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This unique camera gives a clay pigeon’s view of the world – until it’s blasted out of the sky

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This definitely ranks highly amongst the oddest camera mounting jobs I’ve ever seen. This one-time-use camera rig from Thomas Renck mounts to the top of a clay pigeon. Yes, those things. Then it’s fired out of the trap to be brought back down to earth by a shotgun. If you’re lucky. If you’re not lucky – depending on your perspective – it might just be brought back down by simple gravity. At least the camera would survive.

It’s an odd experiment, for sure, but it allowed Thomas to get some pretty unique and interesting footage. The footage isn’t of amazing quality, though, because it was built around a $28 keyring camera, with a 3D printed spinning mount. Actually, the mount’s quite ingenious, keeping the camera pointed in a single direction while the clay spins through the air.

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How I improved a faux panoramic film camera with 3D printing

Panoramas: a great format for (in my opinion) most photography. Dramatic landscape? Make it panoramic. Artsy architectural photo? Panoramic. Wanna make that softball game look a little more like Ben-Hur? Panoramic, of course. Weddings? Well… never mind. So as a panoramic enthusiast, and someone who enjoys shooting film, I’ve had my eye on several panoramic film cameras. Unfortunately, a true, full panorama camera can be very costly, like the Hasselblad XPan (>$3,000) or the Fuji GX617 (>$2,000).

There are also swing lens cameras, which use a mechanical method of capturing a panorama. The lens of the camera pivots or “swings” in a horizontal arc, exposing the film to the panorama as it moves. This mechanical motion can add distortion to photos which may be a desirable effect for some. A handful of companies produced these cameras, like the Widelux F7 (<$1000) used notably by Jeff Bridges behind the scenes of his films, or the more affordable Horizon Kompkt (<$200).

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Personalise your camera with spray paint and sandpaper

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A few years ago, I remember there was a craze of people buying brand-new guitars and immediately attacking them with sandpaper to make them look “vintage”. If this video from Caleb at DSLR Video Shooter has any say, it looks like that trend is coming to cameras, too. And not only is he making his camera gear look old and worn with sandpaper, but he’s also attacking cameras with spray paint.

You might be seeing Ryan Reynolds in your head right now, asking, “But why?” I was also thinking that while watching this video. But customising your kit isn’t a new idea. Even completely painting your camera isn’t a new idea, either. Although, Caleb does it much better than Kai did back in 2010. Caleb didn’t even have to take his camera apart to do it, either.

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This weird camera uses AI to recreate the scene before it

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This is one of the oddest and most curious cameras I’ve ever seen. It has a lens and a sensor and can actually record the real scene in front of you, but it doesn’t do that. Instead, it detects what’s in your scene using AI and turns it into a text description. This text description is then fed into an image-generating AI whereby it makes an image based on that description. And that’s the “photo” you end up with.

As I said, it’s a curious camera and a very interesting concept. The camera itself is very unassuming. Essentially it’s a twin-lens camera, much like a twin-lens reflex (without the reflex bit), in a big black box. It has a waist-level viewfinder on top and the actual camera lens below, along with a big red shutter button on the front. Shortly after you hit that button, it spits out an Instax print of the AI-generated scene.

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Level up your photography and video with these three $10 DIY camera rigs

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Getting your camera low or in a small space unlocks new shooting opportunities, but it can be challenging. Jay P. Morgan has some great DIY camera rigs that will raise your photo and video game to a new level.

In this video, Jay P. shows you how to build these three simple and cheap rigs from scratch. You don’t need fancy tools, lots of bits and pieces, or too much time. Plus, you only need around $10 to make each of them, if not less – since you may already have some of these items at home.

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Build your own DIY Loupedeck for Lightroom

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There have been a number of DIY console projects and custom keyboards out there for people to build already, but I quite liked the look of this one. It comes from photographer and high school STEM teacher, Adam Iannazzone, to make his life easier when using Lightroom. It’s a simple design based on an Arduino, and it’s one of the few I’ve seen that actually contains dials as well as buttons!

It’s called the Lightroom Macropad, and it does what many such DIY projects do. It uses the Arduino to simulate being a keyboard. When you press a button or spin a dial n the device, it sends one or several – if you programme your own macros into the code – keystrokes to make your computer perform whatever action you’ve set that button to. And you can configure it to do pretty much whatever you want.

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This 489-megapixel DIY camera costs only $150 and uses the reclaimed guts of a flatbed scanner

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In the vast majority of the cameras we own, or at least use on a daily basis, we have an image sensor. It’s either a CCD or a CMOS. A single, static non-moving chip (IBIS notwithstanding) that captures your whole scene at once (or as close to it as you can get if you have a rolling shutter CMOS sensor). But there is another technique for capturing images, and that’s by scanning.

Scanning cameras are not a new idea. In fact, they’ve been pretty much the only way you can shoot with large format cameras digitally. But this DIY solution from Yunus Zenichowski turns the idea into at truly portable camera which uses a projector lens and creates beautifully detailed photos. And best of all, it cost him less than $150.

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The “Paperoid” is a DIY instant camera uses an e-paper display instead of film

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Polaroid cameras and photographs played a significant role in the development of photography. When they were first released, they were an instant hit because of the “instant” nature of the cameras themselves. You’d point it at your subject, and within minutes you’d have your fully finished print right there in your hands. It’s that same instant gratification that’s driven digital photography, too. But it’s not quite the same.

This is a pretty neat project by “Cameron” that kind of combines the two, allowing you to create a sort of temporary Polaroid of your scene. It uses an e-paper display – which retains its image when power is removed – to show your photograph. This display can be taken off the camera and attached to your fridge or wherever you want to display it without requiring a power source. Then when you want to shoot another picture, you just put it back on the camera.

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How I created the ultimate camera mount for my DIY live streams

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As a model maker, I’ve recently started live-streaming my work to connect with my audience and share my creative process. However, capturing the right angle can be challenging, especially when using a full-fledged DSLR with a tele macro lens. There’s not a lot of room on a craft bench for a camera. Also, positions with a clear line of sight to the actual work are tricky to find.

In this post, I’ll describe how I made a low-profile stand for my camera. A stand that holds my camera stable and fits the standard module size of a HobbyZone craft workstation. If you are familiar with the Platypod system, this is somewhat of a similar concept.

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Use these four tricks for cinematic dolly shots on the cheap

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Dolly shots are among the basics when it comes to cinematic camera movement. But if you’re just starting out, buying a proper camera dolly could be a bit of an overkill. So, why not turn to cheap, even free options, at least for a start? Caleb of Wondershare Filmora has a few ideas how to do it and still get those sweet, cinematic shots in your video.

The goal is not only to have your camera slide in different directions but also to minimize camera shake while doing so. Caleb proposes a few options that could do the trick, and you already have at least one of them at home.

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