Walgreens PureDigital Camera Hacked

Powercntrl writes "While the Ritz version of the PureDigital single-use camera was recently hacked, the Walgreens version wasn't - until now. Codeman, the same guy who brought us the I-Opener hack, found a way to add a standard Smartmedia interface to the Walgreens camera and extract images with a standard Smartmedia reader. Links to sample images showing the camera's quality are included."

Comments

$10 for 1280x1024 pictures

[Brento]

The reason for getting excited is that you can get these for $10 each. Walgreens expects that you'll return them to get your pictures "processed", and then they'll turn around and sell the cameras again to somebody else.

$10 for a camera that shoots 1280x1024 plus has a flash certainly isn't bad - but then you're going to rack up the expense of a SmartMedia socket, soldering, the memory card, and optionally, your own soldered USB connection. Even if you figure $40-$50 worth of materials, it's not a bad deal, if you can settle for its washed-out colors.

Re:$10 for 1280x1024 pictures

[AvitarX]

Except that I have seen cameras of that quality for that price at target. No soldering required.

They even came with some chicken shit software.

Iopener

[kajoob]

Anybody wanna buy my hacked iopener that I don't use anymore so I can buy a bunch of these cameras?

Woo hoo!

[i_am_syco]

I needed a digital camera. Santa's going to be visiting a tad earlier this year. To tell you the truth, a reusable digital camera is just begging to be hacked. Why these companies are putting them out at all is beyond me, because the analog film quality is so much better.

Re:Woo hoo!

[garcia]

because 99% of the population isn't going to use them to hack. Who in their right mind is going to pay $10 to buy the camera and sit there soldering a USB cable to the inards to get the pictures off? Not a non-geek I can tell you that.

Re:Woo hoo!

[DrEldarion]

Yes, there really is no reason to have a reusable digital camera without an LCD screen. What's the point of even having it be digital if you have to get the pictures processed by the store anyway? Isn't the whole point of digital cameras that you can preview the pictures and that you DON'T have to get film processed? These cameras allow neither of those - they're pointless!

You can get film developed and put on a picture CD at a much higher quality than this. Why even bother having it be digital??

Re:Woo hoo!

[dasmegabyte]

Or for the same reason people use $9.99 35mm disposables: they are cheap to get in bulk, easy to have developed and are universally available. In exchange for this, you get embarassingly bad quality. You're not paying for a good camera, you're paying for developed pictures and convenience...with these, you're also getting a CD, which for your average mom & pop ebay team is a godsend.

But remember: this is a focus-free plastic lens on a 2 megapixel ccd and MAYBE 8 meg of ram, with a washed out flash and no way to recharge the batteries. Companies give better cameras than these away for promotions. If this is how you save money, I've got a good condition Mr. Microphone that's just perfect for use in your stereo system...

Of course, the purpose of a hack is not to save money. It's because it's fun to make stuff work in ways that were not intended. Otherwise, assholes like me wouldn't be installing leather seats in old Volkswagens or make Macintoshe SEs into wireless email stations...

Re:while it may be neat...

[dattaway]

Could a car manufacturer sue me for taking their cheapest car, installing third party leather seats, and pimping it out to the max? I would be circumventing their luxury line and bypassing all their dealer options and business model. Should I be considered... a criminal?

SuperComment

[SuperBanana]

Let me get it all out of the way for y'all, ok?

• What a waste of time
• What crappy images
• Don't they have some poor child in the third world they could be helping with their science project
• Good job destroying their business model, because everyone is going to run out and buy these because they're loaded with features
• FIRST/SECOND/THIRD POST
• The black helicopters from the Santa/Jesus Conspirary are out to get me and my alien friend, but if you happen to have a time travel S3-4QB, we'll be safe!(props to all the true wackjobs that end up -1. You guys are something special).
• SCO sucks.
• I for one welcome our new cheap crappy picture-taking overlords
• Slashdot editors suck, this is a dupe.
• Oh, I actually read the article now- ok, it's not a dupe. The slashdot editors still suck.

