Game Boy Camera Upgraded
Nintendo‘s Game Boy Pocket Camera is an accessory attachment initially released back in 1998 for the handheld console. Obviously, it features a very primitive lens and sensor by today’s smartphone standards. However, it is not meant to be any sort of true camera replacement either.
Since the Game Boy system is limited with a 4-color palette, the Pocket Camera attachment only required a 128 x 128 pixel CMOS sensor. Each ‘photo’ taken with this camera is stored in a 128 x 112 pixel black and white digital image. It is then displayed on-screen or printed via the Game Boy printer attachment as a hard copy.
However, Ekeler Design wants to see just how capable this camera truly is. So he attached a Canon 70-200mm lens on the device.
This lens of course uses an EF mount so modifications are necessary. “The Game Boy Camera has a sensor size of about 3.6mm², which seems equivalent to a 1/4″ sensor,” according to Ekeler. “This gives the GBC a crop factor of about 10.81. With my 70-200mm f4 mounted on a 1.4x extender, this gives me a max equivalent focal distance of about 200×1.4×10.81=3,026.8mm.”
Ekeler first designed the custom adapter then 3D printed the device. He also used an Arduino Game Boy Printer emulator to capture the shots on PC. Then he cut a $5 Game Boy Link cable in half and it is soldered directly onto an Adafruit prototype shield. Which is then plugged into an old Arduino Duemilanove.
How Well Do These Photos Look?
Quite impressive actually. See for yourself:
For more details and photo results, visit Ekeler Design’s website. He has several more photo examples showing how well the zoom feature works.
