Entries closed. Judging in progress. Winners announced soon.
Challenge closed

Capture
Challenge / 2026

A Thingiverse Challenge

Design 3D printable accessories and tools for photographers and filmmakers. Camera cages, hotshoe mounts, lens filter holders, tripod adapters, DIY sliders, diffusion frames. If it helps capture better work, and it can be printed, it belongs here.

Upload Design View Brief View Entries
23 Apr
Started
22 May
Deadline (5pm CEST)
$850
Total cash prizes
A Thingiverse Challenge

Your camera rig, your design, your rules.
Build something worth printing.

The brief

If it helps a photographer or filmmaker, it qualifies.

Calling all makers, photographers, cinematographers, and tinkerers. We're challenging the Thingiverse community to design 3D printable accessories and tools that support the art of image-making. Whether you shoot stills, video, or something in between, there's a rig, mount, or modifier waiting to be designed. Include at least one STL file and at least one photo of a completed print. Tag your upload with #CaptureChallenge so it appears in the challenge.

#CaptureChallenge
Challenge entries

Tagged #CaptureChallenge

Every Thing tagged #CaptureChallenge on Thingiverse appears here automatically. View all on Thingiverse

Upload Your Design

Tag your Thing with #CaptureChallenge and it appears here automatically.

No entries yet. Be the first.

Upload a Thing to Thingiverse and tag it #CaptureChallenge. It'll show up here automatically.

Upload your entry
How to enter

Four steps from idea to entry.

  1. 01
    Design it

    Create a 3D printable camera accessory: mounts, rigs, stabilizers, lens gear, sliders, studio tools. Must be your original design.

  2. 02
    Print & photograph

    Print your design and take at least one photo of the completed print. Show it in context if you can.

  3. 03
    Upload to Thingiverse

    Include at least one STL file and your print photos. Tag your Thing with #CaptureChallenge or it won't appear in the challenge.

  4. 04
    Win cash

    Judged on creativity, printability, usefulness and quality. Likes don't factor in. Submit before May 22, 2026.

The Prizes

Cash prizes for the best builds.

Cold, hard cash. Sponsored by Thingiverse. Plus a feature in The Build newsletter (75K makers).

02Runner-up

$250 Cash

  • $250 cash prize
  • Featured in The Build newsletter
  • Thingiverse homepage spotlight
01Grand Prize

$500 Cash

  • $500 cash prize
  • Featured in The Build newsletter
  • Thingiverse homepage hero banner
  • Dedicated blog post
Top pick
033rd Place

$100 Cash

  • $100 cash prize
  • Featured in The Build newsletter
  • Thingiverse homepage spotlight

All prizes sponsored by Thingiverse.

The calendar

Four weeks to design something worth shooting with.

  1. Phase 01 · April 23
    Challenge opens

    Brief, rules and tag go live. Start designing. Upload early, iterate in public.

  2. Phase 02 · May 22
    Entries close

    Deadline: 5:00 PM CEST. Your Thing must be tagged #CaptureChallenge and include STLs plus at least one print photo.

  3. Phase 03 · After deadline
    Judging & winners

    Panel review by Snappy and the Thingiverse team. Winners announced on the homepage and in The Build.

Judging criteria

What we're looking for.

Judged by Snappy and the Thingiverse team. Likes don't count. Here's what does.

Creativity

Originality of concept. Does this solve a real problem in a clever way? Does it make us think "why didn't this exist before?"

Printability

Can a regular maker print this at home? Good tolerances, sensible supports, documented settings. Practical over flashy.

Usefulness

Does it actually work? Would a photographer or filmmaker reach for this on a shoot? Function beats aesthetics.

Quality

Fit, finish, documentation. Clear photos, good STL files, assembly notes. The kind of Thing that other makers can reproduce.

The panel

Who's picking the winners.

A curated panel combining photography expertise with 3D printing know-how.

James Warner

Snappy on Thingiverse

Photographer using unusual old cameras and lenses. Prolific contributor of photography-related prints to the community.

Guest Judge

Thingiverse Team

Internal panel

Looking for Things that push the community forward. Bias toward practical, well-documented, remix-friendly designs.

Thingiverse
Dare to be Human

A challenge for people
who make things.

We're not interested in AI-generated mesh dumps. We want the kind of design that takes a weekend, a test print, and at least one trip back to the slicer. The kind you iterate on after someone asks, "will this fit an Arca-Swiss plate?" The kind that makes the next maker reach for their camera.

Thingiverse was built on human craft. This challenge is a vote for keeping it that way. No generated geometry. No plagiarised files. Just real designs, real builds, real makers.

The Thingiverse team
Thingiverse Capture Challenge

Build something worth shooting with.

Your camera rig, designed by you, printed by everyone. Ship a Thing worth capturing.

Tag your Thing with #CaptureChallenge so we can find it.

Upload your entry

FAQ

Any 3D printable accessory or tool designed for photographers or filmmakers. Camera cage rails, hotshoe accessories, lens filter holders, tripod adapters, monitor mounts, follow-focus knobs, DIY sliders, diffusion frames, stabilizers, cable management, studio tools. If it helps someone capture better images and it can be printed, it counts.

At least one STL file and at least one photo of a completed print. The design must be original. Tag your upload with #CaptureChallenge and make sure it complies with Thingiverse guidelines and Terms of Service.

May 22, 2026 at 5:00 PM CEST. Your Thing must be uploaded and tagged before then. Designs uploaded after January 1, 2026 are eligible.

By a panel including Snappy and the Thingiverse team. Judged on creativity, printability, usefulness and quality. Likes don't factor in. This is about the design, not the algorithm.

No. Thingiverse backs human creators. Your Thing can use CAD, scripting, parametric design, whatever tools you want. AI-generated mesh submissions don't qualify. Dare to be human.

Cash prizes sponsored by Thingiverse: $500 for 1st place, $250 for 2nd, $100 for 3rd. Winners also get featured in The Build newsletter (75K subscribers) and on the Thingiverse homepage.

You do. Standard Thingiverse licensing applies. Pick whatever Creative Commons variant you prefer when you upload. Entering the challenge does not transfer IP.