how i got into making cameras

A few years ago, I was stuck at home during the pandemic, bored out of my mind, staring at a Pi Zero and a broken camera. I figured, “Maybe I can build a camera?” I had no idea what I was doing. I sucked at soldering, didn’t own a 3D printer, and only knew the basics of Python. The first attempt was literally held together with tape and hope. But it worked… sorta.

That messy experiment led me down a rabbit hole of 3D printing, electronics, coding, and endless trial and error. And honestly? I’ve been hooked ever since.

A few months after the tape job camera, I started cutting up old camera bodies, wiring in generic switches from the hardware store, and hot gluing dollar store phone batteries in place. I eventually scored a cheap 3D printer off Facebook Marketplace for $80 and began refining the design with printed parts and pieces scavenged from a black Yashica Electro 35.

Then something wild happened where my camera build got featured on PetaPixel. Seeing people actually excited about this Frankenstein creation was a huge moment for me. Later, Hackaday featured one of my builds too. The momentum kept pushing me further.