I hacked the CVS disposable camera tonight. It was kind of fun, aside from the fact that I totally suck at soldering. I used the instructions at Make and Hack a Day.
Instructions are all over the place to hack this camera, so it’s not like I was doing any actual exploration, but I’ve never done a much hardware hacking, so this was a fun little project. I highly recommend the Make instructions.
Tips for anyone thinking of doing this:
- Get a good soldering iron. Mine blows, but it cost $5. You get what you pay for.
- Practice soldering on something you don’t care about. My first and only experience soldering was this project.
- eBay is your friend. Aside from the camera, which I found on sale, the Palm connecter can be had on eBay for less than $10 shipped.
- Don’t expect too much. It’s a $25 camcorder. The quality is so-so. Our house is a little dark and the picture quality isn’t great. It’s a nifty little toy, but that’s about it.
- Pets hate camcorders. At least ours do.
You Know What Part 