i've had an idea for a camera that posts to a channel for a while. this morning, @networkp dm'ed me with the same idea so i wanted to share some notes/thoughts i had on the subject in a public manner for fun.

the camera should be simple, relatively cheap to produce, and straightforward enough to get a crude MVP off the ground quickly. the goal is to create a small, lightweight archiving companion that functions like a point and shoot and uploads to a chosen channel as soon as it connects to its "home" network.

after some research and with the help of claude, gemini, and chat I narrowed down a minimal set of materials:

1. ESP32-S3 (N16R8) → mcu
2. OV2640 (M12 Mount) → camera sensor
3. M12 Wide Angle (120°) → lens
4. TP4056 + 1000mAh LiPo → power
5. MicroSD Card Breakout → storage
6. Tactile Button + RGB LED → UI

the camera will store some info about the user, the wifi information (to connect to a network), and raw jpeg bytes. upon connecting to the host network, the camera communicates with a "proxy" server that handles:

1. validation
2. image hashing and uploads
3. creating, hashing, and submitting messages to the protocol

would you use it?