Makers are trying to make the digital camera much like the personal computer, something to tinker and custom build with parts taken from here or there to get just the right combination for the kind of pictures you want to take. But will it fly?

MakeZine Blog has a story about the Frankencamera, and open source camera project which gleans parts from everything from a Nokia n95 Cellphone sensor to a Canon EF autofocus Lens. The basic idea being to create a camera which can be updated according to the needs at the time with custom programs that would take advantage of shooting conditions or a desired special effect.

Frankencam uses an ARM development board running Linux on a chip and a small 3 inch LCD screen. The Canon lenses, obviously not native, are compensated for by a series of actuators which gives the onboard software full autofocus, shutter speed and f stop control.

Frankencam was invented byStanford computer science and electrical engineering professor Marc Levoy and Stanford grad Andrew Adams who hopes to release a kit sometime next year for enthusiasts to build and update. The downside? It’s freaking huge. Here’s hoping the production model will be smaller and lighter for practical purposes of success.

Photo Credit – Technabob