Homemade photo guns (P. Yarovitsky)
The interest of amateur and professional photographers in working with long-focus lenses "Tair-3", "MT0500" and imported ones is growing every year. But photography is powerless without special equipment, without devices for mounting photo optics, without photo guns.
When photographing birds and animals with a photogun with long-focus optics installed, the stability and maneuverability of the camera, fast focusing, high speeds when shooting, convenience during work and transportation, easy shutter release and a single-lens reflex camera are necessary.
Over the years I have examined and tested a number of photo guns. I give a brief description of them. Are they finally worked out and fully meet their purpose? I think not yet. The essential, difficult task of quickly and conveniently focusing moving lenses so that the subject is constantly in focus and the shutter can be easily released at the right moment is not solved. Not all photo guns have a quick and convenient transition from horizontal to vertical shooting. Some models do not allow you to change the camera and lens. But existing photo guns can be photographed well, if necessary, improving their design in the future.
Let's analyze the device of the first photogun (photo 1). It is easy to make. Easy rotation of the camera for shooting from horizontal to vertical makes it possible to use any single-lens reflex camera and any telephoto lens, both domestic and imported production not only for narrow, but also for wide (6 X 6) film (for example, the Pentacon camera). The fastening of the shutter release cable is soft, light - under the index finger of the right hand. The main rod is made of a thin-walled duralumin tube. A small pressure spring is inserted into it, creating storage for spare cassettes and film rollers. The handle for attaching the photo-optical part moves along the rod (for adjustment). The carrying strap is attached to two swivels - from the end of the rod and from the side of the butt plate of the photogun.
Photogun-2 (photo 2) is designed similarly to photogun-1, but changes have been made to the main shaft. The fact is that earlier it was curved, which did not justify itself in operation, especially when shooting in winter. In the new model, the handle for mounting the photo-optical part is made of a thin-walled oval-shaped duralumin tube, which improved stability and convenience when shooting. A non-standard long-focus lens, a tube made of duralumin with a built-in I-51 lens with focal length 210 mm and aperture ratio 1:4.5, quite suitable for a photogun-2. The I-51 lens can replace a complete set of lenses for a reflex camera, such as the Yu-9, Yu-11, etc. If the Yu-11 at a focal length of 13.5 cm has the ability to shoot no closer than 1.5 m, then the I-51 lens, mounted in a tube and mounted on a photo gun, makes it possible to photograph a butterfly sitting on a flower or make a good portrait of an animal with a full frame (24 X 36).
Photo gun 3 (photo 3) is of the same type as photo gun 1, but it is collapsible and more convenient for transportation. The main rod consists of two halves. In the case of transportation, the photo gun is disassembled into parts and fits into a small cloth bag, where the handle, butt plate and two parts of the rod are placed, taking up very little space. The conditions for using the photo gun are the same as for model 1.
Photo gun-4 (photo 4). It is similar in general design to the photo gun shown in photo 1. Only the shoulder rest has been changed. It is fork-shaped, which gives more stability when shooting, but less portability. This model can be used with any single-lens reflex camera and any telephoto lens and shoot horizontally and vertically. The handle, on which the optical part is mounted, is articulated, which allows you to change the position of the optical axis in relation to the main rod, creating convenience when adjusting the photogun according to the photographer's design.
Photo gun-5 (photo 5) of an original, beautiful design. It makes it possible to use any single-lens reflex camera and any telephoto lens, to shoot horizontally and vertically. The butt length is adjustable. Thanks to the wide buttstock, this photo gun has a more stable position, but is not very convenient to transport. In operation, it is similar to the photo guns described above.
The photo gun-6 (photo 6) has a stock and a handle made of wood. A fork-shaped stock with a wide end is justified and gives a stable position, but its length is not adjustable, remaining constant, transportation is inconvenient. The model makes it possible to use any narrow-film single-lens reflex cameras and telephoto lenses, shoot horizontally and vertically.
