11 Comments
User's avatar
Trey Roque's avatar

Great recommendation. Kewl pics.

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Retroist's avatar

Thanks! I finally used up my first roll of paper this morning.

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Dshimizu's avatar

Those are some neat photos! I especially like the ones of the pier and the dog

I remember buying a Game Boy Camera at Walmart or K-Mart for the rock bottom clearance price of $1, but they didn't have the printer

The photo editing tools were fun, but incredibly basic. And the cartridge had very little storage space

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Retroist's avatar

I also bought the Game Boy camera, but couldn't find a printer. This has really scratched that itch.

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Tim's avatar

I bought this camera: https://amzn.eu/d/hjKh8Y9

Then I used epoxy resin and Sugru to attach this as a lens mount: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/286269609316?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ojGLg4L4S5i&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=MehmFQ2TTju&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

And attached this: https://amzn.eu/d/9qIzXRa

Surprisingly sturdy, if a little front heavy. But it’s the kind of camera that you have in your hand all the time and fire off at everything. Only print what you need, or what you give away to people. The rolls of paper cost buttons so it’s fiscally sound too.

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Retroist's avatar

This is really cool. You might have given me a new summer project.

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Tim's avatar

Just remembered, I needed to file the aperture to a larger size on the lens mount. I just used a cylindrical metal file. Time and patience required.

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Tim's avatar

Great article. Thanks for sharing. It inspired me to go out and get my own thermal printer camera. I made a few modifications by adding a wide angle lens: www.ditheredbitmaps.com

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Retroist's avatar

Lo-Fi Street Photography is a fun way to describe it. Love it!

Which camera did you wind up using and how did you get a wide angle lens onto it?

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Alexandra Paul's avatar

I ended up buying a toy camera because of this post and now I’m hooked. Totally reignited my love of photography

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Mark Rushton's avatar

I tried thermal paper for a while, and I liked it, but then I discovered thermal ribbon printers.

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