The Bubo has a hotshoe mount with LED lights, with four tripod mounts. It has a standard 37mm lens that is threaded so you can put other lenses on it, besides the one that the Bubo already comes with. I believe that it also comes with a front-facing microphone.

So what are we looking at, some new way that video bloggers can gain better video footage? I certainly hope so.

By the way, I think I know why they call it the Bubo. Anyone remember the 1981 Ray Harryhausen Greek myth film Clash of the Titans? Yes, Bubo was the name of the mechanical owl that Athena gave to Perseus to aid him on his quest. I guess someone wanted an R2D2 character in their classical Greek movie adaptation.

Anyway, this OWLE has been on quite a quest since its first concept drawing, and the designers won some award for iFund’s “Most Promising Startup”. The Bubo will be available for pre-order tomorrow for $99.95.

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For those who are not familiar with the Eye-Fi line, this is a memory card that allows the user to upload photos to their computer without any USB cable. You might be wondering how that is possible, and, truth be told, so am I. I can’t deny that it works, though. After a quick setup with my computer, I was able to view photos from my camera on my browser screen like magic. Of course, the user to be very specific about where the photos are to be sent, or it is very easy to wake up to find photos from your Eye-Fi floating all around your computer where you cannot retrieve them.

As for the video function, I found that it took quite a while to upload video footage. Not only that, it had to do this operation uninterrupted. That means if you have a video camera with the Eye-Fi Explore Video, then you better make certain you can leave it on for extended periods of time. Because if the battery runs out while the video is wirelessly downloading to your computer, then you have to do it again.

I also found the software to be a little invasive. When I started my computer, Eye-Fi kept trying to download videos that I didn’t want, and I had to end the program manually or my computer wouldn’t run properly. Perhaps I shouldn’t have set it up for automatic downloads.

In short, you will get your automatic downloads of videos and photos, but with great power, comes great responsibility of upkeep. Fortunately, it doesn’t come at too high of a price of $99 which includes 4GB of memory, unlimited Geotagging, and one year of free Hotspot Access. You can purchase the Explore Video here.

This is a printer that is set up to postcards, and that looks like all it can print. I have to admit that it has been a while since I have sent a postcard, but they are still popular in Japan, so I’m told.

The Epson Address Expert series come in two forms: the E-800 and E-600. Each of them have a 7-inch LCD display with 5760 x 1440 dpi resolution, and are PC and Mac compatible. The E-800 includes a wireless keyboard so you can compose your well-wishing messages.

I wouldn’t mind having one of these myself, because I think I should start a new habit of sending postcards to people. I guess in the age of email, nobody really uses them when you can just send a JPG. That, or post pictures of your vacation on your blog.

Yeah, we’ve just about phased postcards out of our technological online society. Perhaps this is why we should bring them back, they would be so old that they would be new.

Unfortunately, I have no word of availability or price, but I am guessing it will probably be released only in Japan.

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The Battery Wizard promises it can recharge even disposable batteries.

Although initially more expensive, the advantage of rechargeable batteries has always been that they cut down on buying more batteries and they cut down on depleted batteries clogging our landfills. And as anyone who has tried it can testify, trying to recharge a disposable battery usually ends up in a chemical spewing explosion. But the Battery Wizard claims it has overcome all those obstacles.

The Battery Wizard claims that in addition to rechargable batteries, it can recharge standard alkaline, NiCad and NiMH disposable batteries up to 10 times so long as they aren’t completely depleted. There’s really not much that can be done with a dead battery, but with its trickle charge set up, the Wizard can easily “top off” existing disposable batteries up to 10 times before tossing them in the landfill. And with it’s automatic cut off function, the batteries top off and shut down so that they don’t’ overheat and explode.

The result is obvious … fewer batteries bought, fewer batteries disposed of, fewer batteries in our landfill. And without the initial cost of a rechargeable battery, could it be that the best of both worlds has finally arrived?