Photogun-7 (photo 7) is less convenient than the designs already shown here, since the angle of attachment of the optical part with respect to the stop in the shoulder is not very convenient when shooting. The model is made of wood. The camera and lens cannot be replaced. On the handle for mounting the optical part, a turntable is arranged like a turret, which makes it possible to shoot horizontally and vertically.
Any photogun shown in photos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 can be made on your own if you wish.
The photo gun should be made of light metal, portable and convenient. The best will be one that can be used with any single lens reflex camera (narrow and wide) and any telephoto lens. It should not have shiny surfaces, it should be easy to disassemble and quickly assemble as needed. The handle with the installation of the optical part must be knurled and adjustable (move) depending on the constitution of the photographer. The main rod can consist of two parts, which makes the photogun convenient for transportation. The shutter should be released by lightly pressing the index finger of the right hand and have a free stroke. It is impractical to use and design various lever trigger systems that complicate manufacturing, since with any design of a photo gun, a flexible cable is sufficient, which can always be placed in a convenient place on the handle.
The back part can be made of textolite and be sure to make cuts on it to prevent slipping at the shoulder. You can buy a ready-made recoil pad from a hunting rifle in the store. The back of the head can be replaced with a small fork, but this makes the gun less portable.
Swivels for attaching a narrow belt are required, since it is more convenient to keep the photo gun on the chest when moving.
Only single-lens reflex cameras are suitable for shooting with a photo gun with a telephoto lens, preferably with a cocked shutter.
To prepare the camera for shooting with a telephoto lens, you need to unscrew the standard lens from the camera and screw in the telephoto lens in its place. (The "Start" camera has a special adapter ring.) Then the optical part and the camera are attached to the handle of the photo gun, where the trigger cable is also placed. Any additional adjustments when using reflex cameras and long lenses are not required.
When shooting, the back of the head should be pressed to the shoulder, the elbow pressed to the chest, and the focus should be made with the left hand. Press the trigger smoothly, while holding your breath. When shooting with a telephoto lens, fast shutter speeds are required.
A distinctive feature of long-focus optics is a shallow depth of field, which is why focusing should be done more carefully, and the aperture setting, if the lighting allows, should be set so that it increases the depth of field of the object being shot.
A lens hood is required when shooting with a telephoto lens. When photographing moving objects (birds, animals) during motion shooting, the lens is set on a scale of approximately 30-40 mm and accordingly apertured, which makes it possible to correct focusing and press the shutter release button when an object appears quickly.
Shooting can be done by panning behind a moving subject as long as the shutter speed is appropriate.
Ask any hunter what is the most interesting thing for him in hunting? The process itself? Hunting trophy? Skin dressing (you can read more about how to dress the skins of dead animals using the “tube” method)? Most hunters will answer that the end result is important to them, but the process of hunting attracts them no less. And now imagine that you will hunt with ... a photo gun? It is about the latter that we want to tell you in our new publication ...
Photogun hunting
Hunting with a photogun equipped with long-focus optics is a difficult, but quite exciting activity. Such a hunt knows no restrictions or prohibitions. So the hunter is over all year round, has the ability to follow the life of animals and birds, and record moments from their lives on information media. Such photo hunting trophies can be stored for years and are of great value.
IN Soviet times Photohunting was carried out using long-focus lenses Tair-3, MTO-500 and MTO-1000, however, the use of such lenses also involved the use of a special device - lens mounts.
At one time, specialists had the opportunity to examine and test a number of models of photo guns of various designs, and today we would like to invite you to familiarize yourself with their drawings. Who knows, you may be able to find such a photo gun in the attic and use it to save money on the purchase of modern photographic equipment.
The following device options have an advantage when shooting with a Zenith camera, and some have advantages when shooting with a Start camera. In one case, the lens structures are attached to the butt, and the camera is in a free-suspended state, while in the other case, you can observe the simultaneous mounting of both the lens and the camera. Unfortunately, not all of these guns have the ability to make a quick and easy transition from shooting horizontal shots to shooting in vertical mode - this is not for you. modern technology. Some also have the disadvantage of not being able to quickly focus moving subjects so that they can be constantly in focus and the shutter is released at the right moment for you.
