Your one stop shop for everything photo-video
There are some projects out there that you look at them and you just think “How has nobody done this sooner?!?”. This is probably not one such project, but it sure looks like a whole lot of fun!
Created by Pedro Callisaya over at DSLR DIY CNC, this one is a vertical grip for your camera that adds WiFi capabilities but also has flashing RGB lights! And best of all, he’s made all of the files available for us to make our own.
We’ve seen a lot of Game Boy Camera hacks over the last few years. We’ve seen them rehoused into camera cases, modified to take “real” lenses, converted into webcams, and shrunken down to game cart size.
But all of those mods have one thing in common. They require a Game Boy (or the guts of one). This mod, however, from Raphael Boichot, only uses the camera and some custom electronics based on the Raspberry Pi Pico.
Photographer and activist Benjamin (Ben) Von Wong is well known for his work that raises awareness of various environmental and sociological issues. In his latest project Skull of Satoshi, Ben points out to the massive impact Bitcoin has had on climate change.
For this project, Ben and his team collected electronic waste and recycled Styrofoam and painstakingly assembled them all together in an 11-foot-tall skull with laser eyes. After 1,000 hours of work, the setup was ready for some epic photos, and Ben shared them with us, as well as the story behind this project.
One of the great things about digital photography is that it stores metadata within the files of each your photos. It allows you to have a permanent, searchable archive of every image you’ve ever shot. Right now, I can quickly and easily go search for any photograph I’ve shot in the last 21 years (I switched to DSLRs in ’02) and see exactly what camera and lens I used, as well as the exposure settings and other information.
Film doesn’t really do this, though. After all, it’s an analogue medium. At best, typically, we might see the date and time impressed upon the image itself during capture but beyond that… Not really. This device, though, from Alessandro Genova helps you to capture the settings for every film photo you ever take. And it even has a built-in light meter!
Digital picture frames aren’t exactly new technology. Put a bunch of images on an SD card, slot it in and they just cycle through them all to give you a constantly changing display. They’ve been around for years and there are millions of them out there. But this one, created by Cameron on Hackaday is pretty cool. It lets friends send him images across the Internet and it automatically updates with the images that have been sent.
Cameron’s picture frame isn’t colour. Instead, it uses a mono e-ink display. These are great because they retain the image even when no power is being applied to them, which means when they’re not actively changing the picture, they use no energy at all. The brain powering it is an ESP32, which is battery powered and Cameron says it should give several hundred updates on a single charge.
The global chip supply shortage has caused chaos in a range of industries, from automotive to consumer electronics. Not surprisingly, the photo industry hasn’t been spared either.
Unfortunately, it looks like it’s not nearly over. The US Commerce Department has confirmed that the chip supply shortage will extend at least until the end of 2022.
We’ve seen so much gear delayed during 2020 and 2021 that it’s not even a surprise any longer. The coronavirus pandemic has turned everything upside down, and electronic chip production and supply have also been affected. But this hasn’t only caused the delays we’ve seen so far. It has also led to issues like fake parts and increased prices, according to the latest reports.
I’m having a go at converting my DJI Mavic 2 remote controller from two thumbsticks to a more Aircraft style controller where a whole hand joystick controls Pitch, Roll and Yaw and the left stick only controls Throttle / Altitude.
The first step is opening up a second-hand remote I bought to see if this is possible.
Amongst the tiny form factor cameras, the Insta360 ONE R is pretty unique. It’s the first modular action camera that lets you easily swap out different lens modules and even a 360° module. But what makes them tick? That’s what one of our favourite YouTubers, Strange Parts wanted to find out when he decided to dismantle his.
We’ve seen action cameras torn apart before, and they’re usually pretty basic with everything just on a single board. But given the modular nature of the Insta360 ONE R, we know this isn’t going to be your average internal action camera design. And as the video shows, it certainly isn’t.
LED flash still hasn’t really hit the mainstream yet. There are a couple of products out there, of course, like the Rotolite Neo, but for the most part, there’s still not very good for general use. They’re just not powerful enough. But sometimes they can be perfect for the intended use. In particular, high-speed events. This is because you can get an extremely fast flash duration.
You can buy these sorts of light, but they aren’t common and they aren’t cheap. So, tinkerer Tyler Gerritsen thought he’d have a go at making his own. And the results it produces are pretty outstanding.
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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