What Can You Do With a Broken Camera?

Last year I noticed these mini garden rock lights for sale at the Dollar Tree.

The lights are solar powered, and when you cover the solar panel the light comes on.

I didn't have any real use for one, so I bought three. And for the last six months they have been sitting on a shelf in our basement.

Last week I bought this used camera for a couple of bucks. We've got a few rolls of 135 mm film in our junk drawer, and I thought it would be fun for Charlotte and I to shoot some pictures together. Maybe she could learn a bit about photography without putting Mom's good digital camera in jeopardy.

Unfortunately, the Vivitar Onki 89 doesn't work. The motor won't turn the sprockets. I threw the camera in the garbage in disgust, and then five minutes later I took it back out... like I always do.

But why? What can you do with a broken camera?

Here's my thought process in these situations: this isn't broken, this is an opportunity. A camera that works has only one function: it takes pictures. A nonworking camera cannot take pictures, so it's free to become something else. There aren't any rules about what it can be, and since it's already damaged, there isn't any risk.

But again, what can you do with a broken camera?

I didn't have an idea yet, so I took the camera downstairs to watch TV with me. After a couple of nights of watching Rocky movies (Rocky 3, and Rocky 4 are fun, but for my money Rocky, Rocky 2, and Rocky Balboa make for a great trilogy), I remembered those little garden rocks. With a utility knife and a little encouragement, one quickly came apart.

The LED slid out of the front reflecting cone. Then the solar panel, circuit board and light could be lifted straight out of the rock in one piece.

I think one could go into the other.

 Time to break out the Dremel.

The hole is a bit crude, but I was hoping the solar panel would cover my poor cutting skills.

Not too shabby.

I chose a drill bit that was slightly smaller in diameter than the LED, and I drilled a hole in the shutter. On the right you can see the plastic I removed to make room for the light's circuit board.

Because the LED is a bit larger than the hole, the fit is snug and feels solid.

I got lucky with the wire length. I didn't need to do any soldering.

 But does it work? You bet!

Sometimes you can turn trash into whimsy.

As soon as I get the fit finalized, I'll hot glue the pieces in place and give the camera to my daughter. The idea is that the camera can sit quietly on her window's sill charging itself all day, and then for an hour or so at night it can come alive as a nightlight. To quote my buddy Tim, "That's a perfect bulb for a nightlight. It's not too bright and actually, the light is pretty soothing." If the light does get too bright, then I can partially close the lens cover.

So, I didn't get to teach Charlotte about photography this week. Instead, I'll get to show her how renewable energy works, and how much fun it is to repurpose broken materials.

What can you do with a broken camera? Quite a bit, actually.