The presence of such shortcomings at one time prompted a number of amateur photographers and professionals to begin work on improving the design of photo guns and prompted them to create their own versions of such a gun. True, such achievements remained little known, and factories for the production of long-focus optics were not interested in them. But, we suggest that you still consider their discoveries, as well as the device and rules for using a photo gun while hunting ...
Rules for using a photo gun on a photo hunt
So,
if you want to take photographs with telephoto lenses, it will be useful for you to know that of the old models, only SLR cameras are suitable for this purpose, such as Zenit, Kristall and Start, as well as others equipped with a trigger cocking. At the same time, they do not require any additional adjustment steps.
The longer the focal length of the lens that is used for shooting, the more difficult it is to shoot without support. Also, it is worth remembering that using a tripod while shooting animals and birds is not convenient and impossible.
The presence of a lens hood for long-focus optics is a prerequisite. At the same time, in order to achieve a stable position of the camera during shooting of moving objects and running shooting, cameras with a butt, which are called photo guns, are used.
How to use the camera and lens while hunting
In order for you to prepare the camera for shooting, you need to unscrew the standard lens and return one of the long-focus lenses in its place - Tair-3, MTO-500, MTO-1000.
In order to turn the long-focus lens on the Start camera, you should use a special adapter ring.
For photoguns shown in Figures 1,2,3,5,6, the camera with a lens is attached to the buttstock using a special threaded hole located on the lens, and a special “lamb” that is permanently attached to the stock of the photogun. This mounting of the camera to the butt allows you to achieve a good balance of the installation and provides free access to the camera. In this case, the camera is in a free-suspended state. For some designs (in particular, for Zenith cameras), the trigger cable should be lengthened by making 2 standard cables that you fasten together using an adapter sleeve - see photo 2. The best cable that is attached to the front of the photo gun handle will, of course, be the standard cable from the Start camera. The photo gun, which is shown in photo 4, mounts the camera with the lens at 2 points, that is, both the camera and the lens are attached. But, with this mount, there is no possibility of replacing the camera.
To shoot with a photo gun, the back of the butt of the butt should be firmly rested against the shoulder, and with your left hand grab the lens and focus. The shutter speed is set according to the shooting circumstances and the lens, and the aperture according to the required depth of field and lighting conditions. However, it is worth remembering that working with a telephoto lens when shooting will require the installation of additional high speeds shutter.
A distinctive feature of telephoto optics is that the depth of field of these lenses is insignificant and therefore focusing should be carried out more carefully, and the aperture setting (if the lighting allows it) should be done in such a way as to maximize the depth of field. For shooting moving objects and running shooting, the lens must be set on a scale based on the removal of the subject by approximately 30-40 meters and, accordingly, apertured in advance. This will enable the hunter to quickly take a picture in case of an unexpected appearance of the subject. Shooting can be done while panning behind a moving subject at the required shutter speed.
One of the rather interesting devices - it is shown in Figure 2 - is a special lightweight tube made on its own from aluminum or duralumin with an I-51 lens built into it with a large aperture and focal length and aperture ratio of 1 to 4.5 or an I-13 lens with an even larger focal length and the same aperture. These lenses are used for pavilion cameras with a frame size of 18 by 24 centimeters and larger. They are well suited for small format SLR cameras like Zenith, Start, Kristall and can even replace a set of Yu-8, Yu-9, Yu-135 and Tair-3 lenses. Their resolution is in no way inferior to these interchangeable lenses and makes it possible to shoot from a distance of 0.5 meters and further. In other words,
you can take a picture of a butterfly sitting on a flower in the whole frame 24 by 36 millimeters and also fix a bird or beast well and make nice shot, regardless of the shooting distance.
But, it should be noted that the camera type Start, in addition to focusing on frosted glass, there is also a wedge aiming, which interferes a little when photographing birds and animals in motion. We would recommend that you get rid of it.
