LYTRO Picture Revolution

LYTRO is going to revolutionize the Camera Lens with it's shoot first focus later approach. There are some great examples of the concept on the LYTRO website utilizing Flash to simulate the concept of focusing later.  The simulation basically fades in and out different images.  I think the idea is great but I'm curious to see how it works in real life and how massive, in size and in price, this lens is going to be.

Visit the picture gallery at http://www.lytro.com/picture_gallery

Thanks to my colleague Mike Lau for the link.

Pro Elite + ClikStand

Bag I want that costs 200 buxs

Difference between handheld vs steadicam

Home Photo Studio

Not too fond of how he's plugging his guide but it's a nice behind the scenes video of how you can set up a home photo studio. Something I've been thinking about for quite a while.

Ring Flash/Ring Light/Beauty Dish

http://www.noestudios.com/photo/ringlight/



Interesting how they built a ring light with individual bulbs. Interesting look because it's normally a circular halo like the example builds below.









This design made more sense where you keep the flash on the shoe instead of making a custom bracket.



LED Ring Lights



Good even ring light but complicated execution. I don't think the average person would be able to make this. You can see that in the comments where people are asking for explanations or step by step instructions. A lot of dislikes because people can't figure out what he was doing.



Another LED ring light mod with battery pack.



Another DIY LED ring light mod with AC adapter.



Another example using similar LEDs.



A really nice LED ring light. More advanced than previous builds.



Massive LED ring light.



More on the benefits of these LED lights. Price tag is massive when I checked vistek.ca.



Rotolight LED ring light. What I like about it is it's portability. No external housing battery and everything is self contained.



Halogen Ring light. 3 sizes not bad results.



Created a ring light modifier for halogen work lamps.

An example of Peter Thompson's ring light build. Here's another example of great glamour photography with a ring light in some cases.

DIY Soft Box Examples

Here's a couple of videos I wanted to share that shows how people are over coming the cost of owning an expensive soft box. Most of these are teasers but has really sparked a fire in me to come up with a better way of making affordable and effective soft boxes.











Exactly what I was thinking but not at the same level as what I'm thinking.

How Soft Boxes Work To Soften Hard Light

Here's a great example of how soft boxes work to light your subject in a DIY type studio.

I like how he used 1x2 sticks with empty paint cans and concrete to create inexpensive stands. It's really got me thinking of other ways you can create a home studio environment comparable to professional photographers.

PVC Lighting System

Damn! Someone has thought along the same lines as myself and created a PVC based lighting system.

Creating A 12v Battery Pack

Just curious how you can power devices without an AC adapter.

Example of how to build your own 12v battery pack.

Best explanation I've been able to find so far on how to build your own 12v battery pack.

Here are some examples of prebuilt battery packs.

10 AA Battery pack in one row.

Build your own 10 AA battery pack without soldering each head together in unison.  I like this because it gives you the option to drop in fresh batteries if you are on location.  If you bought heat shrink wrapped battery versions you won't have that same freedom as the batteries are always enclosed.  Even if you broke them out you'd have to solder all the batteries together.

Once you've built your battery pack you'll want to charge them all in unison.  Otherwise, you'll have to take each one out and charge them in a 4xAA charger.  With 10 batteries that's not economical but I was able to find a device that can do just that at batteryjunction.com. 

Charge all the batteries in unison simply buy this MULTI-CURRENT UNIVERSAL SMART CHARGER FOR 12V- 16.8V CHUN-168 from batteryjunction.com.

Differences Between Ring Flash vs Beauty Dish

Some interesting insight into the distinctions between ring/circular highlights.

Ring Light

• Continuos light source
• Donut catchlight

Ring Flash

• Flash based light source
• Halo effect
• Donut catchlight
• Flattens out shadows

Beauty Dish

• Modify's the light source which is the flash
• Loses more light
• Circular catchlight sometimes with a dark center

Source:
Ring flash vs beauty dish?

Double Your Lumens Without Doubling Your Costs

Leviton has come out with a way you can double your lighting output without having to buy another lamp.  Just buy one of their Twinlite Lamp holder Adapter and add another bulb to your lighting system.

At $4.00 that's an amazing deal.

Slidecam

http://diyphotography.net/a-timelapse-rail-from-bbq-rotisserie-motor

Zacuto Digital Camera Shootout

Interesting documentary on the quality of film as a result of the latest DSLR cameras. Watch the 3 part series that won an Emmy at zacuto.com.

User Friendly Dimmer Switches

The challenges of coming up with a dimmer switch design:

• Simplicity - Easy to build for novice hobbyist
• Compact - Small enough a child can transport
• Scalable - Must be able to be add on to and grow the system
• Compatibility - Must work with existing systems out there
• Usability - Must work in the dark and provide accurate readings
• Safety - Must be safe to use

Creating Your Own Lighting Control System

Just purchase a Lutron Plug-in Dimmer and connect it to your light source and you too can enjoy the flexibility of adjustable light levels.

Sword Swinging From Camera Perspective

DIY Backdrop stand

Click here for the full instructions on how to build your own backdrop stand.

I like the concept but the execution is undesirable.

- PVC is very weak in comparison to ABS
- Stand requires too many parts to keep it up
- Not as stable with weak stand
- PVC bows more in long lengths
- Background does not allow for quick changing
- Lights are fixed distance
- Electrical box is not easily built
- Electrical box is not modular

LED Research

I was doing some research into LED lighting and came across the TRI-CHIP 5050 LED Strips.  Amazing technology it can provide up to 13 lumens per LED.  Get a high density LED strip and you'll have twice as many lumens.

You will need to be careful when planning out your power consumption needs.  Here's a guide to help you figure out how much power you will need to power your LEDs.

If you plan on adjusting the light you can attach a dimmer knob to the LED strip to control the voltage.

Joey Gunz - Introduction to Photography

http://www.ehow.com/video_4414080_using-ring-light-photography.html


Introduction to Photography Tips -- powered by eHow.com

How To Directly Tether Your Camera To An iPad