Maximum PC camera RSS Feed

Sony Shows Off Primitive Surface Computer, Pats Self On Back

Ryan Whitwam — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:47:14 -0600

Color us a little confused by this one. Sony has been showing off a surface computer of sorts. The system was constructed with Atracsys and utilizes a camera to track the locations of your fingers, meaning you don’t have to physically touch anything. For some reason, it’s being shown off on a table top… that you touch.

Sony/ Atracsys also showed how the camera system can track facial movements and even calculate mood. The point seems to be that you could interact with a computer without actually touching it. This would be invaluable in an operating room, for example, where sterility must be maintained. Sort of like Natal on the Xbox, apparently. Despite what they’re saying the camera tracking is capable of, Sony is making it look like a glorified Microsoft Surface. Check out the story link above to see the demo video.

Scanner and Old Lens Used in DIY 130-Megapixel Camera

Andy Salisbury — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:26:02 -0500

While the concept of a scanner being reworked into a camera isn’t entirely new, someone creating one that can take photos at 130-megapixels is.

A yet unnamed Japanese man with some tech know-how was able to create this beastly camera by fusing a 1200 dpi Epson GT-S620 scanner and old Cannon FD 50mm lens together. He says that he chose this scanner because it has a CCD sensor, uses a camera-like lens and has LED lighting.

If you want to see photos taken by the camera, you can check out his Flickr stream here.

Image Credit: Spyuge

Flip MinoHD

Gordon Mah Ung — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:55:05 -0500

We’re big fans of Flip Video’s incredibly easy-to-use pocket-size video cameras, but it’s been difficult to wholeheartedly recommend them given the superior video capabilities of today’s point-and-shoot digicams.

Flip’s new MinoHD changes that. This svelte camera is the same size as the standard-def Mino (4”x2”x.06”) but can record an hour of H.264-encoded 1280x720 720p video. The quality of the video ranges from fair to good, with noticeable video compression occurring on occasion. The MinoHD puts digicams and other SD-resolution microcams to shame; however, it’s not the right choice for enthusiasts who put a premium on image quality. Footage shot with an HDV 1080i or even 720p cam will easily outclass the MinoHD.

But that’s not what the MinoHD is about. This camera is all about spontaneity—the ability to whip out a camera at a moment’s notice in order to capture HD video and share it. While larger-format cameras certainly produce better-quality video, they won’t satiate the needs of your inner voyeur. Want to grab video of your buddy falling down a flight of stairs and get it on the Internet ASAP? The MinoHD will record the event in all its HD glory, and you can upload and edit your mini masterpiece from any computer with an Internet connection.

Once you’ve shot your video, flip out the built-in USB port, plug it into a PC, and you can upload the video as fast as your Internet connection will allow. The built-in app even has rudimentary titling and trimming capabilities. There are a few downsides, however: The camera is in bad need of a stabilizer and the composite-out video is a disappointment, but these issues don’t outweigh the fun you’ll have with this camera.

Nikon D5000 DSLR Camera Records HD Video, Ships on Monday

Paul Lilly — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:40:04 -0500

We've known for some time that Nikon planned on releasing the D5000, a new entry-level DSLR, but it was only ten days ago that the company formerly introduced the newest model. Skip ahead and we now have a concrete release date, as Amazon lists the camera as shipping on Monday, April 27th.

Nikon's new DSLR comes with a 12.3-megapixel DX-format CMOS image sensor and articulating 2.7-inch vari-angle LCD display. Photographers can still view photos with the little LCD in its normal position, or it can be swung out to be rotated or tilted, opening the door to all kinds of contorted body positions when shooting images.

The D5000 also comes capable of recording HD movie clips in 720p. Recording video is somewhat new to DSLRs, starting with the D90 Nikon released back in August 2008. Other features include:

19 auto-exposure scene modes
One-button Live View
Continuous shooting up to 4fps
ISO sensitive from 200 to 3200
Built-in image sensor cleaning
In-camera Retouch image editing
Optional GPS geo-tagging

You can pre-order the D5000 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR kit lens now for $850 through Amazon.com.

Image Credit: Nikon

I Spy with My Little Necktie

Paul Lilly — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:30:30 -0500

Oh my, what wondrous (and perverted and unscrupulous and devious and all kinds of other nasty adjectives) possibilities suddenly open up when your necktie doubles as a video recorder, complete with a remote control! Ready for the best part? This thing actually exists!

Credit goes to Thanko for the spy tie, which conceals a video camera with 4GB of storage space. On a full charge, Thanko says you can expect about four hours of on-time, or about one hour of shooting before having to recharge, which takes about two hours. Videos are recorded as AVI files with a 352 x 288 resolution and can be transferred to your PC via USB. Oh, and Thanko warns not to try and wash the tie, at least not while the camera is inside.

We don't know that this one will ever make it to the U.S. market, but you can pick one up in Japan for ¥12,800, or about $128USD.

Trendnet TV-IP422W IP Camera

Michael Brown — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:30:51 -0500

Trendnet’s TV-IP422W wireless IP camera reminds us of the Zonet ZVC7630W camera we reviewed a few months back. Both cameras have night vision, both offer the same fuzzy video at VGA resolution (640x480), and both use the same unintuitive software. Trendet’s camera costs about $50 more, but it offers two important features that Zonet’s doesn’t: motorized pan and tilt.

