what would it be that you would design if you could design anything?

[winger]

A camera bag that holds all the stuff in some other dimension so that it is weightless in this one.

In Dungeons and Dragons, that's known as a "bag of holding." I'd love one of those.

I want a portal / transportation device that lets me go near instantaneously from my location to another with whatever I can carry.

 

[MattKing]

A camera bag that holds all the stuff in some other dimension so that it is weightless in this one.

In Dungeons and Dragons, that's known as a "bag of holding." I'd love one of those.

I want a portal / transportation device that lets me go near instantaneously from my location to another with whatever I can carry.

Also Hermione's bag in at least one of the Harry Potter stories: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Hermione_Granger's_beaded_handbag
Ain't the internet grand ?

 

[eddie]

I want a portal / transportation device that lets me go near instantaneously from my location to another with whatever I can carry.

Bethe- since it’s nearly instantaneous, a couple trips to bring everything you want won’t take too long.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

...
I want a portal / transportation device that lets me go near instantaneously from my location to another with whatever I can carry.

Have you tried saying "xyzzy"?

 

[Photo Engineer]

PLUGH!

 

[Theo Sulphate]

PLUGH!

Excellent. You are a man of wisdom and culture.

 

[Helge]

PLUGH!

A hollow voice says 'Fool.'

 

[winger]

Have you tried saying "xyzzy"?

I may have to try, just in case.

PLUGH!

Wow, the memories...

 

[Arklatexian]

there are a lot of home brew camera makers out there
some make pinhole cameras, retina cameras, large format, MF 35mm
modular systems things that take proprietary lenses and backs, even people that
mate a copymachine or scanner to the back of their 8x10 !

lets say media was free, yeah i don't care if it is electronic or film, its free and
there is something like an unlimited fruit and chocolate fountain at a wedding, pop out a strawberry
and dip it into the chocolate and it becomes whatever you need ( its not instant film or a 3000GB
computer system to develop or process the images that you still have to do ... )
anyways
if there could be some sort of camera that did it all ( not compose ) what would everything be ?
would it be it always gave you enough light and shutter speed so you got unlimited DOF?
would it be the opposite so there was always camera shake and a sliver of focus? would it be optics with
some sort of creamy bokeh? or 20coated sharp as nails beautiful contrast optics? would it be a combination?
would it be a tiny negative because you only enlarge to a small size, or you LOVE grain
so your pinky nail sized negatives blown up to 20x24 look like pointalist paintings, or a 30x40" negative so you could
contact print or do gigantic reversals ? or would it be some sort of luminous light gathering device
that collects the information and you somehow shape and mold it in the dark or on a screen?

we kind of live in a time now where just about anything can happen its just a matter of the media being
available ( and giant computers if you go that route )...

what would it be that you make? or do you already have it ?

john
ps time is there, as soon as you pick the strawberry and put it in your camera you will have
the time and energy to make whatever images you want to make, so it isn't a matter of finding the
time to enjoy yourself...
pps. and the chemistry to develop out whatever magic you want to do is there too so if
it is 50x70" kodachrome transparancies you want to make go at it

If I could design a piece of gear connected with photography, it would be a screwdriver that exactly fits the next screw on the next camera accessory that I need to work on. One that does not ruin the slot or Allen head of any screw. I know they must exist because when the equipment is new, it is assembled with such a screwdriver........Regards!

 

[Photo Engineer]

I last saw Grant Haist when he could not find a screw to fit a camera that was broken in the Falkland Islands when he was bitten by a Penguin. He expressed similar sentiments when he wished for universal screws.

PE

 

[NJH]

I have long wanted to make a device (or 2) that could be used in a darkroom under the light path from an enlarger that could make infinite shapes/openings so I would not have to use pieces of card cut to various configurations to be used when I am burning in or dodging B&W prints. I have loads of them made out of card cut to shapes supported on fine wire for that purpose, but whenever I look for a particular one I need I can never find one that fits the purpose exactly and end up making yet another. A 'one size fits all' device would suit me perfectly.

One other thing I would love to make is an electronic device that block mobile phone signals in a restaurant so when I am out for a quiet meal with my 'other half ', so we are not constantly interrupted by inane, meaningless, annoying, stupid pointless chatter from other customers sitting close by.

The first one could be done today to some degree with a transparent LCD screen installed into the enlarger light path. It would mean of course a computer and ideally some software one would interact with to determine the mask to display on the LCD. Personally I am not really a fan of mixing computers into analog photography but others may feel different. Colour printing I could imagine would be made much easier with such a device.

Your second request is a basic military jammer. Not remotely new technology, these days one would do something much more clever than just blatting away communications or a radar i.e. spoofing signals rather than denying them. You could build one but then potentially end up in big trouble if you ever turned it on (and it worked), there use is illegal for good reason.

 

[pocketshaver]

What id like to do, and what im tentatively trying to figure out...

1. blueprints for fixed shutter cameras. Think the Bell and Howell 35 mm fixed lens camera they made in the 90s. Nice photos, just want to get the dimensions for the shutter and lens without taking one apart.

2. working in regards to a method to use the 10$ clip on cell phone cameras into a lens system for a pack of cigarette sized 110 camera or 16mm camera