Did I miss anyone?

Re:SuperComment

[gooman]

Dude, turn in your membership...

You missed:
Microsoft!
RIAA
MPAA
and the potential Beowolf cluster (Imagine).

Film

[Anonymous Coward]

What's the point of digital without an LCD? None. For disposible, nothing beats film. If digital rentals are to take place, they should be in some sort of locked waterproof plastic case that must be torn up to get access to it... unless you have the Walgreen's key. Also, calling it a rental would be better - and charging a deposit fee to keep people from using them for this purpose.

Re:Film

[argent]

The point of "digital without an LCD" is to save money for Walgreens.

Over the long term, digital cameras are inherently cheaper than film cameras. A digital "disposable" may cost a little more than a film disposable initially, but the processing and refurbishing cost is negligable.

Think of it as a delaying tactic.

As time goes on and electronics get better and cheaper, the cost difference between a film and a digital camera of equivalent quality will end up favoring the digital. A film camera contains all kinds of mechanical devices that a digital camera doesn't need.

And this shift will start at the low end, where the optics aren't good enough to resolve images better than cheap digital hardware can replicate.

So, just as all cheap watches are electronic ("quartz" watches are basically an accurate timer driving a motor), all cheap cameras will soon be digital. The niche that all these expensive 24-hour automatic film processing labs are filling... processing the output of cheap cameras... will dry up as only professionals (who have their own darkrooms) and antiquarians and hobbyists (who either have their own darkrooms or will end up having to make them) keep using the increasingly expensive film.

So, they're trying things, looking for a new niche they can scratch open, and you know you should never scratch a niche.

Ooooh Chicken Shit software!

[twoslice]

They even came with some chicken shit software

I can hardly contain my excrement...

Re:Ooooh Chicken Shit software!

[Rick the Red]

Yeah, I bought one for my five-year-old, and guess what? It won't work without the chicken-shit software, which is too difficult for a five-year-old (and it doesn't really work right even for an adult). What I want is a sub-$100 camera that acts like a usb drive when my boy connects it to his PC (like my $250 camera does). Then he can drag-and-drop the pictures himself. He doesn't need a fancy LCD, just point-and-shoot plus flash. And no chicken-shit software needed.

Any cameras that meet these requirements?

Re:Quality?

[Anonymous Coward]

According to this, 2 megapixels.

Dude, it's a PARODY

[SuperBanana]

God, can't anyone take a damn joke? I hope you all get meta-moderated to hell.

Re:while it may be neat...

[penguinoid]

To my knowledge, there is no law that says you don't own a material object that you bought. Like you're allowed to destroy the things you buy, no? But don't trust me, I'm not very well informed about laws.

an actual good reason for this

[CRCates]

The real benefit on these cameras (after they're hacked) is that you can use them where you wouldn't want to risk your $100-500 camera.
For example, most people don't want the expense of having to risk a high-end digital camera for underwater (SCUBA, snorkel) shots. The Ritz camera (when hacked to interface with USB) is a great camera for use in a shallow-depth enclosure (because it has a flash) and you don't care if it's destroyed because $10 is a mere fraction of the cost of diving (it might be less expensive than the compressed AIR you're breathing while doing it).
Also, think about skiers or other extreme sports people what kick the living crap out of their gear. This makes a digital (albeit crappy) camera something that you can actually use with reckless abandon and not feel so bad when after the Nth time you fall on your *ass after a bad trip down the moguls it finally gives up. (you just hope that it lasts you a couple of trips).
Granted it's crappy but, again, a niche use is still a good use.

ok.. finally got the text from the /.ed site!