The pan and tilt functions enable one camera to cover much more area, which can reduce the total number of cameras you need to deploy. The TV-IP422W can pan in a 330-degree arc, tilt up 90 degrees, and tilt down 15 degrees. Trendnet includes a kit that allows you to mount the camera to any vertical or horizontal surface, but you’ll need a weatherized enclosure if you decide to install the camera outdoors.

You can remotely control a single camera using Internet Explorer and an ActiveX control. Multi-camera management must be performed using the bundled SecurView software. Repositioning the camera’s focal point with this tool is a simple matter of clicking anywhere in the video window. You can also have the camera memorize up to eight positions, enabling you to quickly swing the lens around to focus on a specific spot. A “patrol” mode will automatically cycle the lens to each of its extreme once. Infrared LEDs encircling the lens delivers very effective night vision.

A built-in mic enables you to monitor what’s happening around the camera; plug a powered speaker into the line-level output and you have a functional intercom (in multi-camera configurations—the software supports up to 16—only one can record sound at a time).

The camera has a 100Mb/sec Ethernet interface, but it can also operate wirelessly over an 802.11g network; unfortunately, this will prevent you from operating your 802.11n network in N mode only. A motion detector can activate the recording of video sequences or snapshots; you can also schedule recordings. The software can send event-based email alerts (with still images attached), and a trigger output can be used to activate an external device, such as an alarm. There’s a USB 1.1 port for local storage or for uploading the settings the camera needs to connect to your Wi-Fi network.

You can access the cameras remotely, too (i.e., over the Internet or on a cell phone that supports the 3GPP specification), but if your broadband ISP uses dynamic IP addressing, as most do, you’ll need to sign up with a dynamic DNS hosting service (establishing a unique hostname for each) and configure your router for port forwarding to make this work. And then you’ll need to open a separate browser window to view each camera.

We really dig the Trendnet TV-IP422W’s pan/tilt and intercom features, but the bundled software is the same dreck that Zonet ships with its product. As we mentioned in our Zonet review, Logitech’s Wi-Life camera system has far superior software, particularly in the areas of remote management and multi-camera support; that’s the one reason we remain so enchanted with Wi-Life.

Polaroid to Resurrect the Old

Chris Moody — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:46:57 -0500

Just last February, we thought we saw the last of the famed Polaroid instant film, and the iconic instant camera. Those things introduced a generation to anonymous photo processing so you could take candid photos of family in embarrassing predicaments or those steamy photos of friends-with-benefits that were to soon become exfriends-with-drawbacks. Perverts everywhere looked back on Polaroid’s instant cameras with a sense of nostalgia.

Those old cameras just couldn’t complete with digital cameras and photo printers. The picture quality was terrible, it printed the picture no matter what (photos of the ground, foot, or fingers where common), and they were bulky. It was like having around a shoebox around your neck.

Still it seems there must be some section of the population that Polaroid thinks misses the ability for their camera to spit out actual photos. Wired reports that Polaroid is teaming up with UK magazine Amateur Photographer and will work out the details of a new Camera that will have a built in PoGo. MPC took a first look at the PoGo last month and was not very impressed. The only confirmed details are the size of the prints, the PoGo prints 2x3 photos where this new camera will print 4x3, the same size as the old analog cameras. No shaking required (not that the old ones really needed it either).

Do you need a camera that can spit out instant photos? Bad idea or good? Sound off below!

(Image Credit: flickr.com SqueakyMarmot)

The Computer Mouse Scrolling Towards Its Grave

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:14:46 -0500

Prentice believes that not a single technology but a collection of navigational technologies are gradually, over the course of 3 to 4 years, going to render the mouse obsolete. He believes that technologies like iPhone’s multi-touch screen and gesture-sensitive cameras are moving people from “the idea of the one- or two-button mouse.” Few reasons why the mouse might be soon reduced to a relic of yore:

The iPhone effect: The uncomplicated navigational interface of gadgets like the iPhone has spoilt us. All of a sudden the mouse seems to be a ponderous navigational device compared to highly responsive multi-touch screens. Microsoft has announced Windows 7, a Vista-based multi-touch compatible Microsoft OS. And after Windows 7 is released next year, the mouse’s demise might be hastened.

Gesture-sensitive cameras: Cameras that can not only fathom the slightest of movements but appropriately respond to them are going to hold sway in the future. In fact, Lenovo is already shipping PCs with facial recognition features. Also Toshiba’s new range of notebooks with the Cell-based SpursEngine chip is tailor-made for gesture-based navigation.

Cerebral Navigation: Even the most delicate of taps and gestures seem like a chore against the luxury of controlling a computer with one’s brain. A few brain control headsets for controlling games are in the works and might be soon available commercially. But if videogames can be controlled using brainwaves, so can be computers.

The mouse is certainly on its way out, however, it won’t all of a sudden vanish into thin air but slowly wither away. Having read this through, you are now free to recount all the wonderful moments that you have had with your soon-to-be-relic computer mouse.

Image Credit: Morgans Musings