diff --git a/src/viser/_scene_api.py b/src/viser/_scene_api.py
index e9304c556..a8a09ad11 100644
--- a/src/viser/_scene_api.py
+++ b/src/viser/_scene_api.py
@@ -100,6 +100,12 @@ def _encode_image_binary(
     return media_type, binary
 
 
+def _decode_image_binary(binary: bytes) -> np.ndarray:
+    with io.BytesIO(binary) as buf:
+        image = iio.imread(buf)
+    return image
+
+
 TVector = TypeVar("TVector", bound=tuple)
 
 
diff --git a/src/viser/_scene_handles.py b/src/viser/_scene_handles.py
index 26566d15f..6c057cc7e 100644
--- a/src/viser/_scene_handles.py
+++ b/src/viser/_scene_handles.py
@@ -361,6 +361,11 @@ class CameraFrustumHandle(
     @property
     def image(self) -> np.ndarray | None:
         """Current content of the image. Synchronized automatically when assigned."""
+        if self._image is None and self._image_data is not None:
+            from ._scene_api import _decode_image_binary
+
+            self._image = _decode_image_binary(self._image_data)
+
         return self._image
 
     @image.setter