New Build, New Tier, and Big Thanks to You All
Happy Saturday everyone!
First off — thank you to all the new subscribers!
I’ve been building cameras as a hobby for the past 3 years, and I’ve been genuinely overjoyed by the support I’ve received across so many platforms lately. A huge shoutout to Jeremy Gray for featuring my IR camera build on PetaPixel this past week — I’m genuinely grateful for the spotlight on something I’ve just been building for fun.
What’s Next: A Ground-Up IR Point-and-Shoot
After reading all of your comments and feedback on the last build, I’ve been feeling inspired to take things further. So I’ve started designing a compact point-and-shoot IR camera from scratch.
I’ll be using the same internals from my previous build, but I want this one to be completely pocketable, with a premium feel — something that looks and feels like a finished product, not just a prototype.
I started printing some rough mockups last night to test the shape and feel. Here’s the high-level vision:
Infrared camera using a Pi Zero 2W
No screen — just shoot like film
Premium, minimalist unibody design
Small I2C OLED display for basic settings
External optical view finder
Final version in full aluminum
Single button operation
Press to shoot
Hold to autofocus
I’m aiming to complete this within the next month (famous last words), but I’ll be documenting progress here as I go. The photos in the gallery show my progress (I’m only 2 hours into this thing). Still have some fitment issues to resolve but I’m getting there!
If you have ideas, feedback, or feature requests, drop them in the comments — I read everything and would love to hear your take.
New: Paid Tier + Zoom Q&A Sessions
I’ve also just launched a paid subscriber tier for those of you who are serious about building your own cameras.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten a ton of messages asking for step-by-step help, parts lists, tutorials, etc. It’s been a bit overwhelming to keep up, so this new tier is meant to help me help you more effectively.
Here’s what paid subscribers will get:
Monthly Zoom call (1 hour)
Camera-building tutorials
Live Q&A
Open discussion around IR photography, Pi setups, prototyping, and more
This is for anyone who wants to dive deeper and connect beyond the posts.
Referral Bonus: Invite 3 Friends = 1 Month Free
If you refer 3 friends, you’ll get 1 month of paid access free — including the next Zoom session.
Here’s your referral link to share:
Thanks again for being here and following along — the energy around this project has been incredible. Talk soon!