MEMENTO: Build a Pocket-Sized Python Camera with the ESP32-S3
Ready to put your creativity in the frame? With the Adafruit MEMENTO board, you don’t just take photos—you make them.
MEMENTO is a pocket-sized, ESP32-S3-powered camera board that lets makers snap 5-megapixel photos, preview them on a vibrant TFT, and hack every pixel with beginner-friendly MicroPython and share them online.
Stick around and you’ll discover its core specs, three project ideas to spark your imagination, and the quickest places to grab a board today. Let’s dive in!
What Is the MEMENTO?
Think of MEMENTO as a high-tech club sandwich: two compact PCBs pressed together—camera, display, and sensors up top; power and brains beneath—giving you a fully portable, hack-ready camera that slips into a shirt pocket yet packs more I/O than some maker benches.
Spec-at-a-Glance
- Camera Sensor: 5 MP OV5640 with on-chip JPEG encoder, 72° FOV, auto-focus
- Preview Screen: 1.54″ 240 × 240 px IPS TFT
- Main MCU: Espressif ESP32-S3 — dual-core 240 MHz, 8 MB flash, 2 MB PSRAM, Wi-Fi + BLE
- Power: USB-C plus onboard Li-Po charger (battery not included)
Why This Board Rocks
- ESP32-S3 Muscle — dual-core 240 MHz, baked-in Wi-Fi & BLE, plus 2 MB PSRAM for buttery-smooth image buffers.
- Auto-Focus 5 MP OV5640 sensor with on-die JPEG encoder—no bit-twiddling required.
- 1.54″ 240 × 240 IPS TFT for live previews and slick UIs.
- Expansion Trifecta —STEMMA QT (I²C), dual A/D STEMMA ports, and UART breakout pads ready for sensors, LEDs, or debug cables.
- Maker Comforts —six clicky buttons, piezo buzzer, MEMS mic, LIS3DH accelerometer, USB-C connector, and on-board Li-Po charger for true portability.
- Open-Source Firmware —official CircuitPython libraries and Arduino examples get you snapping in minutes.
Why it matters: whether you’re teaching image processing, prototyping an IoT doorbell, or just hacking a retro point-&-shoot for fun, MEMENTO’s all-in-one design slashes boilerplate and lets you focus on the creative bits—perfect for classrooms, weekend builds, and rapid R&D.
Projects & Use-Cases
The best thing about MEMENTO? It’s a blank canvas waiting for your next weekend brain-wave. Below are four bite-sized builds that squeeze every pixel, packet, and button out of the board—perfect inspiration for classrooms, hackerspaces, or a rainy Sunday at the workbench.
Portable Retro-Style Camera
Load a lightweight snapshot script, pop in a FAT-formatted microSD, and start snapping 5 MP stills. Use the gallery demo to play an on-board slideshow—instant gratification! Want to blind your friends like it’s 1999? Clip a STEMMA ring-LED to the QT port for a DIY flash and full-face illumination.
IoT Bird-Watcher / Doorbell Cam
Pair MEMENTO with your Wi-Fi and stream JPEGs to an Adafruit IO dashboard. A PIR sensor can trigger shutters and optional MQTT push-alerts so you never miss a feathery visitor—or the postie. The Ruiz Brothers’ IoT Bird Feeder guide walks you through the full build.
FPV RC Vehicle
Mount the board on a micro-car, power it from the Li-Po header, and stream 320 × 240 video over UDP to a smartphone. Drop resolution and FPS to 15 fps for sub-200 ms latency, and keep the Wi-Fi antenna clear of metal chassis parts for the best range on outdoor tracks.
Wrapping Up
Whether you’re chasing bird-feeders in the garden or pixel-perfect sprites in a living-room game, MEMENTO lets you capture the moment—and hack it—on your own terms. Its ESP32-S3 heart, autofocus 5-megapixel eye and maker-friendly I/O mean you spend less time soldering and more time shooting, streaming, and shipping code. From first JPEG to full IoT build, the board grows with your skills, making it a rare gadget that teaches as much as it entertains. If you’ve ever wanted to see electronics, imaging, and Python play together in a pocket-sized chassis, this is your cue. So pick up a unit, point it at something awesome, and let your code turn snapshots into stories that only you could script—right now and everywhere.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does MEMENTO record video with sound?
Still images only; the onboard microphone is provided for basic sound-level sensing—not audio recording.
What’s the maximum microSD card size?
The board has been tested reliably with FAT-formatted cards up to 32 GB.
Can I program the board in Arduino?
Yes—there’s full support via ESP32-S3 cores—but compile times are longer. For rapid iteration, CircuitPython is recommended.
Residing on the south coast of England, Rich has spent the last few years building Electomaker.io from the ground up. He is usually found behind a laptop coordinating the rest of the EM team and occasionally finding time to contribute articles to the blog. When not tapping away at a laptop, he can be found either paddleboarding, at the beach, playing golf (badly), or camping with his family.
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