Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
3D printed cameras are a lot of fun, and something I was planning to make a bunch of this year before we were told we weren’t allowed to go out and play. But despite most of us not being able to get out to shoot our cameras right now, it hasn’t stopped people developing new ones.
You might remember Dora Goodman, creator of the Goodman One 3D printed medium format camera. Well, now she’s back with the Scura, a new open-source 3D printed curved panoramic pinhole camera.
I’ve posted about Cameradactyl before, last year when their 4×5 camera was posted up to Kickstarter. At the time I had one or two issues with that project, which you can read about on that post, but now Cameradactyl is back with a new camera. This time it’s the Brancopan, a 35mm panoramic camera, and their plan is a little different this time.
Instead of selling the actual camera, this time they’re selling the STL files; the “blueprints” to let people print and make their own. And what’s more, if the campaign meets its somewhat modest $12,000 goal, they will produce a number of instructional videos demonstrating exactly how to print, assemble and use the camera.
A few months ago, photographer Nick Sherlock shared with us his epic 3D printed 300mm long extension tube. Then he needed something to hold this beast and provide him with more stability, and he once again put his 3D printer to work. Inspired by the legendary Zenit Fotosniper, Nick designed and printed his own rifle-style grip. It doesn’t only look cool, but it gives him way more stability when using his macro setup.
Edelkrone’s decision to start offering 3D printed versions of their products was an odd one, to say the least. Cool, but odd. It’s great for consumers with 3D printers who can’t justify the cost of the originals, but 3D printing still comes with many issues and frustrations. Overall, though, I think the concept is great.
The first project in Edelkroke’s Ortak range, their line of 3D printed “co-manufactured” products, was the FlexTilt Head 3D. It was met with mixed reactions, but overall quite positive. Now, Edelkrone has expended the range with a second product, the Skater 3D. It’s a 3D printable version of their now-discontinued PockerSkater 2 tabletop dolly.
When Edelkrone released the 3D printable FlexTILT Head 3D a couple of months ago, it was met with a largely positive response. The idea that we can spend $30 on something and print a few components rather than $150 is huge to a lot of photographers and filmmakers working on ultra-low budgets, as well as hobbyists.
Sure, you need to buy a 3D printer, as Angus Deveson at Maker’s Muse points out in the video above, but you can get a basic 3D printer DIY kit and the bits from Edelkrone for close the cost of the original FlexTilt 2. After that, already owning the printer can save you a lot of money. But is it really where we should be heading for camera accessories?
3D printing has come such a long way in the last few years. As developments in printer design and software have progressed, it’s become a lot easier to make some pretty accurate prints. One photographer, though, Nick Sherlock, decided to test the limits of his 3D printer to make a 300mm long extension tube allowing him to extend the magnification of his Sigma 180mm f/3.5 APO Macro DG HSM lens.
Shooting through prisms and glass or crystals of all kinds of shapes has become quite popular over the past couple of years. Lensbaby even put out an entire new system recently based on them. But the humble triangular prism is still the most used amongst many photographers who shoot through them.
How long this particular trend will last or whether it’s here to stay, only time will tell. But for right now, for those who use them, they can be awkward to shoot with. They’re smooth and difficult to manipulate in front of your camera. So, photographer and engineer Bhautik Joshi decided to do something about it. He designed a 3D printable holder for them.
The Manfrotto RC2 quick release system is one of the most popular in the world for photographers. Its only real competition for tripod mounting supremacy is the Arca-Swiss system. But while very useful, the Manfrotto RC2 base (otherwise known as the Manfrotto 323) onto which your plate mounts has a fatal flaw. The underside of it is not flat.
So, if you want to mount it to a cage, or stack it on top of a plate for a different tripod system, you may face something of a challenge. Fortunately, one enterprising user by the name of Eric Hasso over on Thingiverse designed a solution that can be 3D printed. The folks at LensVid are quite partial to the Manfrotto 323, so they decided to check it out.
Edelkrone makes some pretty wonderful and somewhat unique tools for filmmakers and photographers. But Edelkrone gear is expensive. Take a look at the Edelkrone FlexTILT 2, for example. The regular price on that is $149. What if you could get it for $30 and change?
Well, now you can, thanks to Edelkrone’s new Ortak programme. This drastically cuts the cost of acquiring kit by having Edelkrone supply you with the essential proprietary hardware, for a fraction of the cost of the original product, and then they send you the STL files to 3D print the other components. [Read More…]
When I was first told “Hey, you should 3D print some of your photos” a couple of years, I thought they were mad. 3D print a photo? Then I did a little digging and found out that you can actually 3D print photographs. Sort of.
They’re called lithophanes, a pretty old technique that’s been around since the early 1800s. Of course, they didn’t have 3D printers back then, they made them out of porcelain. These days, though, we do, which makes them much easier to create. So, I finally got around to making some.
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
His videos have over a hundred million views, have been extensively published by news outlets, and has even received recognition from a few film festivals, such as International Ocean Festival
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