I am not a patient person so while waiting for metal rods and plate to arrive I printed the parts in PLA for a dry fit of this first prototype. Other than a few minor tweaks to the Pi bracket and battery holder, it went as well as I expected.

The blue panel on the front has just a Pi cam v2 while I wait for a better sensor and lens module to arrive. The white shutter button was just something I had in stock, I'm looking into buying or making a better feeling button.

And here's the topless case with the display rotated out, vlogger style.

Here's the naked innards. Since this is a dry fit, everything is friction fit or carpet taped in place. :-)

I started designing the PCBs that will fit into the rear and top of the grip (the part with the shutter button) where there are currently open holes. Though the display in this fit up has touch sensing, I don't really care for touch UIs so I want the input hardware to be the main way I interact with the camera.

There's a lot still to do but I'm happy to reach this initial milestone so I can hold the little machine in my hands instead of just looking at it in FreeCAD and KiCAD.