Tag: Camera
Xiao Digital Camera – Polaroid for the 21st Century
I was having a discussion with my girlfriend the other day about Polaroid Camera. She’s a big fan, but I always thought they represented the worst of both worlds between analogue and digital. Still, some people adore them, and if you’re one of them, then this product, straight out of Japan from toy company Tomy, might excite you.
At its core, it’s essentially just a camera with a printer strapped on. That might not sound particularly impressive, but it replicates exactly what the old Polaroid cameras used to do. The camera is a five megapixel jobby, and has infrared so that mobile phones can send their pics to the camera for printing purposes.
Bottle Cap Tripod: an almost DIY solution for camera owners
Such a simple idea for those times when you’re stuck somewhere with your digital camera but no regular tripod: the Bottle Cap Tripod.
With a standard screw connector at one end, the other end fits any normal water bottle, turning it into an impromptu camera stand.
I wouldn’t feel particularly confident attaching anything much bigger than a light, compact camera to it, even if the bottle was filled with liquid, but it could solve some problems when you just have to get that steady shot…
One-eyed artist plans Borg-like installation of webcam into her spare eye socket
San Francisco-based artist Tanya Vlach lost an eye in a car accident in 2006 – now she’s planning to replace her standard-issue fake eye with a webcam. Preferably wireless – and with a 3x zoom. And infra-red support so she can see what she does in the dark.
Here’s what Tanya asked for in an advert she placed for a suitable technician for the job…
Become a renowned photography expert thanks to the Universal Photo Timer
The Universal Photo Timer definitely lives up to its universal tag. You can set it up to be triggered by motion, like the clever person who took that fancy droplet splosh photo to the left there did, by aiming the trigger sight at the area and letting it automatically take a photo when it senses movement.
Or, if you’re feeling arty AND dangerous, the thing can be set up to take photos via sound, so you may take pics of bullets going into watermelons if you’ve ever wondered what the insides of a watermelon look like. Or you can just have it take a shot when you tell it to, thanks to also having a simple wired remote…
Try getting your head around Fujitsu's wraparound car camera
I had to look at this photo a few times before I understood it, but it seems like Fujitsu’s managed to come up with a camera that gives you a 360° field of vision – all around your car. That way there’s less chance of you knocking into that bollard, or running over your neighbour’s cat.
The lazy man's birdwatching kit – stick a camera in a birdhouse
If you’re dead keen on nature, but you’re also dead keen on your sofa and not going out into the cold and rain, then you might be interested in this product from Cornish specialists HandyKam. It’s a Cedar birdhouse with an intergrated feeder, but also an integrated colour digital camera.
The birdhouse comes fully assembled – all you’ve got to do it put it up a tree, add the camera into the fake ceiling of the construct, and then wire it up with the 20m component cable provided. If that’s not quite long enough, then they’ll happily sell you 10m, 20m or even 50m more. Power is also supplied via this cable.
DSi sells 170,000 units in two days at Japan launch
A refreshed model of the Nintendo DS, featuring a camera and larger screen, has been selling well in Japan in its first couple of days on sale. More specifically, it has sold just over 170,000 units. That’s a decent amount for an only incrementally-changed version of a console that’s already owned by one in five members of the population – 23.6 million people.
Stores across the country were sold out, but iPhone-like queues weren’t seen because Nintendo didn’t really go for a media-friendly early-morning launch event. Many avoided queuing by reserving a unit beforehand and showing up later to pick it up. There’s no specific date for a western release of the DSi yet but, as previously reported, I’d be very surprised if it was later than next Spring.
Nintendo DSi (via PC World)
Related posts: New Nintendo DSi to hit the shelves in Spring ’09 | Nintendo DS to relaunch with a camera and MP3 player
Minox DigitalSpyCam – neither surreptitious, nor sneaky
Pictured to the right is the Minox DigitalSpyCam. It’s small, but that’s pretty much the only thing going in its favour. It’s just 3.2 megapixel, meaning that your phone can probably take better photos. It comes with a flash, but that’s even bigger than the camera, so although it’s still portable, it’s not exactly handy…
Shiny Video Review: LG KC910 Renoir
In the video above, Dan takes a butcher’s at LG KC910 Renoir, an eight megapixel cameraphone. It’s got blink detection (which completely fails to work when Dan tries it) and smile detection, demonstrated by a rather attractive, if a little grumpy, young man.
If you want one, keep your eyes peeled – it’ll be out later this month. Don’t expect to get it cheap, mind…
Related posts: Shiny Video Preview: LG Renoir KC910 | LG-KP500: UK’s most affordable touchscreen mobile handset coming October
Manfrotto intros professional grade tripods and remote control units for serious videographers
Here’s some gear that’s definitely targeted at serious videographers and photographers, given the price tag and niche status of the products.
First up at £19.95 (not too bad, you might think) is the Manfrotto 585 LNC Modosteady remote control. Thing is, it’s designed to be mounted on top of a Manfrotto Modosteady, a beast of a contraption that’s designed to steady attached video cameras the “hardware way” (forget those namby-pamby internal image stabilisers).
Should you be itching to get hold of such a device for your Sony or Canon camcorder, you’ll be pleased to know it’ll be available next month…
