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This wooden DIY camera rig is about as frugal as it gets

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When push comes to shove, the kinds of DIY solutions people come up with to solve photography and filmmaking problems really can be amazing. Take camera rigs, for example. DSLRs aren’t exactly the most ergonomic of devices when it comes to shooting video. But camera rigs can be very expensive, even relatively modest ones. So what can you do?

For Ghana-based filmmaker Abass Safian, the answer was obvious. Make his own. And that’s exactly what he did with a few pieces of wood, some basic tools, and a little time. It’s a great looking DIY rig and probably does the job as well as some of the commercial options.

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How to create a classy portrait look with DIY lighting kit for under $100

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When you start to break out of using only the available light and start looking towards adding your own lights, it can get quite expensive rather quickly. Whether you’re shooting stills or video, quality lighting kit is just expensive. But it doesn’t have to be.

There are ways to create fantastic lighting looks on a much lower budget using commonly available cheap lights. In this video, Brent from ShareGrid, along with ShareGrid member Casey, shows us how we can create a fantastic lighting setup for portraits or interviews for less than $100.

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How to DIY some large wheels onto the Think Tank Logistics Manager roller case

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The Think Tank Logistics Manager 30 is my absolute favorite when it comes to all the camera bags, stand bags, photo bags and other bags I own for my flash equipment, tripods and cameras.

However, it is just like almost all rolling cases, mostly made to be transported inside airports, offices or other places with a flat and even floor. With small and silly undersized skateboard-like wheels it immediately becomes hard or impossible to use it on gravel roads or a bumpy asphalt. Not to mention in a meadow with grass.

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How to make your own DIY Justin Clamp for half the cost of a real one

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Originally made to help Joe McNally solve problems that would occasionally pop up on shoots, the Justin Clamp has become a popular addition to many photographer kit bags. It was created by Bogen/Manfrotto employee Justin Stailey from some standard off the shelf components. It served its function perfectly, so it became known as the Justin Clamp we still have today.

While excellent, they’re not exactly cheap. A handful of these in your bag can set you back a couple of hundred bucks. Another Joe, photographer Joe Edelman, has different solution, though. A DIY option that costs about half of the original Manfrotto (less if you shop around), and it seems to be a very good substitute.

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Organise your studio or set with this DIY equipment cart

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Equipment cards for use in the studio or on-set can be expensive. REALLY expensive. Of course, those carts often need to hold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. For a small studio or low budget set, though, you don’t need to go to such expense. There are many other alternatives out there that can work just as well that you can customise for your own needs.

In this video from the guys at The Film Look, we see how they organise their own DIY equipment cart. Based off a standard $69 utility cart, it’s very functional after a little tweaking and customisation. And it allows you to keep all your kit organised on set so that you know where everything is, as well as give you a mobile tabletop for gear you’re using.

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I 3D-printed a Canon EF lens mount for Game Boy camera

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I was inspired by Tim Binnion‘s work with the Game Boy Camera and a cheap cellphone tele lens. I figured I’d up the ante and design and build a full Canon EF Mount for my Game Boy Camera. The GBC has a sensor size of about 3.6mm² which seems equivalent to a 1/4″ sensor (Wikipedia). This gives the GBC a crop factor of about 10.81. With my 70-200 f4 mounted on a 1.4x extender, this gives me a max equivalent focal distance of about 200×1.4×10.81=3,026.8mm.

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The Goodman One is an open source 3D printable medium format camera you can make yourself

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Dora Goodman is a creator of beautiful handcrafted and customised analogue film cameras. She’s always had an obsession with handmade objects, and cameras afford her many options to pursue that. She loves to design and build her own cameras from scratch. And for the last two years, Dora’s been working on an Open Source modular camera design that others can build for themselves.

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