If you have a digital SLR camera, it is easy to construct a pinhole lens that will allow you to try and experiment with pinhole photography.
http://www.dennisonbertram.com/hackmaster/2005/02/digital-pinhole-lens.htm
Build this telescope from any webcam and a telephoto lens that can read license plates from quite a distance.
http://www.dennisonbertram.com/hackmaster/2005/02/webcam-telescope.htm
Describes electronics for two reed switches which operate the camera zoom in and out. There is also a record on/off switch operated by solenoid. The whole projects has lot of information about making your own underwater video camera from a simple handycam.
http://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/personal/pdh/housing/index.html
based on PIC16F84
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help amateur astronomers who build their own CCD camera.
http://www.wvi.com/~rberry/cookbook/cookbook.htm
based on PIC12C509
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