Big Shot camera kit could help turn your kid on to the dark world of the teardown
By Laura June 
posted November 11th 2009 1:36PM
posted November 11th 2009 1:36PM
Pardon us while we freely admit that we have literally no idea what's going on inside a camera -- whether it's digital or those quaint film-based ones you hear about from your grandma. Luckily, our own kids might not have to suffer as we have: a group at the Computer Vision Laboratory at Columbia University have designed and built a prototype digital camera that should demystify the devices. The Big Shot digital camera kit, if / when it hits the market, will be a box of all the necessary parts for kids to be able to build their own simple, candy-colored digital camera. While the Big Shot is still in prototype testing phase, we really hope this gadget (and more like it) makes it to the market sometime soon.
as a dad, i think this is awesome!
I'm not a dad, but if I was a kid, I would totally want one of these. Actually, I kind of want one now!
I had various build-your-own type construction kits as a child (including a camera, albeit a film one) and thorougly enjoyed them. I think they're a great way to get kids into engineering which, naturally, is the best discipline in the world.
The thing that bothered me about some of the kits of my childhood (and also this kit) is that you often didn't really know what was going on: all the clever stuff happens in a black plastic square and you never get to build that bit yourself. It sometimes feels a bit false to just screw a PCB into a plastic shell.
I hope they make a Canon 7D kit! Imagine trying to put one of those together, or any DSLR for that matter.
Aha, that was my exact though when I saw this post. It's like Lego on engineering!
watch some kid swallow one of the parts when its released and the whole thing gets recalled and sued into oblivion
I am a dad, but if I was a kid, I would totally want to swallow one of these parts.
Then set an age limit. 13+
But it's all sodded already!
Or soldered.
I saw some google in your post
That's really kinda cool - the IKEA approach to gadgets.
I took apart a disposable camera when I was a kid and was 'shocked' to learn what a capacitor was.
Yea those flash discharge caps pack a punch!
CLEAR!
Nice toy
I'd be right there on the floor with the kid tinkering and fumbling :)
The only thing i can think of is that some kid is gonna short out one of the boards because they haven't grounded themselves and they've basically got a fudged camera before it's even built
Really? That's all you can think of?
Cool! Can someone say Heath Kit? Nuts, did I just out my age? Oh well.
Yes...putting a circuit board into the case certainly demystifies how a digital camera works. But seriously, it's kind of a need camera, with the crank power and three lenses, it could be a fun little photographic toy to play around with.
Demystifies? You won't get more about how camera works from soldering the PCB. You'll need to let 'em code all the firmware as well :) And that's where the devil is
I wish I had that kit in my childhood... It would get some custom long focus lens attached momentarily :)
Everyone take note, this here is 'subtle' advertising
Um, why are they powering it with a puny wind-up dynamo when you need loads of electricity to see the pictures you take?
Because it doesn't have a screen, that way it's cheaper, and it introduces the kids to another interesting principle of science?
Something like this doesn't really "demystify" anything. Yes, it could be nice for a kid to assemble one of those kits, but it doesn't really teach anything about how it works. I'd say this gadget should be the final one in the series of some more basic constructions. Starting from the pinhole camera, with an explanation on how it works, then replacing the pinhole with a simple lens, then replacing a single lens with some simple zoom optics etc etc. The final, "bonus" step could be assembling one of those little gadgets mentioned above.
I still shoot primarily film as a photographer. It's not just for grandma's :) Medium and large format film scanned through an Imacon drum scanner puts all digital cameras to shame.
The case design is reminiscent of the delightful Konica EU-Mini 35mm. I'd love one of these to fiddle with and take pictures on something I put together.
byo everything
The kid in my likes this camera,
and the Adult in me likes the kid in me
It could be interesting to put some of these parts into a Holga.
..a kit to convert film cameras to digital would be a great idea...millions f old slr's are kicking around...should be room enough in the film canister wells for electronics and power...sensor mounted to a ribbon cable..and a bt shutter sync to the flash sync ...
How come the guy hawking his own website gets an Avatar, and no matter how many I upload they never work?
:-(