Hunting with a camera is a fascinating area of photography that helps many amateur photographers to re-look at wonderful world animals and plants. A photohunter sees that everything created by nature is beautiful and perfect, whether it be a flower, a bird or a frog. And, realizing this, he becomes better and kinder.
“Is it possible for schoolchildren to do photo hunting!” our readers ask us. Of course you can. But for this you need to make a photo gun.
The layout of the photo gun, which will be discussed today, was developed at the Higher Art and Industrial School (formerly Stroganov) by third-year student V. Kuznetsov.
By design and appearance our photo gun is significantly different from factory-made photo guns. Instead of the traditional heavy butt stock, there is a light, "butt" farm. The slight weight and telescopic stop make the photo gun convenient for young photo snipers, and, perhaps, for experienced photo hunters. It is easy to shoot with a photo gun: with the left hand they hold the handle and at the same time focus the lens, and with the right they support the gun and press the camera shutter. The telescopic stop rests comfortably on the elbow joint, and the soft rubber eyecup accurately fixes the amateur photographer's eye in the center of the camera's eyepiece. In this position, you can watch the object of photography for hours in full "combat readiness".
The design of the truss of our photo gun is designed for small format reflex camera type "Zenith" ("Zenith E", "Zenith V" or "Zenith M") and a composite telephoto lens (standard lens "Jupiter-11" with a negative component).
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Long-focus lenses "Jupiter-11" are produced in our frames for the camera "Kyiv" (bayonet mount) and for the camera "Zenith" (threaded). Unfortunately, lenses in a Zenith frame are very rare on sale, it is much easier to purchase a Jupiter-11 in a bayonet version. It is not difficult to replace the bayonet mount with a threaded one, and then Jupiter-11 will become universal: it can be used; And How constituent part a telephoto lens in our photo gun, and as an independent lens for ordinary photography with Zenit and Kyiv cameras (replacing the threaded mount with a bayonet mount). The figure (see node 16) shows the dimensions of the redesigned lens shank.
In order to install a regular lens "Jupiter-11" in a frame for a "Zenith" camera on our photo gun, you need to change (fit it to the lens) the dimensions of the table - the diameters of the frame and collar. But you can’t get by with one Jupiter-11 lens; for a photo gun, you will also need to make a negative component (set-top box).
The negative component is a 20 diopter negative biconcave lens in a tube. A composite telephoto lens mounted on a movable stage allows<ет снимать в очень широком
Most of us cannot afford a collection of all sorts of diffusers and reflectors. But what if you try to make lighting elements manually? In this article, we're going to give you some cool DIY gear ideas that will help you be more productive with flashes and photography equipment in general.
1.Multi-Super-SB-Ring Light
Multi-Super-SB-Ring Light can be realized using six Speedlights. On the surface, this setup looks rather funny, but in practice you can get interesting, all-round lighting, just like using a circular flash. For correct operation, it is necessary to synchronize the work of all components.
2. Ring flash for the poor
A self-made ring flash can come in very handy in your work in low light conditions. Such a device is made from an ordinary plastic bottle. The ring flash is put on the lens in such a way that the plastic plate covers the built-in flash. With it, you can create amazing lighting effects. In addition, such a device will help you save several hundred dollars. In order to make such a lighting device, it will take you only 5 minutes. By making homemade lighting devices, you have the opportunity to experiment with shapes and colors.
3. Homemade photobox
We have all seen gorgeous photos of products and jewelry that seem to be buried in a white background. Such pictures are created in special photo boxes for macro photography. Such a photo box can cost quite a lot, but you can make it yourself, without extra costs. On our site there is an interesting material that will help you make a photobox with your own hands.
4. Original reflector
The design of such a reflector is very simple, but its effectiveness deserves the work that you put into its creation. In addition, the device can make your flash much more useful. The reflector makes it possible to make the light of the built-in flash softer if it is too bright. To create a reflector, you need a thick sheet of white paper.
5. Reflector in the form of a dish
There are dish-shaped reflectors that allow you to create well-lit images and allow you to experiment with light. Not everyone can afford to buy such a reflector, but it is quite possible to make it yourself. To create, you need a shiny foil saucer. The dish must be fixed on an external flash, and then just take pictures.
