This miniature Game Boy camera, created by a fan, is the size of a game cartridge!

The Game Boy Camera, loved by fans of low-quality photography, is known for its large size that sticks out from the retro console like a creepy giant eyeball. However, Christopher Graves, a modder and devoted fan, has created his own version called the Game Boy Mini Camera. As reported by Gizmodo, Graves successfully reduced the size of the camera to that of a Game Boy cartridge, eliminating the need for any protrusion.

Graves used a custom board, the original camera sensor, a memory map controller, and some capacitors to complete the project. He also used an iPhone XR lens that was screwed into a custom housing to minimize protrusions. Although this lens changes the position to allow for new types of images, it does not affect the quality at all. In other words, you still get the grainy black and white look that made the original Game Boy camera so popular, even 25 years later.

The camera slides into the cartridge slot and can even run ROMs if that’s your bag. It’s also upgraded with flash memory, so your saved photos will last forever (or until the drive dies.) Graves plans to refine the design as he’s considering swapping the iPhone XR lens for an iPhone 14 lens, among other options.

The real treat here is the miniaturization. When attached to a Game Boy Pocket, for example, the whole thing actually fits in your pocket, saving you the embarrassment of having to sit through stupid “or are you just glad to see me” jokes.

Of course, this is a one-person DIY project, so don’t break out the checkbook just yet. It’s still great to see how far miniaturization technology has come since the late 1990s when the original Game Boy camera was launched. If the creator’s name sounds familiar, he also converted a standard Game Boy camera into a modern mirrorless version. A retro enthusiast certainly knows his stuff.