A 3D printing enthusiast has made a cute, functional digital camera using an optical sensor salvaged from a discarded mouse PCB. This is an admirable recycling-inspired maker project to see completed, and you can witness it in action in the embedded Reddit post below. However, don’t set your recycling old rodents into digital cameras’ hopes too high, as the results are definitely lo-fi.
After a quick 360 degree tour of the unchristened device – let’s call it the magical mouse camera (MMC) – Dycus turned it to face their workbench, and powered on the device using the black button atop. Subsequently, we get to see the electronic viewfinder power up and, despite its tiny size, it is still evident that the images are going to have a Minecraft-esque blocky flair, putting it kindly.
According to Dycus, the lo-fi results are simply due to the mouse sensor doubling as a photographic sensor. The ADNS-3090 sensor is only capable of capturing a native 30×30 pixels, and it is limited to 64 shades. That doesn’t mean this device will be without its uses, only that you must be aware of them.
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65 hours to completion
Dycus says that the whole MMC camera project took just 65 hours from getting the project itch to the satisfying completion, with a finished camera in hand. Despite the minimal timescale, the fit and finishing look great, and there is quite a bit of maker tech packed into that camera body.