Taking the internet phrase for a terrible quality image or video literally, Niko Pueringer, the founder and creative director or Corridor Crew, decided to create a “potato camera” to see whether potatoes really do take bad photos.
Corridor Crew is a small team of video creators who create “sci-fi, action, and video game-inspired YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX and movie-like cinematography.”
However, for one of their most recent videos, creative director and co-founder of Corridor Crew, Niko Pueringer decided to challenge the saying “potato camera” and tried taking it literally.
For those not in the know, this phrase is used on the internet to describe a low-quality video or image. If it’s terrible quality, it must have been shot on a potato camera. But, Pueringer wanted to find out whether potato cameras are getting a bad rap. He filmed his process and, as you can image, hilarity ensued.
He assures viewers that this is his first time making a camera from a potato. As difficult as it sounds, he adds that by using film, the processes become a little easier. To create the camera, Pueringer carved out a space inside of a potato for the film to sit in and then slapped a lens on the front. But, did it work? Check out the video to find out:
Overcoming Problems with the Potato Camera
Firstly, Pueringer took to the drawing board to find a few solutions to problems such as light exposure. As you might expect, potatoes definitely don’t do well at blocking light.
To conquer this problem, Pueringer came up with the solution of building “a little 3D printed chamber” for the film. He adds: “Time to do some 3D modeling, combining new technology with old – potatoes and PLA printers.”
After a successful proof-of-concept build to test out the mechanics of the potato, Pueringer moved on to some “real tests”. After his print was complete, he carved out the potato, fit the film chamber and slapped on the lens.
He tested out the lens on a real camera first to make sure the settings were right for the potato. If any light hit the film, it would ruin it completely. So, Pueringer loaded the film into the potato chamber in complete darkness.
To take a picture, Pueringer would simply remove the lens cap for the perfect amount of time and replace it before retreating into a darkroom to advance the film after the exposure.
After taking a lot of photos of the Corridor Crew team, Pueringer sent off the film which came back the next day. After reviewing the results, Pueringer concludes: “Our potato camera does exactly what we thought it would do, which is take crappy but still visible pictures. It kinda worked. We got these weird ghostly figures, which was exactly what I was hoping for.”
If you liked this video, you’ll be sure to enjoy more content from Corridor Crew. Check out their YouTube channel, Twitter and Instagram for more.
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License: The text of "Pro Photographers take “Potato Camera” Literally to Find Out if they Really Take Terrible Images" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.