Andy writes: > I am not sure why some of you think this is the case although I have been forced, and enjoyed along the way, > making a bunch of accessories and support equipment proded usually by the fact I could not afford the "real" > thing. In many cases it was more fun and satisfying to make my own. I'll bet you've also built a lens collimator and a shutter speed tester and forgotten about them too ;) my first shutter speed tester was a standalone thingo with a digital LED readout, but the later one ran from a computer sound card. actually old computers can be turned into a number of useful photo related gadgets for darkroom use, like enlarger timers and exposure meters - even print contrast previewers and grain magnifiers (focus finders). The later I also built as a standalone using a small CRT, a ccd camera and a SLA battery pack - it was a handy teaching aid when introducing people to the concept of getting grain *sharp* in printing :) dead laptop lcd's also make a rather nice slimline light table when powered with a strip of white LED's, or the diffusion screens (a pack of linear freznelly sorts of things and diffusers) work nicely as flash diffusers. it's very satisfying turning junk into useful things :) > I guess most "tinkerers" forget all the improvised items that accumulate over time ... until we have to move them. > Mine mostly still clutter my work space to the dismay of the cleaning crew! er.. yes. I've come across a few things lately that've had me sitting there thinking 'what IS this thing.. ?' k
