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Convert any Android phone into an HDMI monitor

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Whatever your camera is, you probably have an App to turn your phone into a wireless monitor. Sony has Imaging Edge;  Canon has Camera Connect; Fuji has Camera Remote; Panasonic has  Lumix Sync and Nikon has Wireless Mobile Utility. What’s common to all those remote control apps is that they work over WiFi and display horrible Lag. That the lack of creativity in the apps’ names.

What if there was a cheap way to convert any Android phone into a wired, low latency, high brightness HDMI monitor? Youtuber Neon Airship shares how to accomplish that for about $20. It involves as little as a tiny capture card and an OTG cable.  The good news, you already own the expensive monitor, it’s your phone.

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Give your Sony A7III “vlogging mode” with this totally warranty-voiding DIY hack

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Just to make it clear from the go, this will void any warranty you have with your camera should you try this. But, I think this video from MAKE. ART. NOW. is worth sharing, as not having flippy out LCDs is the one biggest complaints I hear whenever a new camera is released (if it’s not a Canon or Panasonic).

For those who vlog, being able to see yourself and the composition behind you is kind of a big deal. It’s why so many people vlog with Canon or a Panasonic GH5. But Sony doesn’t seem to want to join the flippy out LCD crowd, despite the calls for it. This (literal, physical) hack will let your LCD flip almost all the way to the front for (mostly) easy vlogging.

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These camera “hacks” will actually make you a better filmmaker

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We’ve seen plenty of cheap, DIY tricks that help you create all kinds of effects for photography and filmmaking. While some of them certainly are useful, others are plain silly. In this highly entertaining and useful video, Matt and Jason of IFHT show you some camera hacks “that won’t have you searching grandma’s drawer for Vaseline.” These tips might not help you create lens flare with household items, but they will help you become better organized and raise your filmmaking to a higher level.

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This guy hated his Sony A7 electronic viewfinder so much that he just cut it off

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I have to say, this is probably one of the more extreme camera mods I’ve seen in recent times. Sure, there were some doozies back in the days of film when everything was mechanical. But now? With all the intricacies of digital chips and circuits? Not so much beyond “How to add a microphone jack” hacks. This, though, takes it to the extreme.

One member of the Xitek forum decided he just really didn’t like his Sony A7’s electronic viewfinder. So, he got rid of it. Yup, that’s right, he removed it completely, then made a new top plate for his camera to cover the hole. Essentially, it’s now a sort of full frame version of the A6500.

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8 creative camera hacks in under 90 seconds that you can try yourself

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Photographers are always coming up with ways to try and think a little differently. Sometimes they add a little uniqueness and interest to our shot. At other times they lets us get shots we otherwise might not be able to get at all.

In this video, photographer Peter McKinnon shows us us 8 different camera tricks he actually uses. They involve fairly every day objects you can find around the house. A belt, cellphone, and a knife are just some of the items Peter uses to bring something unique his photography.

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Hack a 50 year old Russian film camera and repurpose its lens for modern DSLRs

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When it comes to ridiculously cheap but very useful lenses, you’d be hard pushed to beat 40+ year old Russian technology, and this suggestion from Mathieu Stern is no exception.

We’ve shown you a few repurposed lenses in the past, but this one’s a little more readily available and quite a bit less expensive.

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DIY: Photographer Uses $0.5 TP Rolls To Diffuse $700 Macro Strobes

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Here is a great tip we got from Mark Thorpe and it has to do both with TP rolls and with Macro photography. It turns out that there is a great way to diffuse the the $750 Canon MT-24EX Macro Twin Lite Flash.

At heart the MT-24EX is a dual strobe system that sits around the lens and enables getting the light pretty close to your subject from two sides. Close means soft light (I mean think how huge a strobe at 3cm must look to an ant), and two-sided-illumination means significant shadow reduction.

But PixelHobo who need just a little bit more diffusion, attached two rings made from old desk lamps covered with toilet paper to get an even bigger light source. Not really sure if this is more simple or more clever.

For more information about the rig, visit Mark’s G+ post.

Yup, toilet paper is definitely a must for photographers.

[Mark Thorpe]

NEX-7 With a 140mm f1.8 Projector Lens Makes The Most Beautiful Photos

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With lenses getting more and more expensive, here is a nice trick for getting wonderful photos with an f/1.8 140mm lens for less than 100$.

Austria based photographer Attila Fricz of mflenses hacked together an old KO 140mm f1.8 projector lens to a Sony NEX-7 and the results are a delight.

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