4 bizarre and easy Raspberry Pi camera projects

The Raspberry Pi is one of the most versatile gadgets around — hands down. You can use this single-board computer to make a full PC or something as strange as an internet-controlled car horn. Really, the more you play with it, the more you discover. For example, with the Raspberry Pi camera module, which is available for all versions of Pi, you can get to work on a number of creations. Below are four bizarre Pi camera projects that are useful and simple to make.

Peephole camera

You want to keep your home secure, and may even go to extremes with that, but chances are, most people would find a video camera on your door to be too intrusive. So what’s the alternative? A DIY Raspberry Pi peephole camera, of course. This is a great project if you travel often and want to check up on your property, or if someone approaches your door while you can’t answer it.

Surprisingly easy, this is a great way to start experimenting with your Pi’s camera. Raspberry Pi aside, you’ll need an 8 GB memory card, a Pi camera module, and a few cables to connect the power and so on. Fortunately, this camera uses one of the most popular guides to make an HD video surveillance camera, designed by Christoph Buenger, which you’ll find referenced in many Pi camera experiments.

Car dashboard camera

A car dashboard camera, also known as a “dashcam” for short, is a smart investment for your vehicle. You can use it to back up what you want to say in court if needed, and you can also relive some of those awe-inspiring road trips you might have taken. The best part: you don’t have to buy one, but can make your own for a fraction of the cost.

Instructables user Vijay Guna, for example, created a smart dashcam that’s completely automated. It switches on when you start your car, stops when your switch off the engine, and records videos in segments of 30 minutes. The videos are stored for a month and then automatically purged. Better yet, you can check the footage anytime with an Android smartphone.

The project shouldn’t cost more than $100, and you can see the step-by-step instructions here.

Wearable timelapse camera

Thanks to today’s technology, you can record your life and log every aspect of it if you so wish, and the cheapest way to get started with it is through a Pi camera setup. One popular DIY-er, Noe Ruiz, came up with a wearable Pi Zero camera, and you can see how to make it in the video below.

If you’re not familiar, the Pi Zero is a $5 miniaturized version of the Raspberry Pi. It handles all the basic functions that a full-fledged Pi would.

Instant Polaroid-like camera

The days of the Polaroid are in the past, but you can’t argue against the fact that some of the charm of picture-taking was lost once we went digital. These days we rarely snap photos to print out, jot notes on, and send on their way.

With a bit of magic, also known as a Raspberry Pi, the Pi camera module, some cardboard, and a thermal printer, you can make the art of photography personal again. Of course, a thermal printer doesn’t use the same quality of photo paper or have the same quality of printing, but it’s good enough when you consider it’s printed out almost immediately. See the original instructions here.