Do you Cobble? (Slide duplicator)

[PhotosGuy]

Over the years I've "cobbled up" some inexpensive things which made my job easier. Probably more since I quit racing 'cause it keeps me busy & out of trouble... mostly. ;)
Here are a few of them:

Pic #1
Top Left: I usually used strobe fill in dim, or flourescent lighting & I always traveled with 2 Vivitar 283's in my bag. They would provide plenty of fill for most situations. Sometimes I needed a bit more, so I made small brackets for some cheap Spirilite strobes that I could just throw in my suitcase for trips out of town & use as back-up or if I just needed more light (Spirilites were about $30 & they are still working 30 years later!)
Bottom Left: Sometimes you need 6 extra hands.
Top Right: Remote shutter realease for the Nikons motor drive, made from a bad sync cord.
Bottom Right: Brackets for background paper for a small set in a bedroom.

Pic #2
Tuesday I decided to make a slide duplicator. It looks a bit wierd since I had the 12" shelf supports & used them instead of buying shorter ones (a true "cobble"). Also, the Nikon with the motor drive is taller than the 300D so that looks a bit strange, too.

It took a while to get the light distribution even. So far it looks like this in PS:
234 242 235
234 242 238
230 238 235

EDIT: Pics of the "scanner" results can be found here:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=555886#post555886
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=66353

I'll provide details if anyone wants them.
So, do you cobble? Show us your stuff!

EDIT: Post #23 below had some new detail pics of the duplicator.

[Bloo Dog]

That's pretty good stuff.

All of my jewelry photography lighting stands and sets are made from cheap stuff from Walmart, Vivitars, toilet plungers (for light stands) and Rubbermaid products. I'll post some pics later. When I began pricing the sexy little light stands and tripods and Delta International Plexiglas light domes and all the great stuff I needed for small products, the sticker shock gave me heart palpitations. For ten bucks I have almost every light dome I'll ever need for most situations. If I don't have what I need, all I have to do is go to WalMart and buy another.

[Bloo Dog]

This is one of my jewelry setups made with a small Rubbermaid , 2 Vivitar 285's some Bantam batteries, toilet plungers, etc.. I use this for photographing pendants. Works great. The white paper may be replaced with black for a black scoop.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/BlooDog/Jewelrysetup.jpg

[Tom W]

Are those ankle weights used to stabilize the plungers?
I like the ingenuity that both of y'all present here. And I thought I was at the pinnacle of "McGuyverism" when I clipped handkerchiefs over the incandescent clamp lights that I got from Home Depot.

Maybe we need a McGuyver thread! :)

[Moppie]

Theres plenty of cobbling going on around here I think, theres this thread in the compact forum: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=50124


And Iv done a little my self.
I didn't like the idea of a useing a 52mm adaptor on my A80 as it covers the veiwfinder, which I want to use. But I also needed to use an ND filter, so I "cobbled" up my own 23mm filter holder:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/IMG_1829.jpg

The springs clip into the removable ring around the base of the lens, and allow the filter to fit snugly to the lens as it moves in and out when it zooms.

[PhotosGuy]

Good stuff guys!
Re: "...clipped handkerchiefs over the incandescent clamp lights"
Those fabric softener sheets you put in a clothes dryer work well, too. Heat resistant!

[DocFrankenstein]

Ok... I understand what bloo dog's setup is about...

But what do u use the moppie's and photosguy's setups I have no idea.

Photoguy: That's for copying slides, right? Shouldn't u position the slide parallel to the optical axis or something?

[Tom W]

Good stuff guys!
Re: "...clipped handkerchiefs over the incandescent clamp lights"
Those fabric softener sheets you put in a clothes dryer work well, too. Heat resistant!

And they smell better!
Actually, the sheets I have wouldn't fit the biggish lamps I have.

