Using just a water drop for a lens wasn’t easy. Spa, the water company, got help from Hans Feil and Pieter van der Valk from the company Etulipa. They spend several weeks developing the camera (the whole project took over six months). I talked with Pieter and asked him how his camera works.
The liquid lens camera uses a fresh drop of Spa water on a small glass plate coated with teflon (1). The teflon coating allows the water to remain a nice spherical drop without spreading over the plate. By electrifying the plate the drop stretches. By varying the amount of current you can focus the image.
An industrial sensor (measuring 4 by 6 millimeter) with 18 megapixel was used to record the image (2). The image was recorded in colour, but the photographer choose to convert the photos to black and white in post.
A mirror (3) was used to bend the light coming from the front of the camera and send it trough the water drop and on to the sensor. The distance between the drop and the sensor was much smaller while taking the photo compared to the distance seen in the image above. The actual distance between drop and sensor was about 12 millimeter.
To prevent stray light from entering the camera a small plastic tube (4) was placed over the water drop.
We #celebratephotography here at Adafruit every Saturday. From photographers of all levels to projects you have made or those that inspire you to make, we’re on it! Got a tip? Well, send it in!
If you’re interested in making your own project and need some gear, we’ve got you covered. Be sure to check out our Raspberry Pi accessories and our DIY cameras.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
