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07-02-2013, 02:43 PM - 2 Likes   #1
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Lamp made out of Pentax cameras

I just built this today.



It's made out of three old Pentax bodies. All the bodies work, but they're all in need of an overhaul. The light seals are all bad, and the MX light meter doesn't work so great. That being said, this lamp is COMPLETELY non-destructive. No cameras were harmed in the making of this. If I wanted, I could take it all back apart and put film in each of the cameras. (of course, with bad light seals what good would that do...)

I used hot-shoe adapters to hold the cameras together. The adapter slides into the hot-shoe mount, and it has a tripod screw sticking up, as well as a thumbwheel to tighten it. One of these:


Between the camera and the thumbscrew I put a modified lamp crossbar (part of it cut off), to secure the camera to the brass pole at the back. Pole is secured to the wood with a full crossbar, and it's a snug fit into the wood as well to make for a nice sturdy lamp. No wobbling at all.

The lenses are junk, except for the Spotmatic lens. That's a good lens, but I bought it for under $20 shipped... The top 50mm f2 has the aperture stuck wide open, and something that's causing the focus ring to stick horribly. The bottom lens is a crappy sears (Ricoh pin) 135mm f2.8, which is soft and fuzzy and craptacular.

Here's a shot of the back:


Some of you are going to cringe, I'm sure. But it looks pretty slick, it's a good conversation starter, in in theory I could put film in it and take shots of my living room from time to time, during parties and such. And then pull the film out in a few years/decades and see what I've got.

Charles.

07-02-2013, 02:47 PM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by ChopperCharles Quote
, this lamp is COMPLETELY non-destructive. No cameras were harmed in the making of this
Ah, this is the important part I remember someone turning an SLR into flower pot by just putting earth into the mirror box

Really clever project, well done. Looks good
07-02-2013, 02:49 PM   #3
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Great stuff, Charles! Would using a film canister for the pull chain be too much?

I'm in the (slow) process of destructively converting this way too short Berlebach tripod into a floor lamp...
07-02-2013, 02:59 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by panoguy Quote
Great stuff, Charles! Would using a film canister for the pull chain be too much?

I'm in the (slow) process of destructively converting this way too short Berlebach tripod into a floor lamp...
Wow...do you photograph leprechauns with that?

07-02-2013, 03:04 PM   #5
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That solves some of the storage problems.

What are you going to do with the old lenses?
07-02-2013, 03:53 PM   #6
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Ha ha! That's the funniest thing I've seen in a while! I'll bet that keeps the nanny/housekeeper/cable guy on their best behavior too.
07-02-2013, 03:55 PM   #7
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Those are the only junk lenses I have. They're staying on the cameras making up the lamp. All my other lenses I use on my ME Super, Dakota/Cosina RZ2000 (K-mount), K-x, or K-01

Charles.

07-02-2013, 04:00 PM   #8
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Great idea!
Now I've got some ideas for the collection in the closet.
Indoor water feature?
07-02-2013, 04:58 PM   #9
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Great idea.
07-02-2013, 05:09 PM   #10
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Sweet! Nice lamp for the Girl-cave!
07-02-2013, 05:33 PM   #11
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Very nice, looks great, and its non-destructive. Excellent job.
07-02-2013, 08:05 PM   #12
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thats awesome. so creative!
07-02-2013, 08:55 PM   #13
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Cool! Puts more things to mind considering the in-line nature of tripod/hotshoe connectors.
Camera WALL anyone? ;P
07-02-2013, 08:58 PM   #14
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camera WALL would be expeeeeeeensive!

But cool as all get-out.

Charles.
07-02-2013, 09:20 PM   #15
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Very cool.

How about a matching floor lamp? Got enough cameras for that?
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