If you are missing the good old time where decent cameras shot from the waist, or if you just wanna shoot from the waist like they do in all the big fashion productions of the 80’s, then this is a tutorial for you.

The idea spans around taking a Canon powershot N (or a similar camera with a tilting screen) and adding a rectangular piece of wood (8x6x5.5cm) changing the camera into a Rolleiflex lookalike.

The idea is described in the schema below:

Then you add the LCD hood:

Here are some tips and pointers on building this beauty.

This diagram roughly shows the concept of the build:

Tips on building  the wooden body part

The camera body on the inside isn’t completely flat:

• Make room for the battery compartment

There are two covers which need to be opened from time to time

• Make room for opening the cover of the micro SD -card
• Make room for opening the cover of the USB-port /power adapter

To actually enjoy holding the new wooden body part of the camera you’ll have to round the edges. For this I used a router

Tips on Strap and Mounting

New strap holes should be added. The center of gravity is changed by the added weight, so the original strap holes are now in the wrong place. We can use them, though to fix the camera to the new body

Before fixing the camera to the wooden body, make sure it fits snugly on the wood and that you have left spaces for the SD card, USB port and battery compartment.

The last step is fixing the camera to the wooden cube. You can do this by adding approximately 7cm of double adhesive tape between the underside of the LCD screen and the wooden body.

For further fixation use a small piece of rope from the “old” camera strap hole to the new screw with hole.

Attach the LCD hood on the top and you are done.

There you have it. Done right, you should end up with something like this: