[Tamia]

There are some great ideas here. I have a prosaic one -- heavy duty rubber bands. Filter wrenches are light and cheap, but if you don't have one when the need arises -- or if the ones you have don't fit larger filters -- try using a rubber band to break the "seal" between filter and lens, or when two filters are stacked (like a UV and polarizer). Simply stretch it over the filter ring to give you a broad, nonslip gripping surface. Rubber bands have many other uses, too. I keep one handy to hobble the integral hood on my M-135mm lens. The hood otherwise takes it into its head to disappear into the barrel of the lens. Rubber bands can also be employed to stop "lens creep".

[Trigger Happy]

What's the best solution you all have found for *small* lens pouches? The neoprene ones off eBay are way too big for typical Pentax primes, teleconverters etc. I like the sock idea, but would prefer something lint free.

[Jorgario]

The result was about a 14 stop filter that pretty much did the job I had in mind,

Incredible, so if I am understanding well the light passes through the CD ... (and reduces the light in 14 stops) ?

[Sagitta]

Don't have it in front of me but we were getting rid of an advertising lightbox at work so I absconded with it (with permission) where its sitting up in my closet should I ever need a proper lightbox. I just need to swap out the food ad for a piece of clear or opaque plastic at some point.

Also... desklamps. For $15 you can get a nice setup for macro shots if you buy a proper 5500k LED to put in the thing. (The bulb will probably cost as much as the lamp did). Don't get a solid lamp, get one of those retro artsy swing arm types with a heavy base since you can basically point the light anywhere.

[Auzzie-Phoenix]

What's the best solution you all have found for *small* lens pouches? The neoprene ones off eBay are way too big for typical Pentax primes, teleconverters etc. I like the sock idea, but would prefer something lint free.

I actually have a set of neoprene lens bags that I bought from amazon in varying sizes. I need to order some smaller ones (a-la the one I have my SMC M 28mm + screwmount lens hood in). I had ordered the standard variety size set (some are way huge) but the small size is about perfect for the 28mm prime, and would also fit well with the 50mm f/1.4 super tak. You can also use a larger bag for multiple lenses, and just put a piece of that multilayer display foam packing that some retail pdq displays use to stop bumping/clanking.

If you really like arts and crafts, you can get some pvc tube with the screw cap ends, some plastic (maybe wonderflex, as it's heat moldable to shape), and some packing foam.... Cut pvc to desired length, put screw cap on end, use wonderflex to create a slide-out insert tray, glue some packfoam discs in-between where you want the primes, load it up and put other end on. Then you have a storage tube. Just make sure all the primes you want to load in there are about the same diameter to fit inside the tube with the tray, and not small enough to jostle around.

[ramseybuckeye]

What's the best solution you all have found for *small* lens pouches? The neoprene ones off eBay are way too big for typical Pentax primes, teleconverters etc. I like the sock idea, but would prefer something lint free.

The two pouches here were designed for plastic water bottles. I think the black one was free with something several years ago, and I found the camo one on a clearance shelf in a sporting goods section of a department store, I think it was a dollar. They came with small useless plastic water bottles. The lens is the 35/2.4 with a screw on hood. I keep it in the black case, I've added two small lens dividers from a bag to make the lens fit nice and snug. The pouches are already padded with dense foam or neoprene. I keep all of my lenses (that aren't mounted at the time) in individual cases, then they can be moved to whatever bag I am using for the day, or be stored in a drawer or bag. In the past I have used an insulated cooler bag as a camera bag, and my largest bag I have now is a Cabela's fishing bag. I actually bought the fishing bag because I wanted a bag that didn't have dividers and didn't look like a camera bag. It is actually padded better than any camera bag I've had, still has compartments and a strap, and I believe it is water resistant.

[Dartmoor Dave]

Incredible, so if I am understanding well the light passes through the CD ... (and reduces the light in 14 stops) ?

That's right, a tiny amount of light passes through the CD, giving a solid black sky with only the sun visible. If you look through a blank CD at a normal lightbulb you'll get an idea of the effect.


Now for some more re-purposing. Here's a cheap, poor quality Ion film copying gizmo converted to work with a DSLR. It was supposed to make instant copies with its own built-in 5 megapixel camera, but the quality was so bad that I took the guts out of it and adapted them to work with my old K100D. I had to leave the original circuit board attached to give me control over the LED light source, but it works quite well and is much quicker than a flat bed scanner. I was able to quickly digitise hundreds of old family snapshots over a single weekend.

Here's the contraption:



And here's a sample "scan":

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Last edited by Dartmoor Dave; 03-22-2015 at 04:27 AM.

[Tamia]

... I actually bought the fishing bag because I wanted a bag that didn't have dividers and didn't look like a camera bag...

Me too. I didn't want to advertise I had a camera and lenses inside, so I went with a "Military-Style Operator’s Bag," as described here. Two pictures (more on the linked page):





It's undivided and not padded, so I pad it myself with pieces of closed cell foam salvaged from an old sleeping pad, and use lens bags for the lenses. What I like about this bag is it's cheap, nondescript, and big enough for any kit I'll carry on a photoshoot. And it doesn't advertise that I'm carrying photo gear.

[wkraus]

What's the best solution you all have found for *small* lens pouches? The neoprene ones off eBay are way too big for typical Pentax primes, teleconverters etc. I like the sock idea, but would prefer something lint free.

Similar to ramseybuckeye, I have my 21mm and 70mm DA Limited lenses sitting on top of each other in a Sigg water bottle pouch inside my shoulder bag:
Amazon.com : Sigg Nylon Water Bottle Pouch (0.3 and 0.4-Liter Bottles, Blue) : Sports Water Bottles : Sports & Outdoors