[musthavemuzk]

this is some good stuff

when i saw the subject i first thought about a cobbler. you know a shoemaker. then i thought of my mom's peach cobbler.
:)
Monty

[PhotosGuy]

That's for copying slides, right? Right.
Shouldn't u position the slide parallel to the optical axis or something? Well. I said, "Also, the Nikon with the motor drive is taller than the 300D so that looks a bit strange, too."
You're right, but this was a "layout example" since I used the 300D to take the shot. I probably should have slid the aluminum plate that holds the slide farther down, though. Didn't think of it at the time. ;-)

[PhotosGuy]

Bloo has a new demo "Jewelry Photography: High Key on a Horizontal Plane" here:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=62377

[PhotosGuy]

See what happens when you carry the "cobble" concept to it's unnatural extreme!
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=66444

[SkipD]

Here are links to threads describing a couple home-made reflectors. The second one is something that I made.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=107291

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=107492

[PhotosGuy]

Here's another thread that talks about duping slides: Old Slides (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=112790)

[PhotosGuy]

Gavins set-up for a remote flash at a sports venue:
Thoughts appreciated on speedlite/pocket wizard/clamp/stand/bracket thingmy... (http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=134315)

[gmen]

A couple more cobbles here - a PW pre-release cable... and a foot-pedal trigger device:

http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=763857&postcount=159

---- Gavin

[Joseph Hoetzl]

Small product lighting (http://www.geocities.com/jhoetzl/joego/joego.htm) - a cobble copy of something a bit more expensive...

Used in my low budget mini studio (http://www.geocities.com/jhoetzl/tank/tools/ministudio1.jpg)

Which is a popup laundry/storage thing from a dollar store. I have "sweeps" in every color that poster board comes in.

[aussieskier]

Frank, I have a few questions about your slide copier. First of all, what lens setup are you using with your 300d and do you have a accordian hood for it? Secondly I assume you are using that flash to light the slide, but I am confused how you are firing it. Sorry if I am missing something obvious. I am looking into setting something like this up to scan in slides I shoot and slides that my dad has shot over the years. Thanks for the help,
Riley

[PhotosGuy]

Riley, that lens is the 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor with a 1" extention tube.
The "accordian hood" is a Hasselblad lens shade I had laying around. You might get the same effect with a Conkin filter holder but you'll have to figure out a way to adjust the slide distance. (A simple sliding box should work.)
At first I was thinking of using a lens shade & making a tube to fit over it so I could slide it back & forth to adjust the distance & that might be a better choice. You'd have to rig a slide holder that would allow up/down movement to center the slide.

You'll see a slave at the bottom of the flash & I used the cams flash, with some tin foil to bounce the light up & away from the diffuser, to trigger it. I didn't have the Wein Safe Sync at the time. Now I'm using a sync cord connected through the WSS to the flash.

If you're looking for a good, cheap flash, try the Vivitar 283-285 on eBay. They're going for about $40. One nice thing about them is that you can get a Varipower converter that replaces the sensor & it allows micro changes to the flash output. (pic at the bottom). I also use that with the 70-200 f/4 to adjust fill flash for macro work so it's not as if you'd only use the flash for dupes, like in this thread:
A walk by the river. (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=103744&highlight=walk+river)

I temporarily have 2 digital cams this week, so I'll try to get a better shot of the rig without the Nikon, & a few close-ups.

Let me know if you have any other questions.
;)

[embdude]

You'll see a slave at the bottom of the flash & I used the cams flash, with some tin foil to bounce the light up & away from the diffuser, to trigger it. I didn't have the Wein Safe Sync at the time. Now I'm using a sync cord connected through the WSS to the flash.



I temporarily have 2 digital cams this week, so I'll try to get a better shot of the rig without the Nikon, & a few close-ups.

Let me know if you have any other questions.
;)

I have peiced togother my own version of a slide copier using a Novoflex 35mm Makro lens an extension tube a series adapter and a bit of PVC pipe.

I do not have the flash mounting figured out just yet. I have many parts but none seem to go togother just right to allow off camera flash i'll steal a hot shoe from a parts camera perhaps...

