Instant photography is a miracle of the analog age, chemical photographs that develop in your hands moments after the shutter has been pressed. You can buy instant cameras and film from Fuji and the successor company to Polaroid, the originator of the technology, but they’re expensive. Fortunately [BoxArt] is here for those seeking a cheaper alternative, with an instant camera featuring a Raspberry Pi and a printer (Lithuanian language, Google Translate link).
It’s a fairly straightforward arrangement, with the Pi Zero and camera driving a receipt printer. There’s a nicely engineered 3D printed case, and the guts of a power bank to provide the volts for the thing. There are a set of status lights on top, and that’s it. Press the button, get a not-very-good grayscale image on curly paper.
You can of course buy off-the-shelf grayscale printing cameras from your favorite import site for much less than the cost of this camera, but we think this would probably take better pictures. Meanwhile if the original instant photography interests you, we’ve got you covered.