$50 US from Gizoo UK

Hat Tip – The Ferret

Justin Lee and Oliver Yeh didn’t have Dennis Tito’s $20 million dollars to go into orbit, but what they did have was a weather balloon, a styrofoam cooler, hand warmers, a GPS enabled phone, and a Canon A470 point and shoot camera.

They cut a hole in the bottom of the cooler, and positioned the camera inside. They put the hand warmers and GPS-enabled phone inside, so it would not freeze in the upper atmosphere. They tied the contraption to their weather balloon, and the rest is DIY history.

Their device made it up to 93,000 feet, which technically isn’t space, but Project Icarus was high enough to shoot breathtakingly high photos. All of it was done at a relatively low budget of $148.

I will have to salute these two students for their DIY spirit. It reminds me of the Chinese man who built his own helicopter. I like stories like this because they remind us that our dreams can come true with a little technology and a lot of ingenuity.

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The JOBO GPS data logger goes right where it belongs, on your camera.

Most photo gps data loggers sit in your pocket. But the JOBO photoGPS fits right where it should – on top of your camera, thanks to your hot shoe. And like all other GPS data loggers, it logs it’s GPS location every few seconds. Then, after a days photography, the included software marries the JOBOs GPS data with the EXIF photo data of each picture.

And like others, the JOBO servers download map locations and geotags the photos according to country, region city and post code. It’ll even show nearby points of interest such as theaters, sports stadiums, park, etc. And hard core nav fans will enjoy the optional latitude and longitude coordinates to boot.

The JOBO is accurate to within a standard 30 feet and is powered by a rechargable lithium polymer battery. Charging done by USB, so be certain that you disable any power saving features of the OS which will cut off power to USB in order to save it.

The JOBO works with any digital camera, even point and shoots – and although it’s designed to fit on a hot shoe, it can also work in your shirt pocket. Cost is around $160.

Hat Tip – GizMag

The world's first open source camera?

Makers are trying to make the digital camera much like the personal computer, something to tinker and custom build with parts taken from here or there to get just the right combination for the kind of pictures you want to take. But will it fly?

MakeZine Blog has a story about the Frankencamera, and open source camera project which gleans parts from everything from a Nokia n95 Cellphone sensor to a Canon EF autofocus Lens. The basic idea being to create a camera which can be updated according to the needs at the time with custom programs that would take advantage of shooting conditions or a desired special effect.

Frankencam uses an ARM development board running Linux on a chip and a small 3 inch LCD screen. The Canon lenses, obviously not native, are compensated for by a series of actuators which gives the onboard software full autofocus, shutter speed and f stop control.

Look at the size of that thing!

Frankencam was invented byStanford computer science and electrical engineering professor Marc Levoy and Stanford grad Andrew Adams who hopes to release a kit sometime next year for enthusiasts to build and update. The downside? It’s freaking huge. Here’s hoping the production model will be smaller and lighter for practical purposes of success.

Photo Credit – Technabob

Camera companies have been responding to this consumer needs with supposed “YouTube” ready features, but this is not enough. Social media addicts are demanding that their pictures be uploaded to their Facebook and MySpace sites through the camera itself.

This was the subject of a presentation by Cerevo at the CNET Japan Innovation Conference 2009. The company Cerevo plans to release the CerevoCam, a camera with Wi-Fi and 3G, designed so that photos can be easily put on their photo sharing site known as CerevoLife.

It promises to be so good that a consumer could take pictures late at night, then wirelessly transfer them to the Internet. By the time he or she logs onto the Internet in the morning, his or her photos will be on CerevoLife. There is room for about 5GB worth of free space, which is good for 4,000 pictures.

The user can also share pictures on Flickr, Twitter, Picasa, as well as other services. The CerevoCam plans to launch in a few months for about $210, but could launch earlier if things are going well.

Personally, I hope Cerevo perfects their process, and it is imitated by other camera companies. Anything that can relieve me of the USB cable to my computer is always welcome.

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The Eye Ball R1 can give troops a better view of enemy positions with a simple toss.

