Start with Photographic Circuit Bending Using This $5 Camera

Circuit bending is a time-honored tradition in the experimental and “noise” music scenes. It usually works by modifying the circuits in devices that generate sounds, like toys and audio equipment, to allow for adjustments to parameters such as frequency, and therefore pitch. And while it is much less common, you can circuit bend digital cameras, too. If that interests you, Soggy_Auggy_ has a guide on how to get started by circuit bending a $5 camera.

The camera in question is a G6 “thumb” keychain camera. That’s a generic model sold under many different brand names, but they all seem to contain the same hardware. Prices vary, but some are available on AliExpress for about $5. Even a Kodak-branded model on Amazon is only about $35. The point is that these cameras are cheap and give you a low-stakes option for experimentation.

The circuit bending modifications that Soggy_Auggy_ demonstrates focus on adding resistors, potentiometers, and switches. The idea is to just generally mess with the signals going from the digital image sensor to the camera’s processor before the image stores on the microSD card. Simply connecting resistors alone would accomplish a lot, but Soggy_Auggy’s techniques let you toggle each bent circuit, so you can mix-and-match the effects to get different results.

And the results are pretty neat. They range from strange color changes to pixelated glitches. Just like with circuit bending in music, the quality and artistic value of the output comes down to your ability and creativity as the operator. But unlike Photoshop editing, these glitches are irrevocably burned into the images, which creates a feeling of authenticity.