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Imaging Wearables

Blincam spectacles snap pics with just a wink

The rise and tumultuous fall of Google Glass was a case study in dealing with a product that was too progressive for its time. Outside of the privacy concerns it generated, one of the more widely appreciated features was its ability to take pictures with a single tap of the finger, leading to more natural and candid shots of friends, family and other important moments.

The Blincam takes this feature and makes it central to what the product does. Designed as a super lightweight wearable that clips onto any pair of glasses, all it takes is a single wink for the Blincam to take a photo. Then, through a Bluetooth connection, it will send those photos to a paired smartphone for storage and sharing.

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Imaging

Snoppa M1 makes it easier to shoot video on smartphones

Gimbal stabilizers are among the most useful smartphone accessories for shooting video. After all, who wants to watch a video where the camera is shaking so much that it’s impossible to see what is happening?

Snoppa M1 is a connected three-axis gimbal for smartphones that eliminates camera shake with a vibration-free stabilizer system. It was created to allow any smartphone user to become a videographer without the need for luxury or professional camera equipment. Snoppa M1 features Bluetooth Low Energy and is controlled by the user’s smartphone.

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Imaging Smart Home

The SENS8 is aware of your abode so you don’t need to be

The internet of things is all about securing the home. Every week, some newfangled security system starts a crowdfunding run sometimes peddling new features, sometimes not. In the end, the urge to want to keep a family safe usually wins out despite lack of innovation.

Sometimes, innovation isn’t needed, but rather a solid design, slightly tweaked and offered at the right price. The SENS8 is that product: It’s an all-in-one solution designed to protect the home through its combination of high-quality 1080p-capable HD camera and set of sensors. Together with its motion detector and 95dB speaker and alarm, users are alerted to break-ins and other mischievous behavior with the constantly recording device coupled with a siren to deter intruders. Or, users can use the speaker to engage in two-way conversation.

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Connected Objects Imaging

Miops Mobile offers new ways to operate your camera from your phone

editors-choice-300x96Accessories that allow a photographer to access all the controls of their interchangeable lens camera from the palm of their hand have become increasingly popular.

Miops Mobile is a wireless camera remote that uses a smartphone’s capabilities to offer creative trigger modes including vibration, sound, motion, distance, and time-lapse. It connects to the shutter release port of the camera and communicates with a smartphone over Bluetooth. The app works with unspecified mobile operating systems.

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Cell Phone Accessories Imaging

Eye-Plug plugs into Android phones to shoot 3D video

Despite the increasing quality of smartphone cameras, one thing they don’t typically do is record in 3D.

Eye-Plug is a small plug-in device for Android smartphones that shoots 3D video. It features a rotatable head and is tiny enough to fit in one’s pocket. It works in conjunction with a companion Google app that allows users to easily edit images from one’s smartphone. Eye-Plug is also compatible with existing Google virtual reality viewers. It’s shipping now at $44.99 and is available from its maker’s website, http://www.weeview.co/.

There have been other devices that have done pretty much the same thing as Eye-Plug, including Vitrima for GoPro cameras and Bevel for iPhones. Eye-Plug’s focus on the huge Android smartphone market, combined with its small size and useful app helps it stand out from at least some rival products. But some consumers will no doubt prefer a device that would work with multiple types of cameras and smartphone operating systems.

 

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Connected Objects Imaging

Smove smartphone stabilizer lets you move while shooting video

Shooting video on smartphones can be tricky, largely because they tend to lack the same quality image stabilization capabilities as the best traditional standalone cameras. That’s if they even have any image stabilization functionality at all.

Smove is an intelligent smartphone stabilizer with a built-in charger and an Auto Face Follow feature that recognizes faces and automatically rotates to follow them. It supports all iPhones 5 through 7 Plus, and all Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

Smove ships in December at future pricing of $249. But Indiegogo backers have been able to order one for a pledge starting at $119 for early birds. Its makers are out to raise $20,000 by Oct. 26.

There have been many smartphone stabilizers before Smove, including Elephant Steady. But Smove stands out from the pack thanks in large part to extra features that include its ability to be used as a phone charger and Auto Face Follow. It also touts advanced features including automated 360-degree panorama shots.

 

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Connected Objects Imaging

Astro Core adds motion to your time-lapse videos

Motion control isn’t always so easy to achieve with cameras. Camera motion control accessories, after all, tend to be clunky and costly as well.

Astro Core is a motion control and time-lapse trigger for cameras that allows users to easily add motion to time-lapse videos. It can be programmed via an Android and iOS smartphone app using gestures. The Astro App can be used to record the user’s desired motion in mid-air, then send the recorded program to Astro Core and it will precisely mimic that person’s moves. It works with one Astro to create panning or tilting programs, or with two Astros to create simultaneous two-axis motion. It’s small enough to take anywhere, and runs on AA batteries.

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Aquatics Imaging

The Paralenz action camera is a breath of underwater air

The undersea wonders of the oceans house some incredible sights, which is why millions of scuba divers globally take the time to photograph, record and otherwise document their experiences in the deep blue. Unfortunately, clunky design and unimpressive depth tolerance have relegated the equipment now available to the not-quite-good-enough category.

A small team out of Delaware wants to change that. And with its Paralenz dedicated diving action camera, it has a very good chance of doing so. For one, the Paralenz looks like a creation born out of rapid prototyping principles: it oozes ruggedness with its tiny black anodized aluminum frame with a collection chunky and clicky magnetic switch buttons. This design is not only rugged and good looking but also practical, allowing the Paralenz to be used with any type of diving gloves. Another way the Paralenz was designed to be practical was through its attachments: it can be connected to any T-rail, an adapter can be used to attach it to other equipment, or a third-person viewer can float the Paralenz behind a diver sort of like an underwater drone for brand new underwater perspectives. 

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Imaging

Lomo’Instant Automat camera makes film creativity easy  

Automatic cameras have often provided photographers with convenience at the expense of creative shooting capabilities.

The Lomo’Instant Automat, however, is an instant camera that combines automatic settings with a wide variety of creative features. Aperture, shutter speed and flash output adjust automatically to make sure that the user’s shots are perfectly lit — foreground and background — in each and every shooting situation.

Users can take quick and easy snapshots or create surreal works of art with the camera, its makers say.  Bulb Mode, for example, lets users shoot long exposures of up to 30 seconds, and is ideal for low-light shooting.

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Connected Objects Imaging

Unleashed unleashes full potential of your camera via remote control

Placing all the controls of an interchangeable lens camera (ILC) into the palm of a user’s hand can make it much easier to get that perfect photo.

Unleashed is a small Bluetooth module that attaches to an ILC and offers full wireless remote control of it. The device is used in conjunction with an app for Android and iOS mobile devices. The app lets users change all the important camera settings, including aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance and exposure compensation. Unleashed automatically reconnects to the user’s smartphone using Bluetooth Low Energy, so there’s no need to reconfigure Wi-Fi settings each time it’s used.