While most people remember the Nintendo Game Boy as one of the first portable game devices, they tend to forget the number of peripherals you could attach to it: a modded backlight to illuminate the screen, a Game Link Cable to connect two or more Game Boys together, the list of accessories goes on and on.
Possibly one of the oddest attachments of the original Game Boy is its officially licensed camera. Compatible with all versions of the Game Boy excluding the Game Boy Micro, this 128×128 pixel camera shot greyscale photo you could edit and print using thermal paper.
The camera was used to print selfies or drawings created using the Game Boy Camera’s attached software. While it may have been ahead of its time back in 1998, the photographs look about like QR codes you see around today. But that won’t stop the mods.
To help bring the Game Boy Camera into the 21st century, Sam McKenzie 3D printed a mod that allows the Game Boy Camera to be attached to a modern DLSR lens. Exhibit A:
The mod in question is made by one Andreas Gack (see more shots on his Instagram). With it, the original Game Boy Camera is upgraded to shoot retro photos with a 70-200mm lens. This results in an estimated focal length of 3,000 mm and a crop factor of 7.64.
Using Gack’s blueprints, McKenzie 3D printed the camera mod and used it to take some photos. Once taken, they were printed onto a canvas and, I think you’ll agree, would stand out on any wall. The image quality hasn’t changed but the result has an archival, old-school beauty to it that you would need five Photoshop filters and a bottle of sulfuric acid to achieve today.
If you happen to still have your old Game Boy and Camera laying around, you can download Gack’s mod after downloading the model on Thingiverse.
