Build a 400 Megapixel camera, cheap!

Yes, it’s true. A careful shopper can purchase the required components on Ebay for $200-300. All that is required are a large format camera, and a flatbed scanner. While not elegant, you’ll be able to shoot a raw image large enough for a high res mural or billboard.On top of that, a view camera has the ability to tilt and shift its perspective, giving you more ways to compose a picture than you’ve had with your point and shoot or SLR.

The concept if fairly simple, and variations of it have been done before. Take a flatbed scanner, build a box for it, find a lens, and create the modern day equivalent of a pin-hole camera. One photographer decided to take this in  a slightly different direction. Dan Newton combined a scanner he picked up on eBay with a 8×10 view camera that he had lying around. While there are still a few bugs in the set up, the results are pretty amazing. (Crunchgear)