Gear that comes from non-photography sources

[otto.f]

Infrared distance meter, mostly used by real estate salesmen. I bought it for close-ups with the Linhof Technica 6x17

[Mark Sawyer]

I get dust for leaving spots on my negatives for free around the house. Developing stains, I think those follow me home from the counter at the local diner.

Looking for a good source for light leaks...

[Drew Bedo]

Bob Soloman:

Oh . . .as for ACE Hardware store fixes . . .my old Velbon Magnesium ball head fell apart when the bolt broke. Replaced it with qa hardware store bolt for under a buck.

For clarity: This is a small lightweight ballhead that I was using with my little Wista/Zone VI 4x5. It was bought used years ago. It simply has one long screw or bolt that tightens the two halves of the Magnesium casting together which "locks" both the pan function and the ball function.. One day this bolt broke as I tightened it and the whole thing came apart in four main pieces. No one associated with the manufacturer would fix it, or sell me a replacement part. Ace Hardware had a bolt that matched then thread and that bolt now holds my ball head together. Cost: Well below $1.00.

[Doremus Scudder]

"qa" is a typo; the q-key is just above the a-key and Drew obviously hit both of them when typing... not so hard to figure it should just be "a."

[Eric Woodbury]

How could I forget clothespins? Hang negs and prints, secure the teabag to the thermos, label graduates as to whether DEV, WATER, or FIX. Hold the thermometer in place, secure the darkcloth. What a great invention. Especially like the new bamboo models.

[Havoc]

Zyliss strongboy II for taking lenses apart, silicone kitchen table mats for adding grip or under the part your working on, stainless bulldog letter clips for hanging negatives, a foldable camping clothes hanger for hanging more negatives on the shower rail, Really Usefull Boxes for storing lots of stuff, roll of velcro with one side hook and the other side velvet.

[Bob Salomon]

"qa" is a typo; the q-key is just above the a-key and Drew obviously hit both of them when typing... not so hard to figure it should just be "a."

I thought first that he was typing on an iPad Pro. Q is also the 1 key but then a is also the @ key. So, at first glance I thought ¼”

[Havoc]

Took it to mean Quality Assurance. So that such defects don't arise.

[Mike in NY]

Here are a few of the things I use in the field, but even more so in the darkroom or on the bench:

• 6X reading glasses to use instead of a loupe to focus ground glass.
• Leather trunk handle, I think from Van Dyke's Restoration catalog, to replace the worn out carry handle on one of my vintage AGFA/ANSCO field cameras.
• Lens caps for vintage lenses, made from easy-open (non-twist) pharmacy pill bottle caps, or from Republic of Team tube caps. If needed, cut a piece of adhesive-backed felt into a short, thin strip, and adhere it to the inside of the cap to the desired thickness so that the cap fits snuggly over the lens.
• Foam pipe insulation around the metal legs of my tripod, which makes them easier to handle in cold temperatures, and protects the finish.
• Kitchen wire cooling racks from the dollar store, to sit across the raised ridges in my darkroom sink; they provide a flat surface for smaller trays and tanks to sit on so they don't slip off the ridges when being moved.
• Small, light weight air compressor with hose and nozzle to replace expensive, disposable cans of compressed air, for blowing off dust from negatives.
• Bathroom exhaust fan motor that sits vertically on a shelf over the darkroom sink, with dryer duct tubing running from the fan out of the exterior wall to remove fumes (such as ether when working with collodion).
• Small electric crock pot from the Big Lots store, used as sort of a double boiler for warming beakers with solutions to dissolve powdered chemicals in collodion work.
• Canned spray rubber sealant, sprayed on the window panes in the basement darkroom to ensure an opaque surface that couldn't be achieved with paint. (Thought this might also be useful for sealing pinhole leaks in bellows.)
• Mountable cubby hole boxes, that have four cubbies on one side, six cubbies on the other side, for 24 cubby holes in a mountable frame about 24 x 30 inches or so. They're mountable to walls or stackable on top of one another, and provide quick, easy, organized access to different lenses, tools, chemicals, etc.
• Rubber strap pipe pliers for unscrewing stuck or frozen sections of old brass lenses without scratching them.
• Noxon, IMO the very best brass cleaner and polisher that exists when sprucing up brass parts on vintage cameras.
• Computer technician's set of micro flathead and Phillips screwdrivers for working with minuscule screws when disassembling camera parts, lenses or shutters.
• Brown, used wine and liquor bottles for storing liquid chemicals - you can even replace the corks with the rubber stoppers that are used with handheld air pumps from the wine store to create a vacuum within the bottle to prolong the shelf life.

[halberstadt]

Neoprene tablet and laptop sleeves work great to hold LF lenses on boards. They come in lots of sizes and colors and are cheap new (Daiso the "99 yen store" for example) and often free used. This is a LF board but I also use such sleeves for 35mm and digital gear. And I use my daughter's old lunch bags (one's neoprene, the other nylon with padding) for my TLRs.