One of the goals in my earlier post about producing anamorphic style artefacts by modifying the aperture of a Pentacon 50mm lens was to create the horizontal flares that are characteristic for these lenses. While fixing a fine strand of fishing line vertically across the new aperture does produce great flares, it also leaves an ugly shadow line in the elliptical out of focus highlights. As a result I opted not to include the fishing …
Anamorfake on a Budget
Back in the day, when films were being shot for projection on the wide screen, film makers couldn’t afford to waste any of the frame especially as they were already losing a band up the side for recording the audio. To address this anamorphic (cine) camera lenses were developed to horizontally compress the image so that a wide screen image filled the frame: when the film was projected onto the wide cinema screen, a corresponding …
DIY Film and Slide Digitising
As the lockdown continues in the UK (amongst other places) and it’s impossible to get out and about with a camera, it struck me that now would be a good time to do some digitising of the mountain of old slides and negatives that are sitting in boxes in the attic and cupboards. In the past I’ve used a 35mm film scanner to kind of get started on the process, but the results were pretty …
DIY Wireless DSLR Tethering
For anyone who doesn’t have wireless built in to their camera, the notion of getting wireless control and viewing has always been either impossible, or, at a price, the domain of third party providers. There are a growing number of third party wireless tethering devices on the market: the CamRanger has been around for a while, but with the current model (the CamRanger 2) coming in at over £400, the chances of the budget-concious getting …
Make your own Lens Coat
On rare occasions I manage to find enough free time to get out and attempt to do some wildlife photography. When this happens I browse through my less than extensive collection of telephoto lenses and dig out my lens of choice – a Sigma 100-300mm f4 HSM. It’s a pretty decent bit of kit for someone on a relatively limited budget, as unlike a lot of cheaper tele zooms it’s actually sharp at the 300mm …