A fully functional 35mm film camera made entirely from Lego has been pitched as a possible future release on the Lego Ideas website.
The camera is called the ZH1 and has been created by Canadian photographer and inventor Zung Hoang. Hoang first pitched the idea for the camera in 2022 and the camera is nearing its last month of voting on Lego Ideas.
Potential products need to get at least 10,000 votes in their pitching period to be considered for future production, and Hoang’s camera had a little less than 7,500 votes on Sunday (11 August). It has 36 days of voting left.
“My primary goal was to create a fully functional 35mm film camera using only existing Lego parts,” Hoang said on the ZH1’s pitch page. “Keeping it affordable and portable was key, so I focused on making it as compact as possible. ZH1 is built from 595 Lego pieces.
“One of the biggest challenges I faced was ensuring the camera body was lightproof. Initially, my early film rolls were fogged due to light leaking through bright, colourful bricks and gaps between pieces. It took several days to perfect the sealing without compromising portability.
“The camera proudly features the classic Lego logo from 1934, adding a nostalgic touch. The main lens is based on an existing magnifying piece, while I also developed a special pinhole lens that produces unique and stylish effects, as seen in the samples.”
Hoang’s Instagram account includes a number of pictures taken on the prototype of the ZH1. The pictures have a distorted, dreamlike quality, similar to expired disposable cameras or pinhole shots.
The camera’s features will include:
- Shutter button
- Film advance
- Film take-up reel
- Wind lever with release
- Full-frame or half-frame modes
- Accessory shoe
The ZH1 follows a number of recent photography-related sets released by Lego.
Earlier in 2023, Lego unveiled a set paying tribute to animator Walt Disney: a classically retro movie camera to mark 100 years since the Disney Studio was set up.
In December last year, the Danish toy brick giant also released a retro 35mm camera set which could also be built as a video camera or a retro television.
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
I’m doing everything I can to promote film photography in the 21st Century, and help it survive and thrive. If you want to write something for Kosmo Foto, please drop me a line at foto.dowling@gmail.com.
