reFrame is an experimental camera with a color ePaper display. Designed to capture and display one photo at a time, making every frame deliberate and memorable.
reFrame's ePaper display has six pigments, so photos are dithered before they display on the screen.
The dithered photos look somewhere between a newspaper halftone and an old video game. The processing is part of the fun: you watch the colors come in one by one, like a digital polaroid.
After you press the shutter, each photo takes 15 seconds to fully appear. The display uses electrical charges to physically move ink particles into place.
With ePaper, the photo on screen stays there even after powering off. The only way to clear the screen is to take a new photo.
When not in use, reFrame doubles as a desk photo frame. Your last photo stays on screen, and the processing gives each image a unique, almost print-like quality.
With the help of APOSSIBLE, we sent the camera to four professional photographers around the world.
Stories in Ink
Build your own reFrame
reFrame's hardware and software are open source. The camera uses only off-the-shelf components, so you can build one yourself. Everything you need is on GitHub.
Frequently asked questions
who's making this?
reFrame is a passion project by Kaloyan Kolev and friends.
can i buy one?
not yet! the current version of reFrame was designed as an open source project, so you can build your own following the guide on GitHub. i hope to start taking individual orders in the near future.
what's inside?
a Raspberry Pi Zero, Pi Camera 3, 4" eInk Spectra 6 color display and a battery.
do the photos get saved?
yes! the photos you take with reFrame are saved digitally. While the ePaper display remains the primary way to experience each shot, you can also download both the original and dithered versions of each photo using a web dashboard.