[Anonymous Coward]

codeman:

ok i did some hacking on the walgreess version and here's what i have done..
first thanks to zonyl for getting me some cameras to mess with..

ok if you look at http://www.linux-hacker.net/html/gallery/website/p d_board_hr_back_mod
you will see there is a daughter board on there with the nand flash for picture storage ..
if you remove that board you can add a smartmedia socket and using smartmedia card you will
be able to get the pics with a smartmedia reader standard jpg's but it will not do more that
25 pics still (think its using fat12)..

also there is a serial port there labeled rs232 it a ttl level serial port ..
pin 1 rx []square on board
pin 2 tx
pin 3 gnd
pin 4 data out ?? for lcd ?? video ??

if you hook up a max232 type chip to the board and a pc , in a term program hit
space bar and the camera will return a 0x01 hex (looks like it does autobaud rate)
and if you hit the - key twice it will trigger the flash and count the remaining
counter down but does not write to flash .
and if you send a 029 dec (hold alt and type 029 on keypad then release alt) if will
change the format of the data coming out on pin 4..( dont know yet )

so far thats all i got in one night ..

codeman

here are some pic to get a better idea of how it works
daughter card removed
http://www.linux-hacker.net/html/gallery/ website/r es44442
smartmedia socket added
http://www.linux-hacker.net/html/gallery/we bsite/r es44441
here it is complete.
http://www.linux-hacker.net/html/galler y/website/r es44443
another one
http://www.linux-hacker.net/html/gallery/webs ite/r es44445

there is a door for the smartmedia card

codeman

you missed...

[iamplupp]

..."slashdotted already. they must be hosting it on a hacked camera"

Re:while it may be neat...

[chrysrobyn]

Let's suppose someone decided to turn around and sue you or something for manipulating their product

I see your point. However, if you actually buy the product, it's not illegal. If you're merely licensing the product, then you're altering someone else's equipment. Alternatively, perhaps the author of the HOWTO could be prosecuted for advocating destruction of property.

To use your analogy, I'm in trouble if I pimp out a Hertz rental car and then fail to return it. If I buy a Kia, however, and then put in BMW accessories that I purchased, neither Kia nor BMW will care (although some BMW employees may get heartache).

Image Mirror

[Cryoabyss]

I was only able to get a the picture of the hack. It looks promising so I'm heading to Walgreens to pick one up for use as a digital camera back in my 35mm SLR.

http://ice.syne.net:88/sd/sm_hack.jpg

Screw the camera

[AndroidCat]

For $10, it would be nice if this could be used as a general purpose USB interface for other projects. (I'd RTFA, but it's pining for the fjords.)

MIRROR!

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's a mirror of the posting, courtesy of Worm Quartet

If you hack it, virtually free photos

[enosys]

If you don't hack it and just use it as a disposable, I agree, there isn't much of a benefit from it being digital. Sure, you can delete the last photo but that's not that big of a deal. I'd be more concerned about the image quality disadvantages.

However, once you have a hacked camera it's a different story. Because it's digital you can take virtually free photos. The batteries in the Ritz version lasted me for about 300 photos and they're just standard AA, easy to change. Sure, it would be better if it had a picture display LCD but it's not like the lack of it makes the camera useless.

BTW I've read that a slightly more expensive version with an LCD is coming out in 2004.

Re:If you hack it, virtually free photos

[gmhowell]

I'd be more concerned about the image quality disadvantages.

Yeah, because, let's face it, when I'm shopping for a $10 camera, image quality is way up there on my list. Heck, quality is why I have my prints done by Walgreens in the first place!

Sub $100 digital camera/USB drive

[Fuyu]

I've seen at Best Buy (and I just recently read a review about it, but I don't remember the site) a 64MB MP3 player/1.3 MP digital camera that plugs right into a USB port that sells for $99. It's white and orange.

Re:A much better alternative

[timmytoo]

What do you do when one of your drunk guests breaks it or your uncle Fred decides to take that nice Canon A60 home after the wedding? I'll stick with the $5 disposable film camera.