Five Of The Smallest Cameras Ever Made
First used by those who could afford them, and originally far less portable or convenient, the camera has certainly taken a dramatic turn in the 20th century. Indeed, the modern camera has had a makeover to become more compact, sleek and affordable for most.
While the following items on this list are less useful than the average smartphone camera for the everyday person, they are worth a mention for being some of the smallest cameras ever made.
1. The smallest polaroid camera
The Polaroid Pop Shots was one of the first instant cameras sold commercially. It was 16.51cm x 10.79cm x 6.3cm and weighed only 255 grams. It was sold commercially in 1999 and came preloaded with 10 exposures, as well as coming with a prepaid envelope to post it back to the manufacturer to be recycled ethically.
The pictures it created were full colour photographs and once the images were printed, customers also receive a voucher with which to buy another instant polaroid camera.
2. The ‘Black Widow’ Spy Plane
The same size as a standard pencil, the AeroVironment spy plane was equipped with a tiny colour video camera which weighed an incredible 2 grams.
The plane was built for aerial reconnaissance by the US defence force to help support ground troops and had a wingspan of just over 15cm, while the whole plane weighed 80g due to being made from polystyrene foam with a battery powered electric motor.
3. Chobi Cam One
Fitting on the tip of a finger, the Chobi Cam One was released in 2011 and is the smallest DSLR camera ever made. It had a battery life average of 30 minutes and could capture 2-megapixel images at a resolution of 1600 x 1200.
Despite it’s small size, it came with an original price tag of $100, but did come with a 2GB microSD card of built in internal memory, with a USB port which could transfer the images onto a computer. Not only good for images, but the camera could also take a reasonable video at 30 frames per second, and had optional interchangeable lenses.
4. DelFly Micro
An official Guinness Book of Records winner, the DelfFly Micro was created in 2008 by researchers at the university of Delft, in the Netherlands. It was created in the shape of a dragonfly and was a prototype camera drone that was built to be the smallest flying ornithopter. It weighed only 3 grams, while its wingspan was only 10cm.
The tiny camera weighed only 0.4g and was able to transmit videos to the controller who operated it. Along with its small size, one of it’s main drawbacks was that it could only be kept aloft for 3 minutes.
5. SKEYE Nano 2 Camera Drone
Fitting into the palm of your hand, the little orange and white drone known as the SKEYE Nano 2 is a commercially available camera that comes with a powerful HD package. Like when you buy Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, it’s an investment.
Able to stream video directly to the operators smartphone, the drone is lightweight and incredibly compact, being only 4cm big and weighing only 17grams. It can auto take off, hover, and even comes with in-built LEDs for night flying fans.