There’s a great scene in the Cartoon Network original Star Wars Clone Wars series where Arc Troopers, pinned down and badly needing a fresher perspective, take a spherical probe droid camera and toss it high in the air. The camera gives the troopers a birds eye view of the entire city around them, spotting enemy positions and giving them great advantage when attacking. Well, someone must be a Star Wars geek because Uncle Sam and Remington Technologies have created the Eye Ball R1 Throwable Camera System.

It can’t float high in the year, yet, but this compact, lightweight, spherical camera is designed for high risk tactical situations for military and law enforcement to get a vital viewpoint of what’s going on where they can’t see.

The completely Eye Ball R1 System

Once deployed by a good, strong toss, the Eye Ball R1 can capture video up to 25 yards away and broadcast it wirelessly to their position to a personal display unit (PDU) at up to 200 yards from where it lands. Audio can also be broadcast as well. The PDU can view two Eye Ball R1s at the same time and in full color to it’s 6 1/2″ LCD screen.

In close quarters, the Eye Ball could save lives by seeing around corners.

And what else is cool, is that the Eye Ball is omni directional, rotating at 4 revolutions per minute to identify any potential targets and provide up to a 55 by 41 degree field of view. And if the camera lands upside down, the camera image can be flipped by the operator.

The Eye Ball R1 can operate for a maximum of 2 hours, while the PDU can run for 3 hours. But expect that to increase as the technology matures. And only Arc Troopers know if it’ll every fly.

Hat Tip – Defense Review

The Canon G11 sports a 5x optical zoom that's 2 stops faster than the G10.

Canon has announced the latest in the “G” series, the Powershot G11, which sports a larger, 5x zoom len (28-140mm 35mm equivalent) which is 2 stops faster, a 10MP CCD (backing down from 14MP in the G10) with better low light performance thanks to an upgraded anti-noise sytem, and a 2.8 inch viable angle color LCD. Can we call it the bionic cam?

In addition to an upgraded CCD and faster, longer zoom lens, the G11 has all the typical features expected from the G series including RAW support, full manual options, mode dials for exposure compensation and ISO adjustment, and the ability to use an external Speedlight flash or underwater housing.

The Canon G11 sports a new viable angle LCD screen.

The G9 was a popular backup camera for professionals looking for a shirt pocket option where a full DSLR rig was either impractical or unexpected. The G11 gives them faster exposure options, and while the larger vari angle LCD gives great room, Canon still managed to hang onto the classic viewfinder for those who enjoy shooting “old school.” And with the noise limiting technology and faster lens, Canon shows it can think outside the box when it comes to increasing megapixel capacity, but without allowing noise to creep in at higher ISOs or in low light.

The Powershot G11 will be available this October for an MSRP of about $500.

Hat Tip – The Giz

Gorilla Torch gives you an extra hand for dark, tight spaces.

It’s always frustrating when working in tight spaces to try and hold a flashlight while you’re turning a screw. Inevitably, what’s generally easy to do without a flashlight, is darn near impossible when you have to also hold a torch to light your workspace. Enter Gorilla Torch.

Made by Joby, the geniuses behind the Gorilla Pod, a Digital Camera holder that can mount a camera anywhere, the Gorilla Torch is the same kind of idea: a tripod with adjustable segments that enables the user to literally wrap it around anything to hold it in place. It’s LED based light is superbright and also has a built in dimmer switch to adjust to the users liking. It’s weatherproof and operates on thee AA batteries with an average battery life of 20-80 hours depending on how bright you like it.

So, whether you’re working on the pipes underneath the sink or replacing that timing chain in your car, wherever you need light, all you need to do is turn on Gorilla Torch and wrap it around anything nearby adjust the light to shine your way and you’re good to go for hands free lighting. There’s also another feature that can help while working in tight spaces. The footpads of the Gorilla Torch are magnetic, meaning that any nuts or bolts can be within easy reach just by sticking them on the pads.
Cost is around $30, which is a bargain if you’ve ever dealt with juggling tools, lights, and tight spaces!

