Christopher Getschmann's "Digital Toy Cameras" Boast Interchangeable, Multi-Function Lenses

Finding ready-to-run, high-quality commercial cameras "too boring," Christopher Getschmann has put together something entirely different: a trio of "digital toy cameras," housed in 3D-printed casings, powered by the Raspberry Pi Zero single-board computer, and boasting multi-function interchangeable lenses.

"The thing is, digital cameras are pretty boring. Where is all the quirkiness gone? Lens movements like tilt/shift/rise/fall? Weird and cheap lenses? Square aspect ratios? Panorama cameras? Memory cards that over-expose all images when you open them before they are full? All gone," Getschmann complains. "So, I made cameras. With sh****y sensors and weird lenses. The sensors are really small so I can use really cheap glass."

While confessing that the functionality may be limited - "Does it have autofocus? No. Does it have manual controls? No," Getschmann admits — the resulting cameras are certainly functional. Built around the OmniVision OV5647 sensor module, behind 12mm-mount lenses originally designed for security cameras, the cameras are surprisingly attractive — and do boast one key feature your typical pocket or smartphone camera lacks: Interchangeable lenses.

"The whole body (except the walnut front) is 3D printed and held together by screws, heat inserts, and magnets," Getschmann explains. "The lens mounts slide in place and are aligned by magnets as well. I made two versions since I am not sure which one I like more: One uses a small electronic viewfinder usually found in nightvision goggles; The other version is using a small 240x240-pixel square LCD display (ST7789) originally designed for low-end smartwatches."

Both cameras are powered by a low-cost Raspberry Pi Zero single-board computer, driven from an 18650 lithium-ion battery for on-the-go use. The lenses, meanwhile, are where the real smarts are to be found: As well as flat mounts which simply align the lens with the sensor Getschmann has designed tilt-shift mounts, rise/fall mounts, and manual-focus mounts.

There's also a third design, mimicking a twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera design. "That’s slightly more clunky [and] less fun to handle," Getschmann admits.

"It runs on a [Raspberry Pi] Compute Module 4 to handle two cameras in parallel and is compatible with the 12MP Raspberry Pi HQ sensor as well. So the proof-of-concept works, but that’s not gonna come with me if I want to do stupid stuff."

Full details are available on Getschmann's blog, while software and design files for both the single- and twin-lens variants have been published to GitHub under an unspecified open source license.