Building a Camera from Scratch
My Latest Prototype
About a month ago, I set out to build a camera completely from scratch. Honestly, I’ve grown tired of the same vintage camera conversions and the endless stream of sleek, black, soulless designs. I wanted to make something that felt fun again. Something different.
As a '90s kid, I’ve always had a soft spot for that blocky, cyberpunk-inspired tech—so that became the design direction. I started by creating a compact body, choosing the Raspberry Pi 5 as the brain because I wanted to push the limits of what I could do in software.
So far? It’s been wild. I’ve managed to get face detection, tap-to-zoom, and focus peaking all working—features I usually rely on with my Sony A7IV or other modern cameras. The fact that it’s running on a Pi still blows my mind.
Right now, it’s still very much in the prototype phase. I haven’t even landed on a final color scheme or material. I’ve been experimenting with matte PLA, ASA, and resin to get a feel for what works best. I’m no advanced 3D designer, but I managed to model the body myself in Tinkercad. It’s built in three separate pieces, and I’m printing everything on my Bambu A1 Mini, which has been an absolute workhorse for this kind of project.
The sensor I’m using is the IMX283, which I sourced from an open hardware project called One Inch Eye. It’s been performing really well—definitely a step up from the Raspberry Pi HQ camera.
For the display, I’m using a basic 4-inch HDMI screen I found on Amazon. Nothing fancy, just functional.
To get the most out of the sensor, I also built a custom 0.5x focal reducer that supports both Pentax PK and M42 lenses. I’ve had great results using this setup with the smaller Pi HQ sensor, so I’m excited to see what it can do with the larger 1-inch sensor.
Anyway, I’m probably still a couple of weeks away from wrapping up the working prototype, but I’ll be posting more updates soon as it all comes together!
Ultimately, my goal is to turn this into a customizable DIY kit—something that others can build and tweak themselves. A camera that feels personal, experimental, and unlike anything else out there.
