The top 5 Halloween camera costumes: Nikon, Leica, Instagram and more

It's Halloween, and Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, tumblr and other social networking sites are full of photos -- and sometimes even how-to videos -- that show off everyone's costume creations. And, of course, being photo-minded, we were drawn to several camera and photography costumes that range from the ingenius to the ridiculous. Here's the top 5 that we found:

1) Nikon D3 fully functional DSLR costume
Tyler Card really set the camera costume standard last year when he created this "fully functional" replica of a Nikon D3 digital SLR. Card built the costume using cardboard, old computer parts, electrical tape and a five-gallon bucket for the lens.

The best part is that inside the costume is an actual Nikon DSLR and flash attached to a laptop screen, which serves as the LCD on back. To snap a picture, Card triggers a remote shutter cable and, voilá, it appears on the rear screen.

Here's a video showing the camera costume in action and then a video on how Tyler made it.

2) Leica M8 rangefinder costume
While Aaron Piazza's Leica M8 costume isn't functional like the Nikon outfit, he did pay good attention to detail in this digital rangefinder replica. We're not sure if it suffers from the same infrared light issues as the original M8 but a screw-on UV/IR filter on front of the costume will likely solve the problem.

(Via Leica Rumors)

3) Working Instagram camera costume
Like the Nikon D3 costume, you can actually take pictures with Eric Micotto's Instagram outfit. (Which is kind of ironic when you consider that Instagram is an app not a camera, though some people have other ideas.) Micotto uses a Nikon D800 to shoot photos through the Instagram costume's front lens design and then displays the images on an iPad that acts as an LCD on back of the costume.

(Via PetaPixel)

4) Paparazzi costume
You're guaranteed to scare the dickens out of Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn and all those other photographer-phobic celebrities in this slimy-looking paparazzi costume. For $35.99, you get the jacket, press pass, inflatable camera and camera bag. Suspicious mustache and greasy hair sold separately.

 

5) Do-it-yourself camera costume
This may not be the best looking of all the Halloween outfits on this list but we liked how this blog post gives you good step-by-step instructions on how to make your own "Likon" camera costume. If you're planning on dressing up in this DIY camera costume for Halloween tonight, you better get cracking! Trick-or-treating is only a few hours away.