A student built a digital-analog camera using just four things – and the viral video is the perfect example of how digital cameras work
Watch how an architecture student built a digital camera using everyday household objects
An architecture student named Nikita Merkushin built a digital instant camera using just four common household items: cardboard, a magnifying glass, a mirror, and a flatbed scanner. His viral video demonstrating the construction process is a simple yet effective example of how a camera functions. Merkushin harnessed the magnifying glass as the lens of the camera, projecting an image onto paper to showcase the concept.
He then created a cardboard enclosure over a printer-scanner combination, positioning the magnifying glass at the front. A key feature of the cardboard house was its angled back, which, together with the mirror inside, enabled the projection of the magnifying glass image onto the scanner bed, despite the lens being at a perpendicular angle.
After assembling the camera, Merkushin tested it out, scanning images to his phone and printing instant photos on-site, thanks to the scanner's dual functionality. Despite the camera's impracticality, it effectively illustrates the fundamental principle of a camera: using a lens to direct light onto a sensor. The scanner, however, scans the image line by line, leading to distorted movement in the captured images – a phenomenon known as a rolling shutter.
While Merkushin is known for creating viral content, such as a film camera attached to a bike helmet that captured photos with each jaw-dropping movement, he also explores other creative projects, like a projected horse running down the street using a bike-mounted projector system.
Written by urgent.news from Digital Camera World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
