Have you heard about this new camera that lets you focus the picture after it’s been taken? It’s called the Lytro camera, and it was dreamed up by a genius from Stanford who wants to help you capture perfect moments on film without having to wait for the focus. Instead, you can choose any focal point you want after the fact. My mind = blown.

I could attempt to explain how it works, but to a non-photog expert like me, it’s all Greek. All that matters is that somehow the camera manages to capture the entire light field of whatever’s in front of it — in three dimensions. And somehow, this doesn’t take up any more file size than a traditional digital photo would.

Check out this demo image, and loads more of them over at Lytro’s website:

Click on different parts of the image, and it will instantly change to focus on that part of the picture. For the full effect, try clicking on one of the figures in the foreground, and then click one of the trees in the background.

Imagine the freedom that this will offer to photographers! “Point and shoot” will finally be a 100% applicable term. If you’re using a 3D-friendly camera and screen, you’ll even be able to shift the image’s orientation in three dimensions.

The first Lytro camera is scheduled to launch sometime later this year, and its price tag is supposed to be comparable to other digital cameras currently in the market.

Dubbed Legotron, Mark I, the device is a 4×5 camera and is totally made out of LEGO bricks. Take a look at the finished product and be amazed.

Okay, that may not be the slimmest, sleekest, and most stylish camera that you can think of, but hey, it’s made of LEGO bricks! Of course, he also had to put a lens in, as well as a film holder. Here are the specs, courtesy of Cary.

• I have no clue how many pieces are in this camera
• It’s dimensions are roughly 7″x6.5″x7″
• The main parts are a Main box, internal box, film holder/ground glass slot, lens board, lens.
• The lens is a 127mm ƒ4.7 I got on ebay for ~40 dollars
• The lensboard is two Plates deep and fits perfectly in the slot I built for it (though, I cut it down to one plate in the center to actually mount the lens).
• Focus is achieved by sliding the internal box forward and backward.

Okay, I have to admit – I got lost somewhere in the description of the lens. ;)

So never mind that he does not know how many LEGO pieces he used (yeah, sacrilege for some, I know).  This is still one awesome piece, and it works!  Take a look at this photo, courtesy of Legotron.

Isn’t that a beautiful shot?

If you need more information about the creation of Legotron, Mark I, visit Cary’s blog. Oh, and he is planning on creating version 2.

Night vision cameras are super devices that have been used in some super situations.  A few examples include the Paris Hilton sex tape, Jame Gumb’s creepy use of night vision in Silence of the Lambs, and a funny scene involving night vision from the hilarious movie, Step Brothers.

That said, there’s an issue with night vision cameras which, up until now, no one has solved with any degree of success.  That issue?  The fact that night vision camera’s only capture images in a monochrome green color.

Finally someone has tackled a major societal issue by creating a night vision camera capable of taking photographs in color.

The Nanosystem Research Division of AIST (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Japan), finally came out of the dark, displaying their new camera which can take color photos in the dark.

Using a highly sensitive infrared technology, the camera can take real-time color video in the dark!  Further, in using advanced algorithms which analyze reflected wavelengths from objects of different colors, the camera fills images with colors and not the disgusting green hue night vision enthusiasts have grown to know.

While still in development, the creators plan to make it commercially avaialable to all by the end of 2011.  Prior to doing so, the camera needs to be made both smaller and more durable for every day use.

Have you used night vision?  Would you consider investing in a color night vision camera?  Why/why not?

ubergizmo

I realized that it’s the modern day syndrome, a lot of choice and a lot of different technology. Non-tech people will just buy the newest, the biggest or the smallest because they assume it’s the best. So I decided to share the steps I take when deciding which camera to buy.

Make a list for yourself of what you what in a camera, for example:

• small sized
• HD video capability
• a lot of zoom
• which brand

Start at dpreview and look for the latest cameras and their reviews, if you don’t want to spend too much money look at cameras that are already a minimal of six months on the market. Make a selection of 2 to 4 cameras that are to your liking.

Next go to Steve’s Digicams for an in depth review. I personally don’t read every word but I read the final conclusion, the pros and the cons. The sample photos are nicely done too compared to other review sites.

And then in my opinion the best site to decide on a camera, Flickr. You just search the model number and you’ll get hundreds of photos taken with that camera and groups/discussions dedicated to it. On Flickr there are all kind of users with photos taken in different situations such as nature, street or night. You can see their photos, what they can produce with said camera and read opinions. This way you can get more feel if someone knows what they are talking about, then some John Doe with no profile in a review forum.

