“I wanted a way to use my vintage cameras in a new, digital way. I have a few kicking around in various conditions, but haven’t used them in ages because the film is costly to develop. Follow along with this Instructable to see how I put a Raspberry Pi and Pi Camera inside a retro film camera, and programmed it to upload GIFs to my Tumblr.
The code is based on Lara’s free Instructables Raspberry Pi Class, which contains valuable background info if you’re new to electronics, programming, or the Pi. The same code can be used to run a photo booth at your next party! I chose to take my camera mobile with a big battery pack to capture GIFs at Maker Faire NY this year.
This Target Brownie Six-20 is a 40s camera, and it was pretty dirty and didn’t take great photos, so I don’t feel bad about gutting it. I’d think twice about cutting and drilling through some other members of my collection. If you take this on, be sure you’re comfortable disabling your camera’s ability to shoot film, as my methods are a bit destructive.
For this project, you will need:
Boxy vintage camera (mine’s a Target Brownie six-20)Raspberry Pi model A+SD card with RaspbianPi camera with ribbon cablePowered USB hubWifi dongleThree LEDs (I used white, green, and red)Three resistors (any between 100-220 ohms)PushbuttonWires with female headersSolderless breadboardMicro USB cableKeyboard & mouse (I used this mini keyboard with trackpad)HDMI display with cableWireless internet network name and passwordTumblr accountTumblr API client infoSmall screwdriverDouble stick foam tapeHot glueHeat shrink tubingSoldering iron and solderBattery pack”