So far I have 2 questions...

1. What is the recomended exposure for copying slides? Basicaly does the digital sensor prefer shorter or longer exposures or have a digital sweet spot.

2. How do you get accurate focus! I can manually focus until it looks sharp to my eyes, but is there a good way to focus perfectly! Everything is so darn small in that 300D viewfinder.

Frank thanks for helping inspire this project. I hope you get some more photos of your rig up soon! I may even post 1 of mine...

[embdude]

Since this rig could easily be used to duplicate negatives as well, is there a simple way to correct for the orange cast on color print film negs?

[PhotosGuy]

Chris, as to #1, the sweet spot for a lens is usually 2-3 stops down from max aperture. A few more stops down probably wouldn't hurt, but I'd stay away from f/16 on.
No Idea for the sensor. Try a few shots of a very detailed slide, maybe of the markings on a ruler, & look at it in PS.

#2: The f/1.4 lens helps, & it will hold a focus well. Why not shine a light from the back of the diffusing material just for focusing? The slides fit tightly in the slot &, after the 1st shot in a series, I'll shoot several before I check the focus again.

Scanners have software to remove the orange mask, so maybe there's a plug-in somewhere for PS?
Or you could cobble ;) a solution, like try doing a WB on a blank piece of film & see what happens when you reverse it? Then maybe you could make an action to correct further in PS?

When you've finished, be sure to post some shots here.

[PhotosGuy]

OK, I should have done this long ago, so let's see if this will clarify some things:

1. Overall view with the 300D. Normally the cam would sit a bit lower except that I temporarily used a tripod quick release (shown here) when I was copying a lot of slides.

2. A Macbeth chart. I used a slide of this to refine focus & adjust exposure/contrast after I built the rig.

3. You shouldn't need this, but it illustrates bouncing the on-cam strobe off the ceiling to trigger the Vivitar's slave.

4. CU of the slide holder. Notice that the 'Blad shade has a ridge to allow my AL plate to slide up/down. If you use a similar shiny plate, I'd paint the inside flat black.

5. Shows the spacer so I can just slide the 'slide' in place.

6. Reinforcements for the bottom of the camera plate.

7. Brackets to hold the strobe.

Questions?
;)

[joeseph]

Just cobbled together an adapter for my portable HDD ("Tripper") so I can use the readliy available BP-511 - of which I'm surely carrying a couple of charged spares at any given time. The mounting "plate" is designed for the Inca brand battery charger and needs only a 3 terminal regulator added (LM7805) to drop the 7.4V from the battery down to 5Volts that the HDD needs. simple is good.... :D
86122
sorry - I could really have posted this in the sticky...

[PhotosGuy]

I could really have posted this in the sticky...
Great idea! I don't see why you shouldn't post it there, too. (I'll stick up for you if some dufus complains about the "dupe post"!) :D

[PhotosGuy]

Lotto's threads: DIY Canon Speedlite Mods (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=99220)

Home made compact umbrella bracket (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=267413)

TMR Design's thread: DIY Gel holder for a 580EX Speedlite Flash (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=2614123)

[FlyingPete]

Just cobbled together an adapter for my portable HDD ("Tripper") so I can use the readliy available BP-511 - of which I'm surely carrying a couple of charged spares at any given time. The mounting "plate" is designed for the Inca brand battery charger and needs only a 3 terminal regulator added (LM7805) to drop the 7.4V from the battery down to 5Volts that the HDD needs. simple is good.... :D

sorry - I could really have posted this in the sticky...

My version powering the kids DVD player for those long plane trips :D

http://www.peterlowden.com/POTN/DVD-BP511-1.jpg

http://www.peterlowden.com/POTN/DVD-BP511-2.jpg

Thanks for the inspiration Duncan!

[PhotosGuy]

I've added some of the flash positioning location brackets to Post # 10 of:
Simple "every-day-emergency" location lighting (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=66358)