As for myself I just spend two days reading up on compact digital cameras looking for ones that pack more power then regular point and shoots. And it’s like this with everything, even a simple external hard drive I won’t just go out and buy one on a hunch. While I will always stay price conscious I will read up on the products and the choices there are before I set foot in a store. Makes one miss the simpler days when there was only one iPod.

The bloggie which supports both Memory Stick and SD/SDHC cards is targeted at teenagers and young adults. Bloggie is supplied with Sony’s own app Picture Motion Browser. It automatically compresses the files for upload on sites like Facebook and YouTube.

Other nice hardware specs are the lens which can swivel 270 degrees for taking self photos plus it has an add on to take 360 degree panoramas. It’s not clear if the add on is included or not. The bloggie™ Camera also has image stabilization and face detection.

Seems it has all the key ingredients to be the next hip gadget to own. Set to be released soon if not already for 170 dollar, these cams will sell with no problem. While that I wouldn’t expect much from the HD quality(e.g. Blu-ray quality), it will still be better then phones and ipod video cameras and not to mention eye candy to carry around.

Product page

The Digital Door Viewer ? (US$399) is heaven sent… specially for the sight-challenged elderly. This is an electronic video system designed to replace common door viewers and peephole viewing tubes. The Digital Door Viewer delivers on-demand, high quality images, and is totally integrated and self-contained.

Runs on 8 AA sized batteries and is completely self-contained, doesn’t require any wires or “special connections” at all. It’s easily installed as the standard peephole as all the tools you need would be a powerdrill, a sander and possibly a light hammer too. If you think it’s an eyesore outside, you’d be glad to know that it is JUST the size of a regular peephole too. Yup… the world outside thinks it’s a regular peephole while you enjoy its digital glory.

The LCD panel mounted on the inside of the door has a 5-3/5″ viewing area in an 8-1/2″W x 5-1/2″H frame. On the outside, the camera is mounted in a flat circular housing with just a 3/4″ diameter. And it can fit any regular/standard doors.

I’m not sure… it feels all too weird to wear this even if gives you the convenience of hands-free video recording. Will I get a lot of stares, definitely. Will I get laughed at, probably. Will my forehead ache… I’m sure.

The intentions are very noble though. That’s a video camera with a fabricated strap that attaches it to your forehead. Probable use would be extreme sports (?) or something to do with recording an in-your-face situation.

The camera captures images at 320 x 250 resolution at a 30 frames-per-second rate. Not bad. It can take still shots too, about 1,200 and around 6 hours of video time. How, 8GB of micro SD memory.

It’s battery operated… 2 1/2 hours of video time exactly from an 8-hour charge (ouch). Yeah, not that long for say a 3-4 hour rock climb session, I know. Downloading pictures and video is easy through its included cable. (requires PC running Windows with USB 2.0)

It’s priced at a steep US$300 right here.

Many people dream of a romantic diner by candlelight and a bouquet of roses for Valentine’s Day. Your geek usually can be satisfied with much less: a pack of Mountain Dew cans, free pizza delivery and small gizmos. But what does your geek REALLY want?

Usually your geek also has some ‘out of the world’ wishes and by that I do not mean save the planet or discover the new Pi but gadgets with a rather large price tag. Examples of science, perfect in design, assembly and function. We have assembled the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift guide for geeks.

Optimus Maximus Keyboard

The Optimus Maximus is the ultimate keyboard for every geek. With customizable OLED keys and reprogrammable for most games and applications your geek tells you that this keyboard will optimize his efficiency, workflow. In reality this is one of those keyboards everyone wants, but just unaffordable at almost $1700.
Be warned that the drooling will only increase with every further released screenshot of the Optimus Tactus keyboard. Still just a concept, but with multitouch technology, even more OLED and without keys. Can things get any shinier?

Golden iPhone

UK Based Goldenstrike will goldplate almost anything, even tables, but their most popular articles are without doubt the gold plated iPhones and iPod Touch and this at reasonable prices even. With this decoration you are guaranteed to have your iPhone stolen within the shortest amount of time!

£599 for the iPhone, £499 for the iPod Touch 32GB and £449.95 for the iPod Nano 4G.

Swarowski USB flash drive

Most USB sticks look horrible and are way too large. She will be in heaven when she opens a gift box with one of these Swarowski USB Keys in. Philips and Swarowski have collaborated on a range of computer accessories and offer USB drives, headsets and keyboards. Lots of bling for your bang.

