way to take perfect pictures. Your choice.

I can see several major pros for this kind of flash:

  • It is cheap – both disposable camera and Altoids tin are close to zero dollars.
  • IT takes minutes to finish this project.
  • If you build a few of those, your significant other will never ever complain about your breath.

I can think of some improvements to this minty baby:

The first idea is combine a few of those yummy minty strobes to get more light.

Martin is using them mints for High Speed Photography – a technique where one leaves the shutter open for a long time in a dark room. Then the flash pops and gives some light. This is why the second idea is to connect this minty strobe to a radio operated flash slave, and get some light for shooting regular artistic shots. If you know how to do that, please post a comment, post your idea to the DIYphotography.net flickr pool or drop me a note.

Related links:
– Minty Strobe Instructable
– Altoids
– High Speed Photography
– creating your own flash

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailA Cheapo Minty Ringlight Strobe – Call to Arms Use A 3D Printed Strobe Mount To Get Your Strobe 89% on Axis 10 tips to create better animal photos for rescue shelters Guy Uses New Drone to Rescue Lost Drone from Neighbor’s Roof

Filed Under: DIY, Tutorials Tagged With: altoids, DIY Photography & Studio, Electronics, flash, instractables, misc and gear

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.net

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

« Lighting – Low key Lighting Setups
Printing The Flash Mounted homemade DIY Softbox »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy