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This DIY night vision motion-activated camera films garden wildlife while you’re not around

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It’s funny. Sometimes, you have an idea for something you want to make and right as it’s all coming together and you’re starting to get everything figured out, somebody posts a project that is almost exactly what you need. It’s even better when they’re using pretty much the exact same hardware you’ve already bought for your project.

A user who goes simply by the name of Sam on Hackaday has created a night vision motion camera based on a Raspberry Pi Zero, an infrared camera module and a PIR motion sensor to detect for warm-blooded subject movement. While you could use this for security, Sam’s been using his to capture the local wildlife.

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This 3D printed adapter for microscope objectives produces amazing macro shots for less than $25

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Macro is one of those subjects that kind of has two extremes. Either you can go way over the top expensive, with decent macro lenses starting at quite a few hundred dollars or you can go super cheap, utilising tools such as extension tubes with your “normal” lenses. But there is a third alternative, a mix of inexpensive and DIY. And this project from Nick Sherlock takes that DIY route to a low budget extreme with some pretty amazing results.

He designed an adapter for Sony E and Canon EF mount cameras that can be easily 3D printed and allows him to connect an inexpensive $23 4x microscope objective and essentially use it as a macro photography setup. And while it’s no Laowa probe lens, the objective being so small also means you can poke it through things to get much closer to your subject without too much interference.

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Two simple ways to make a DIY dreamy Deakinizer lens

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If you’re a fan of cinematographer Roger Deakins’s work, you’re most likely familiar with Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Deakins modified a lens especially for this movie and used it to get a unique and dreamy tilt-shift effect. This type of lens has become known as the Deakinizer lens, and in this video, Chung Dha Lam shows you two simple and affordable methods for making your own.

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Here’s how to make your own high quality DIY USB microphone for voiceovers and streaming

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There are a lot of microphone options out there these days. Since stills cameras started being able to shoot video, and particularly so since the whole mirrorless thing took off properly, it seems like every company out there is making microphones now. Even DJI’s getting in on the game. Btu you’re still going to pay a not-insignificant amount if you want a decent one.

So, how can you get quality on the cheap? Well, you can build your own. In this video, Matthew Perks walks us through building our own microphone from scratch that produces some great quality sound. And you can even plug it straight into your computer’s USB audio ports for digital audio.

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Save some money by 3D printing your own camera gear

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Individuals often find it annoying to pay for extra gear after already spending a huge amount on the camera itself. Thankfully, 3D printing can help those on a tight budget. Not only is it cost-saving, but can offer users huge flexibility in terms of design and uniqueness. To be candid, there is no limit to the possibilities, given the advances happening around additive manufacturing technology.

Whether you are an independent filmmaker or a professional, a 3D printer is there for your rescue. You can create accessories such as organizational tools, mounts, lens caps, shoulder rigs and whatnot. Most importantly, you do not have to look through tons of marketplaces to find the exact match for your needs. Just modify the existing design to create unique gears and accessories.

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This 3D printed adapter lets you scan slides with your DSLR or mirrorless camera

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Ever since Nikon released its overpriced ES-2 slide mount holder in 2017 (for which you also need to buy separate film holders) that lets you “scan” your slides and negatives with a DSLR, I’ve seen more and more of these popping up from the 3D printing community.

This time around it’s the turn of Rotislav Persion who’s designed his version of a slide scanner for DSLRs and mirrorless cameras that should work pretty easily with just about any macro lens (or a regular lens with extension tubes). Rotislav’s is a nice design, that includes a foam-lined shim to prevent damaging your lens, too.

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Add a remote to any tablet teleprompter for $23

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Here at DIYP HQ, we are using a teleprompter to cut down on takes and have a more streamlined “talking head”. Using a prompter has significantly improved our workflow and cut down on recording and editing times. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to add a remote control to almost any tablet prompter software which will streamline your workflow even more.

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This DIY 3D printed “Micro Jib” is the world’s smallest camera crane and lives on your desktop

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We’ve covered a lot of ways to mount a camera overhead over the last few years, but this is probably the fanciest and most elegant. Because it’s not just to give you an overhead cam. Oh no, this Micro Jib by Lewin Day at Mechanistic is a full-on mini crane that lives on your desk and will let you mount the camera at whatever position you want.

There are no commercial options available for small desktop-sized mini cranes, so Lewin designed and built his own. It was inspired by Ivan Miranda’s giant 3D printed camera crane (which is very different to Alex Chappel’s similarly massive 3D printed camera crane), but is small enough to sit on your desk without getting in the way.

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Breathing new life into an old vintage slide projector lens with 3D printing

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Browsing through an antiques shop, I stumbled upon a Kodak slide projector with a very peculiar attachment: a large lens. This particular lens caught my eye as it was an absolute behemoth. It was heavy and had “ISCO GERMANY” engraved into it.

After seeing the price of only $10, I had no choice but to bring it home with me. My intentions were realized but not well thought out; remove the lens and convert it to fit on my DSLR. After poking and prodding the projector, I assumed the lens was removable and went at it with a screwdriver. Thankfully this assumption was right, and it was removed easily.

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Fast Stacker 2.0 is an automated focusing rail for macro photos you can build yourself for $180

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Macro is a whole lot of fun, especially if you have a macro rail that lets you rack the camera to shoot a bunch of photos at different focal planes that you can stack together in post. We’ve covered macro rails on DIYP before, like this one from NiSi and they are extremely handy. Spinning that handle by hand, though, can be a slow and inaccurate process.

Well, the DIY Fast Stacker 2.0 from Sergey Mashchenko solves these issues by automating the entire process using stepper motors and a fancy controller. We featured the first version of Sergey’s Fast Stacker here on DIYP, but the new update is much more accurate and offers a much-improved user interface.

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