Pixelated perfection
There’s something enamoring about the 1998 Game Boy Camera. Sure, it wasn’t a photographer’s best friend, but its all-in-one camera and software made it a delightful piece of tech from Nintendo. It turned a handheld game console into a digital camera for budding photographers.
Even 25 years later, the Game Boy Camera is still being celebrated. But few support the quirky device more than Christopher Graves, who recently reworked the entire thing to fit into a (basically) standard-size Game Boy cartridge. This is the Game Boy Mini Camera.
The Game Boy Mini Camera Mod
On the surface, the Game Boy Mini Camera takes Nintendo’s iconic peripheral and shrinks it down. Thanks to Graves’ work, this homebrew creation makes the Game Boy Camera look remarkably similar to any other cartridge for the system. This lets it run on any Game Boy model, including the chunky DMG launch model.
It packs some interesting new technology too. For starters, the Game Boy Mini Camera contains a custom PCB from fellow enthusiast Martin Refseth. This allows for stored images to stick around, no batteries required. The camera itself retains its mapper chip and sensor, and the lens itself has been taken from an iPhone XR.
Graves showcases the slight differences with the lenses in a Twitter thread, though it does retain the same 2-bit picture quality despite the more modern lens array.
This isn’t Graves’ first rodeo modifying this nostalgic piece of tech. For an especially impressive example, take a look at the Game Boy Camera M. This takes a Game Boy Pocket and turns it into a dedicated Game Boy Camera machine, with the ability to swap lenses and adjust focus. It modernizes the 2-bit digital camera to do more, while still retaining its pixelated charm. They’ve also created a Macro lens, stretching the limits of 2-bit photography.
Graves describes the Game Boy Mini Camera as a “selfish project,” with no plans to sell to other enthusiasts. However, Graves’ mentioned that they will “more than likely” release the files to the public, allowing anyone to make one themselves.