6. DIY Ghetto Flash Extender
Previously, we have not heard of such a device, but we can assume that it will allow you to beautifully scatter light and make it softer. You can use such a diffuser not only with an external flash, but also with a built-in one. The diffuser will help you use the flash as a fill light.
7. Softbox
Professional photographers use special softboxes that significantly reduce the intensity of flash light, making it softer. You can make a softbox with your own hands. To create such a device, you will need a thick white sheet (silk if possible), Velcro, scissors, glue and a template that you can make yourself or find on the Internet.
8. Unusual diffuser
To create a diffuser, you will need a thin plastic plate, which can also be cut from a milk or kefir bottle. The manufacturing technology is simple and understandable, and everyone can cut the template.
9. Budget Studio Lighting
This setting will be a real salvation for you during studio shooting. Creating such a "complex" of lighting fixtures is quite simple, and, fortunately, not very expensive. The total cost of the lighting system will be no more than $75.
The system includes diffusers, spotlights and reflectors. In this example, the elements are as handmade as possible. Reflectors and diffusers were created from improvised means.
In creating a lighting system, you can apply the knowledge gained in the previous paragraphs. It uses reflectors used to reflect light on car windows, and diffusers are made of paper. The most expensive thing, in this case, will cost you spotlights.
In the magazines "Soviet photo", "Hunting and hunting economy" many descriptions of various designs of photo guns, both factory-made and home-made, were placed. For photo hunting on the go, the most convenient photo gun with instant focusing, which is great for photographing birds and animals in motion.
By design, the instant-focus photo gun is quite simple to manufacture. To make such a photo gun, you need the following tool: a small vise, a hammer, a drill, metal shears, a jigsaw, 1 mm thick aluminum sheet.
The design of the photogun is shown in the drawing.
1 - wooden stop; 2 - aluminum tube 15-20 mm; 3 - threaded tube; 4 - wooden handle; 5 - standard extension ring with M 39 or M 42 thread, depending on the camera; 6, 11 - thick paper pads; 7, 8, 9, 12, 13 - cylinders made of aluminum sheet 1 mm thick; 10 - two textolite guides; 14 - cover; 15 - bushing with grooves through which the diaphragm blade wire runs; 16 - aperture blades; 17 - an aluminum ring connected to the sleeve with 15 screws, the screws go along the grooves of the cylinder 13; 18 - bushing fixed in the cylinder with screws, aperture blades are attached to the bushing; 19 - bushing; 20 - lens; 21 - ring fixing the lens; 22 - ring; 23 - spring; 24, 27, 30 - aluminum rim; 25, 29 - wooden stops; 26, 28 - aluminum tubes, one inside the other, in the tube 28 there is a hole for the screw 32, and in the tube 26 there is a groove on which the spring travel depends.
You can use a spyglass lens with 20x magnification, which is sold in stores at a price of 25 rubles. In the future, this lens can be used both in the objective and in the tube. Such a lens has a focal length of 330 mm, i.e., compared with a normal lens, it gives a magnification of 66 times. For this lens, I made a diaphragm that allows you to have a maximum aperture of 1/6.6, and a minimum of 1/16. The aperture consists of 12 petals made of 0.3 mm thick copper foil. The petals are cut out with ordinary scissors and cleaned with sandpaper. Then two holes are drilled in them for attaching the petal to the sleeve and for soldering a copper wire with a diameter of 1-2 mm and a length of 8-10 mm. A petal with a soldered wire is painted black. The diaphragm bushings are cut with a jigsaw from ebonite, textolite or other suitable material. The lens cylinders are made from aluminum sheet. The joints on the inside and outside are pasted over with a narrow strip of paper (BF-2 glue). All internal surfaces of the cylinders are pasted over with black paper or painted black. To fill the space between the cylinders, thick paper impregnated with BF-2 glue is used. The outer surface of the lens is painted in a gray protective color. The butt of a photo gun is made in the form of an unscrewing crutch.
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