RaspberryPi Camera
Written By: Geovian
Date: 4 April 2025
Introduction
I'll admit that in all the years that I have owned smartphones, the camera function has been one that I haven't ever really bothered with. Consider me old-fashioned as I still used high-quality point-and-shoot cameras external of the phone.
However, this new project using RaspberryPi resources has me intrigued. The camera has been built by the RPI maker Spacerower, who has assembled the camera using the following parts:
- Raspberry Pi Zero W board
- Raspberry Pi camera module v1.3
- Em5820 Thermal Printer
- 3D Printed Camera Case
- 2s 1200mah li-ion battery
Refer to the Specifications link for full list of parts construction.
The Detail
The overall premise of this RPI camera design was to make an instant camera with the ability to print photos onto sticker paper more or less instantly. It uses Python code to stitch everything together at the software level.
The camera has a female USB port which suggests you might be able to move images off the device and onto a USB stick or something similar. Though this wasn't spelled out on the specifications.
The case was 3D printed specifically for this project using Polylactoc Acid (PLA). It has a very retro look and combined with modern componentry and combined with human ingenuity, just shows how far the RaspberryPi can be extended with a combination of curiosity and imagination.
In Summary
Promotion of the camera has come about in the last few days thanks to an article on the Tom's Hardware website, but in actuality, the camera has been talked about on Reddit as Spacerower is a user over there.
The build project was quite challenging, according to Spacerower. As such there is no tutorial available so that users can design one themselves. Not yet, at least anyway.