Five Fully Functional 3D Printed Cameras

This article first appeared in MAKE Volume 38, on page 59.

P6*6 120 Pinhole Camera

Pinhole camera enthusiast Todd Schlemmer created three different printable camera designs and actively posts photos to his 3D Printed Cameras Flickr group. His P6*6 120 pinhole camera has a 6×6 frame, shoots medium-format 120 film, and is well documented with a detailed assembly and usage guide. The body features a knurled film advancing knob. Community members have modified the camera to use neutral-density filters, allowing for the slower exposures that pinhole cameras like best. Download from Thingiverse or purchase on Tindie.

Photos taken with the P6*6 120 Pinhole Camera

PINH5AD 4×5-inch Pinhole Camera

Also by Todd Schlemmer, the PINH5AD is designed around a 4×5 film holder and come in both 90mm and 150mm focal length designs. It uses the “Pinhead shutter design” developed for his first printable camera, the PINHE4D. Files and detailed instructions are on Thingiverse or parts can be purchased from Shapeways.

Photos taken with the PINH5AD 4×5-inch Pinhole Camera

Pinhole135 Camera Mini

This small pinhole 3d printed camera was the first 3D printed design for Thingiverse user sss860149. With a pinhole size of about 0.2–0.3mm, it has an 84° angle of view, a 24mm focal length, and shoots full-sized 4×6 “round image format” photos on standard 135mm film. The files are freely available for download from Thingiverse.

Photos taken with the Pinhole135 Camera Mini

OpenReflex

Winner of numerous awards, the OpenReflex by Léo Marius is an analog camera with a mirror viewfinder and a finger activated mechanical shutter that captures at approximately 1/60 of a second. Parts are separate files to simplify modifications, and print time is approximately 15 hours with under an hour of assembly. Download the files from Thingiverse and check out the assembly instructions.

Photos Taken with OpenReflex

3D-Printed Digital Camera

Randy Sarafan, author of 62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer and creator of Simple Bots, designed a digital camera with an Arduino, RadioShack JPEG Color Camera Board, Seeed Studio INT106D1P SD shield, and a few additional parts, all available from RadioShack. Pictures are easily transferred via SD card. Get the parts and instructions.