Hat Tip – Chip Chick

Yes, this digital age has seen the end of video tape, but video tape can be brought into digital format with iConvert. This device needs no computer, but connects to the VCR, camcorder, DVD player, or whatever you want put on a standard SD or SDHC card.

All you need to do is just press play, and iConvert records your favorite movies in their grainy format. From there, you can take out the card and transfer digital videos to your computer or other digital device.

Of course, you are probably going to have to spend a lot of time putting in old movies, then taking them out to put on your computer. However, this might be a great way to sift out the ones that you really want. I mean, do you really want Ghostbusters on VHS when you can just buy it on DVD in a much clearer format for less than eight dollars. Better yet, watch it for free on crackle.com?

If this is up your alley, then I highly suggest heading over to the Brookstone website and lay down $99.95 for it.

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Fortunately, HP is working on a process that can remove that accursed crease from your photo prints. Best of all, the process requires no special equipment but an ordinary flatbed scanner.

Most scanners use two separate lights to artificially capture the color of a photograph. If these lights move independently from each other, then two separate images can be captured. The software can then kick in and do the “infilling” process of removing pixels inside the scanned crease, replacing them with pixels outside the crease.

There is still a lot of bugs to be worked out of this process, as any defects that lie against the glass cannot be detected, and bigger creases could be a problem.

Still, it is good to see that someone is thinking ahead when it comes to restoring old photo prints. I’m sure we all love the Red-eye removal feature, so why not come up with a process that removes those creases?

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Keep your images straight and level with Camera Cube.

Budding photographers tired of their images looking like a bad guy leir in Batman may want to pick up the Camera Cube to keep their photos balanced and straight.

Based on the same design as a contractor’s construction level, the bubble design enables photographers to precisely align their camera on all three axis’ to create a solidly level image. All your camera needs is a hot shoe flash mount to snap the cube on top of. Then users merely make sure the bubbles are within the leveling lines.

Features include:

• Attaches to any hot shoe
• Perfectly level photos, every time
• 1″ x 1″ x 1″ cube
• Spend less time editing, more time shooting
• 3-axis level so you can shoot horizontally or vertically

And while it will help anyone take a straighter image, when composing an image, chances are you’ll lose the composition while looking up to see if the bubbles are within the leveling lines. So the Camera Cube is probably better suited for when photographers are using tripods for those locked down, stable images. And with a tripod’s three adjustable legs, sometimes it helps to have a measurement to be sure that all three legs are evenly adjusted up or down. And the CamCube comes in handy for that as well.

All for only $15.

Hat Tip – D’Vice

Heralded as “Print it. Play it. Mystify”, this unique ad campaign allows the user to play a game in augmented reality space, for lack of better words.

Essentially, the user prints off a special sheet, and then holds that sheet up to his or her webcam. The image that he or she will see on their display is a cube with a tiny object on it. The user must then turn the sheet in three-dimensional space so that the object follows a certain path, within a certain amount of time.

It really is kind of neat, and there is a video of it after the jump if you want a preview before you try it yourself.

This Mystify game was created to highlight a special marathon of episodes of the postmodern magician’s Mindfreak show, which carries a tagline of “5 Ways to Live. 5 Ways to Die”. Yes, be afraid, be somewhat afraid. (I think I stole that tagline from some other movie, but I can’t remember what.)

Anyway, leave me a comment if you think it is as neat as I think it is.

Criss Angel Augmented Reality Game from Circ.us on Vimeo.

Design your own postcards with the Casio Postcard Maker

If Alton Brown was doing a show about tech, he’d call the Casio Postcard Maker a “uni-tasker,” something that only has one use and ends up spending more time taking up space than actually doing something you need. But they seem popular in Japan though, so what do we know? Let’s take a look and see what’s up.

