There are a lot of digital cameras on the market, but not many of them have been designed for one specific use, like taking photos of stars in the sky, for example.
Tiny1 is a compact camera with patent-pending noise reduction technology that has been designed for astronomy. It helps users plan, capture and share stars from the palms of their hands. Tiny1’s interactive star map is a unique interface using augmented reality to help users easily locate and shoot celestial objects. It shows users the stars and constellations in real time and there is a search function built in to guide them.
Tiny1 works in conjunction with an Android app. The camera can be paired with a smartphone to easily share pictures via Wi-Fi. Tiny1 can also be controlled using Wi-Fi to reduce camera shake. Any lens available can be attached to the Tiny1 easily, including interchangeable camera lenses and telescope lenses, according to its makers Tiny1 ships in December at about $700. But early bird Indiegogo backers have been able to get one for a pledge starting at $349. Its makers are out to raise $100,000 by July 7.
Tiny1: The world’s first astrophotography camera made to be small, smart and sociable from TinyMOS on Vimeo.
There is clearly a niche market for such a camera. Although it was designed for shooting the stars at night, it can also be used for daytime shooting and non-astronomy-related photos. Tiny1 also shoots video. But its 4-megapixel resolution is hardly enough to compete against most smartphone cameras today, let alone a good interchangeable lens camera.