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How to modify the Plustek 8100 35mm film scanner to scan medium format roll film

Film’s resurgence in the last few years has left many analogue photographers with something of a problem, particularly if they want to shoot medium format film. That’s the lack of scanners on the market capable of scanning film compared to 20 or even 10 years ago. Sure, there are some out there that can do medium and even large format but they’re often prohibitively expensive.

So, photographer Christian Chapman decided to have a go at modifying his Plustek 8100 – a scanner designed for 35mm film – to make it scan medium format 120 roll film. As well as modifying the scanner and designing up some 3D printed replacement parts, he also had to modify the driver to make it scan further than it usually would for 35mm film. And he’s made it all available to download so you can do it yourself.

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This $20 DIY ring light isn’t the kind of ring light you think it is – it’s for light painting

When we hear the term “ring light” in photography, one thing immediately springs to mind and it offers a very distinctive look. But there is also another type, which isn’t meant to wrap around your lens to create that “shadowless” (which isn’t really) beam of fill light coming directly from your camera, and that’s what Pye Jirsa shows us how to make in this video.

It’s an interesting idea, basically wrapping a string of lights around a ring to create a unique look. And sure, while you could potentially try to use it like a traditional ring light, it won’t do much good, as those little LEDs aren’t going to light a subject very well from any kind of distance. But for light painting? Well, that’s where it really shines.

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This crazy looking DIY camera gives the full frame FOV and DOF equivalent of a 35mm f/0.4

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You can’t beat a good DIY crazy camera and they don’t get much crazier than this. Built by Matt at DIY Perks, this particular camera features a 432mm f/5 episcope lens with an image projection circle of around 500mm in diameter. To give you some idea of scale, your average full-frame lens has an image projection circle with a diameter of at least 43mm. That’s an area of 0.015 square meters. This lens has an image circle of 0.785 square metres (~50x the size).

And with this huge projection also comes a big advantage when it comes to depth of field. Despite being a 432mm f/5 lens, it offers the equivalent field of view and depth of field as a 35mm lens would on a full-frame camera if it had a maximum aperture of f/0.4. The closest lens to this designed for the relatively small full-frame format is the Zeiss 50mm f/0.7, and the last one of those to sell was rumoured to fetch around $200,000.

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Five simple but effective camera moves you can make with a power drill

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A power drill isn’t usually on the list when it comes to packing our camera bags to head out on a shoot, but as this video from Luke Edwin shows, a power drill can be an extremely versatile filmmaking tool! Ok, so, maybe “filmmaking tool” is a bit of an exaggeration, especially if you’re using a heavy camera like a tricked-out mirrorless rig in a cage. But they can let you get some pretty unique shots.

Luke shows off five different shots that were created with the assistance of a power tool and some DIY rigs. Some are designed for smaller cameras like action cameras, 360 cameras or specifically the teeny tiny Insta360 GO 2 (review here), but a couple of these tricks can be used with larger camera systems, too!

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This guy bought five broken ARRI Alexas to see if he could make one working camera

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Almost everybody who’s into video dreams of one day shooting on an ARRI Alexa. But actually owning one is pure fantasy for most of us. Not for Adam Harig, though, who spotted an eBay auction for five ARRI Alexa cameras on eBay one day and put in an offer. There was only one snag, these ARRI Alexa cameras weren’t working and were in various states of… deconstruction, with a part missing here and there.

After chatting with the seller and feeling reasonably confident that he might get a single working camera together between them, the seller accepted his offer of $1,250. It was a big gamble if he couldn’t get one to work. And even if he did, this wasn’t going to be his only expense, as he later found out. Owning an ARRI Alexa is not cheap!

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This $30 DIY Shure SM7B alternative sounds almost as good as the real thing

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So, that title deserves some qualifiers. It doesn’t sound as good as the Shure SM7B, but almost as good? Yeah, sure, it’s pretty good, especially considering what it costs – and assuming you already own a 3D printer. It’s not a totally DIY project from scratch, more a modification of an existing microphone to put it into a new housing. A bit like modifying old film photography lenses with a new housing to turn them into cinema lenses – they’re not really cinema lenses, but they’re close.

The Shure SM7B is a staple amongst podcasters, vloggers and live streamers but at around $400, it’s not exactly an inexpensive microphone. In this video, Caleb Pike shows us how we can take an inexpensive $20 Behringer microphone and a couple of bits and turn it into something that gives a very similar sound to the vastly more expensive microphone.

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This 3D printed DIY teleprompter has a built-in screen and can be used anywhere

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Anybody who’s ever had to sit (or stand) and do a spoken piece to camera will know the struggle of trying to learn and memorise a script. Even if we think we’ve got it nailed down pretty well, we’ll often find ourselves doing two or three (or twelve) takes for some lines that just don’t seem to come out right, especially if they’re pretty long ones. This is where teleprompters step in and this one’s pretty awesome.

Designed by Modern Hobbyist (MH), this is the second iteration of his teleprompter design and features a built-in Raspberry Pi 3B+ and 3.5″ touchscreen so you don’t need to mess around trying to slot your phone into it each time you need it and thanks to running a Linux web server you get external button control thanks to an Arduino Pro Micro pretending to be a standard USB keyboard.

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Here’s how to build a complete portable podcasting setup into a single case for easy travel

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Now that the world has spent the last couple of years stocking up on microphones, lights, new cameras and a mountain of other bits to be able to stream from home or just make our Zoom calls look and sound a bit better than our co-workers, what do we do with it now that the world has (mostly) opened back up and we’re able to start travelling again? Well, we take it with us, of course!

In this video, the team at Syrp Lab build an entire podcasting studio in a single box that lets you record or broadcast from pretty much anywhere. Based on (in?) the Manfrotto ProLight Reloader Tough-55 roller case, it’s rugged enough to deal with the usual rough handling of travel and it also fits within carry-on restrictions (although do double-check before you book) when you need to fly!

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Arducam announces new 108-megapixel USB camera module for IoT and Machine Vision application

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For those developing their own DIY cameras, the various modules that pop up on the market can be a lot of fun to experiment with. And one of the biggest names in camera modules for experimenting with is Arducam. Only a couple of months after releasing their 64-megapixel camera module for the Raspberry Pi, they’ve now announced a new 108-megapixel camera module and this one runs on USB 3.0.

The new 108-megapixel camera development kit is designed primarily for use with IoT and Machine Vision applications, hence the USB 3.0 connection, which provides a lot more versatility than being locked into a Raspberry Pi. So, you can use it on just about any system you can add a USB 3.0 port to – including your desktop computer!

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How to make two DIY foldable V-flats for $150

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I’ve used poly-boards, bounce-boards, and even white sheets and white walls as lighting modifiers to soften the light in the past, but arguably the quickest and most efficient way to instantly achieve beautifully soft light, is the V-Flat.

What is a V-Flat?

In its simplest form, a V-Flat is 2 large sheets of white board joined together on the long edge. Imagine two regular white doors hinged together at the sides and it’s this resulting ‘V’ shape that allows them to stand by themselves without the need for further stands and supports. Fancy V-Flats are even black on the other side and the ultra-supremo ones are even foldable for storage too!

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