3 ms·

I toyed with this idea, as I find taking pictures with my phone to be an unsatisfactory experience, and carrying around my Canon EOS is annoying as it's too bul

I toyed with this idea, as I find taking pictures with my phone to be an unsatisfactory experience, and carrying around my Canon EOS is annoying as it's too bulky. What stopped me was: 1) Raspberry PI boot-up time. It's long enough to prevent you from quickly snapping a picture when you see it - you have to be prepared. 2) Battery power that doesn't run down within a couple of days of non-use.

bduhan 6y ago
Boot times of 3-4 seconds are achievable with a customized buildroot [1] [2] if you don’t need network, USB, HDMI, and other services. [1] https://mitxela.com/projects/thermal_paper_polaroid https://mitxela.com/projects/thermal_paper_polaroid [2] https://himeshp.blogspot.com/2018/08/fast-boot-with-raspberry-pi.html https://himeshp.blogspot.com/2018/08/fast-boot-with-raspberr...
geocrasher 6y ago
I have to wonder what phone you've got. I have a Pixel 4a 5G and it takes the best pictures out of any camera I've had (usually cheap Canon PowerShot's, which are GREAT cameras). I've been extremely impressed with its abilities. I can't imagine that any homebrewed solution could match it without thousands of hours of work.
- mattowen_uk 6y ago
  I think it's me tbh. Trying to hold the phone, and press the on-screen buttons just isn't a nice workflow for me. I miss using a proper camera form factor.
brudgers 6y ago
There are boatloads of 12 megapixel or better point and shoots in the used market that will produce excellent pictures. A much better experience than a phone because it's a dedicated device. And because they usually have a substantial zoom range from wide to tight. With only a slight bit of patience, you can pick up something like a Panasonic Lumix ZS-6 for $30 on US eBay including shipping. Long battery life, fits in a pocket. I removed the hot-mirror, epoxied a 720nm filter to the front and use mine for infra-red. Only slightly larger, the Sony NEX C3 is a tiny APS-C camera, not much bigger than a point and shoot. It was the second iteration of the NEX3. Paired with the slightly more recent 16-50mm pancake zoom, it is a great everyday carry with 16mp. To me, an rPi camera is an interesting idea and for a specialized use, its programmability would be an advantage. As an everyday camera, it's a bit absurd beyond telling people about it. YMMV.
- mattowen_uk 6y ago
  I think the bit I missed out was, I'd like a way for when I take pictures for them to be automatically synced to my cloud storage (not one of the main providers) and/or published on my website.
  - brudgers 6y ago
    Buy a point and shoot with WiFi. Put a rPi in your other pocket. Run chron. At least it's not a pony and free M&M's.

bduhan 6y ago

Boot times of 3-4 seconds are achievable with a customized buildroot [1] [2] if you don’t need network, USB, HDMI, and other services. [1] https://mitxela.com/projects/thermal_paper_polaroid https://mitxela.com/projects/thermal_paper_polaroid [2] https://himeshp.blogspot.com/2018/08/fast-boot-with-raspberry-pi.html https://himeshp.blogspot.com/2018/08/fast-boot-with-raspberr...

geocrasher 6y ago

I have to wonder what phone you've got. I have a Pixel 4a 5G and it takes the best pictures out of any camera I've had (usually cheap Canon PowerShot's, which are GREAT cameras). I've been extremely impressed with its abilities. I can't imagine that any homebrewed solution could match it without thousands of hours of work.

mattowen_uk 6y ago
I think it's me tbh. Trying to hold the phone, and press the on-screen buttons just isn't a nice workflow for me. I miss using a proper camera form factor.

brudgers 6y ago

There are boatloads of 12 megapixel or better point and shoots in the used market that will produce excellent pictures. A much better experience than a phone because it's a dedicated device. And because they usually have a substantial zoom range from wide to tight. With only a slight bit of patience, you can pick up something like a Panasonic Lumix ZS-6 for $30 on US eBay including shipping. Long battery life, fits in a pocket. I removed the hot-mirror, epoxied a 720nm filter to the front and use mine for infra-red. Only slightly larger, the Sony NEX C3 is a tiny APS-C camera, not much bigger than a point and shoot. It was the second iteration of the NEX3. Paired with the slightly more recent 16-50mm pancake zoom, it is a great everyday carry with 16mp. To me, an rPi camera is an interesting idea and for a specialized use, its programmability would be an advantage. As an everyday camera, it's a bit absurd beyond telling people about it. YMMV.

mattowen_uk 6y ago
I think the bit I missed out was, I'd like a way for when I take pictures for them to be automatically synced to my cloud storage (not one of the main providers) and/or published on my website.
- brudgers 6y ago
  Buy a point and shoot with WiFi. Put a rPi in your other pocket. Run chron. At least it's not a pony and free M&M's.