How Easy Is It to 3D Print Gear?

One thing most photographers have in common is the love of gear. We know it's not about what's in your bag, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't value good design and ease of use when considering a tripod clamp or ND filter kit. But what if you could design it yourself, and have it produced? Film Look's latest video shows what they printed for themselves. I would never have thought about battery cases, but now I need it, and it would keep my bag much more organized. 

Other Items I Would 3D Print

  1. A mic and light holder for my DJI Osmo Mobile that doesn't cost $28. 
  2. I ride a bike daily in Paris, and I love to have my camera with me. Having a mount that allows me to have my camera in hand in a second will be an incredible thing to have. A camera around the neck or in the bag just isn't fast enough.
  3. A tripod head that provides options with regards to either sliding in a flash, LED lightmicrophone, or mount my Elinchrom strobes or Canon 5D Mark III. Give me options.
  4. Lens adapters. I am about to get the Fujifilm X-T2 and I want to mount my old Nikon lenses as well as my Canon lenses. Although it'll be manual focus, just being able to shoot with these will be a win in my books. 

These are only some of the ideas I came up with. What would you build if you could?

Wouter du Toit's picture

Wouter is a portrait and street photographer based in Paris, France. He's originally from Cape Town, South Africa. He does image retouching for clients in the beauty and fashion industry and enjoys how technology makes new ways of photography possible.

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7 Comments

This is super interesting. I'd be curious to see what printers are actually reliable, affordable, and easy to use...and what that process actually looks like. I should (and likely will) do some more research on this...

I've designed and printed a bunch of photography related gear for my self. I also make the designs available for a small fee if you have a printer. http://chriscameron.co.nz/CC-PA/
Wouter, if you'd like help with the designs you'd like to print let me know. I designed a mic and light holder for a Osmo + (not on my site yet)

awesome stuff chris.

Thanks Michael

Nothing comes without some form of hazard Bob, wether it's your cell phone or your non stick pan or fish or coffee or darkroom chemicals, being sensible goes a long way to mitigating the already very marginal risks involved.

i need one of those printers

Agreed, tho on thinking about it. A good starting point might be printing a connector for a modified Camera body cap to a modified lens mount cap.