Coming in two models, the PCP-300 and PCP-1300, the Postcard Maker comes with a full QWERTY keyboard and memory card expansion slots with which to upload photographs from the vacation you recently went on. Then, using the 7″ touchscreen display, you can then design and alter those photographs and print them out as a postcard to mail off to family and friends.

Honestly, I don’t get it. The whole idea behind a “post card” is to get them while you’re on vacation and mail them from where you are with the envious phrase “Having a wonderful time, wish you were here …” And there are some pretty well done and unique cards out there to even collect as pictures you can’t normally get.

Still, for those who fancy doing it yourself …

May be popular in Japan, but there’s no word on price or availability in the states though.

Hat Tip – Ubergizmo

This 12.1 megapixel camera comes with a 2.7 inch LCD viewscreen, a 5x wide-angle NiKKOR lens, and can capture HD video at 1280 x 720 pixels. Oh, by the way, Nikon also put out three other cameras, but who really cares about that, let’s talk about the projector on the S1000pj!

All the user needs is a flat surface and he or she can beam their images to a 40-inch size. The user can also mix music, and create effects along with transitions for these pictures.

So, is this the beginning of a new age of photography? In all honesty, I kind of hope not. After all, we already live in an age where people who want to share their photos can just put them on their iPod, or just show them on the digital camera itself. I mean, you could practically show a picture of you sharing your pictures.

Does anyone want to be the annoying guy or girl who just “has to” show his or her photos to everyone? Now that person is going to have a captive audience as they projecting their pics on any flatscreen nearby. My advice: have an excuse ready to leave the room.

Of course, current miniature projector technology has always been somewhat weak at best. I’m guessing that the S1000pj will seem antique within a few years. You should think before you purchase one, as it will set you back about $430.

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Yes, it appears that Best Buy is fully embracing the 3D vibe in the air today as last Sunday’s ad is capable of being viewed in 3D. Just so we are on the same page, you do not even need any special glasses.

You will need a personal computer with a webcam. Just turn on your webcam, allow Best Buy access to it, and “slowly move the weekly ad toward the camera until it is recognized”. How will you know that it is recognized? Just watch your webcam display and wait for something neat to happen, because it will.

You might notice that when you turn the ad, the 3D image will also turn in realtime. How is this possible? With our old friend, Augmented Reality.

Yes, we have covered it before with baseball cards and Avatar action figures, so why not use it as an effective means of retail advertising? I think the better question is: “why not use it again?”

If you want a chance to see this work for yourself, just go to bestbuyin3d.com.

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This Underwater camcorder can record video to a depth of 10 feet.

Hammacher has an underwater camcorder which snorkelers can use to video to a depth of 10 feet without a case. Ironically named “The Shirtpocket Underwater Camcorder” (since diving isn’t really a shirt sleeve environment), it seems loosely based on the Samsung/Aptek style with 2 1/2″ LCD color screen and SD expansion slot. The 8MP camcorder chip can record up to 60 minutes of standard definition MPEG4 video or take up to 300 digital still photos with the included 2GB sd card.

The expansion slot can support memory up to 8GB. Additionally, it carries a 4x digital zoom capability. One additional feature, the camera serves as a voice recorder and can double as an mp3 player.

USB connections allow for direct upload to your PC and the rechargeable Li-Ion battery has a life of just shy of two hours with a real time recharge time.

Cost is $200.

Hat Tip – Hammacher

Fortunately, some NYU researchers are working on an Invisible Flash. I realize that sounds like a song by Genesis, but it is actually could “reach out, and grab right hold of your heart”. (That’s a reference to the Genesis song “Invisible Touch”, by the way.)

The Invisible Flash works by taking a picture with IR and UV light to produce a black-and-white image. Then another picture is taken with ambient lighting, and both images are then combined with special software.

The best part of this technology is that it doesn’t require any special equipment to make invisible flashes work. Still, taking two pictures instead of one and then combining them could create quite a lot of blur.

Well, the Invisible Flash isn’t selling right now, but it will be presented at SIGGRAPH 2009 in August.

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