DECEMBER 2025 – A viewfinder camera made from LEGO® bricks under the Christmas tree in Unterhaching, Germany. Photo © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
Christmas 2025 is over, and now we’re heading full speed towards the new year.
However, I wanted to share this image with you – which was my personal highlight under the Christmas tree this year. It’s my gift from Petra: a brand new retro viewfinder camera! Wow!
Okay, it’s ‘just’ an official set of LEGO® bricks – order number 31147 – but it is awesome. The level of detail in this model is just stunning:
- The weight feels very realistic for a viewfinder camera
- The viewfinder actually works
- The lens can be turned (to pretend adjusting the focus)
- The back of the camera can be opened (to change the film)
- Comes with two “slide films” with three pictures each
- There is a moving swivel at the top (to ‘rewind’ the film when full)
- There is another swivel that can be pulled up (to enable ‘rewinding’ the film)
- The handle to advance the film can be moved softly
- There is a hot shoe for a retro flash (which is not included but can be found easily)
- You can turn this set also into a video camera or a media player (both instructions included) – or a medium format camera
Oh, and it looks terrific.
Dear Santa, THANK YOU!
P.S.: One may argue that a viewfinder camera would not have the look of a SLR camera, that the indents at the front (top left and top right) are not realistic, and that there is no built-in exposure meter, but hey, it’s a Christmas gift and we’re no bean counters, right? It is utter fun to build and “operate” the camera.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date & Time | 25-DEC-2025, 14:30 |
| Location | Unterhaching, Germany |
| Camera | Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (SM-G990B2) |
| Exposure | n/a |
| Digital Image Source Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 4000 x 2252 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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