Built, Not Bought

In studio portraits with my Raspberry Pi based DIY camera

After spending two weeks building my latest camera, I finally brought it into the studio to take portraits with my friend and collaborator, Afrana.

If you haven’t seen my prior posts, this is the camera:

A waist-level viewfinder camera built around a viewfinder from a Mamiya C220 TLR, powered by a Raspberry Pi 5 and a 1-inch Sony IMX283 sensor.

I’ll go into the build details in another post — today I just want to share what it’s capable of.

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In Good Light

These photos show what the camera can do when the light is working in its favor.
I’m using a mix of Fujinon TV lenses and adapted Pentax Takumar lenses.

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In Low Light

And here’s what happens when the light gets tougher.

(banding is due to my frame rate not matching the projector)

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In Action

Here are some timelapse videos of behind the scenes:

First Impressions

Overall, I’m very impressed with the results.
It’s a major step up from the Raspberry Pi HQ Camera — and honestly, I enjoy the results more than what I usually get from my Sony A7 IV.

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Thanks for reading, and I’ll be back soon with more updates on the build and testing process.

— Malcolm