Alternatively you can always go to Crystal Icing where they will put Swarowski crystals on about everything you have or send them, as long as you pay enough. Almost any bling Star of Hollywood fame belongs to their customer base.

Golden USB Stick with Diamonds

He might want his USB drives a little more discrete and stylish and opt for the golden 16GB USB drive with encrusted diamonds at 5650EUR.

ModBook Pro

As long as the folks at Infinite Loop 1 continue to be stubborn, only the ModBook from Axiotrom can realize the dream of the Apple Tablet. On the base of a new unibody MacBook Pro, with both pen and touch options, the Modbook Pro starts at $4998 and will make your geek extremely happy. Control the drool level!

Hasselblad H3DII-50

Every year again when one of the usual suspects, Canon and Nikon, release and upgrade their high-end DSLR camera models, geeks worldwide start drooling, but if they would be really honest and price were no restriction, there’s only one camera they want and that’s this one. The Hasselblad H3DII-50.
The 50MP 36x48mm sensor generates 300MB files at 1FPS and can be found from $27.995.

If price is an objection you can always settle for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II or the Nikon D3X, both available for less than $5000.

Pioneer SC-09TX (UK: SC-LX90) Multichannel Amplifier

After many hours of hard work (to pay all these gadgets obviously!) your geek of course wants to chill and sip a good drink, while listening to some audio or watch a movie. Because your geek always wants the best, preferably even technology which isn’t applied yet he dreams of this Pioneer SC-09TX cinema amplifier with 10x140Watt, delivered by a ‘pre’- and ‘power’ unit, all in a very sleek design. This amplifier has everything needed, is fully network capable and can upscale almost any imaginable videoformat. All for a meager $7000.

Bower & Wilkins 800-series Speakers Package

Now your geek can kick back with a powerful, deliciously sounding amplifier you obviously also need an appropriate set of speakers and these B7W 800 series speakers will blow you, and the neighbors, away.
When selecting a standard 7.2 speaker package consisting of 803D front speakers, ASW825 subwoofers, HTM2D center speaker and DS8S surround speakers, this will cost you easily another $30.000, but I promise you that you will enjoy listening to Apocalypto, one of the only Blu-ray releases with *7.1* soundtrack so far.

Marantz VP-11S1 1080p Projector

When being honest every geek will admit that HDTVs no part of their dreams are, but hopefully a soon to be realized perspective if they haven’t gotten one yet.
Instead they dream of FullHD quality projected on the wall, preferably from this Marantz VP-11S1 1080p DLP projector with 6500:1 contrast ratio. The image of this projector is amazing and the black in The Dark Knight are deep and one can even distinct different shades of grey from black.

Just admit it yourself, what is better than playing GTAIV on this setup? Oh, the projector costs $19.995.

Koenigsegg CCX

Last but not least your geek needs a car. A fast one. And that is the Koenigsegg CCX is a masterpiece of perfection and carbon fibre. 806BHP, 0-62 in 3.2 seconds and look at those doors! At top speed 245+ mph this gift will set you back around 540.000EUR.
The reason for the Koenigsegg is simple: every other nerd already has an Ascari or a Zonda!

The new Sony HVR HD-1000U may be targeted at wedding videographers, freelancers and educational video creators – I’m pretty sure all three of those categories of people are going to have to get in line behind the independent filmmakers and podcasters that are going to snap this thing off the shelves as soon as it hits in Decemember.

You can find full details in the extensive press release, but as someone who once dreamt of making my own movies – this thing is sounds like a dream come true. I no longer think about doing that, but dammit, if I had one of these I might just have to. Forever Geek TV anyone?

Full press release after the break.

PARK RIDGE, N.J., Aug. 22, 2007 – Sony is introducing an entry-level professional HDV™ camcorder with a shoulder-mount design, bringing the benefits of HD production to a wider range of users.

The new HVR-HD1000U model is targeted toward wedding videographers, freelancers and educational video creators, offering them more versatility and more opportunities for generating business with a moderately priced camera.

“Our professional HDV camcorders are designed to offer customers high-definition shooting capability, along with maximum revenue-generating opportunities at a modest investment,” said Bob Ott, vice president of marketing for professional video products at Sony Electronics. “With its shoulder-mount design, this new camera brings affordable HD capabilities to a broader range of pro shooters.”

The HVR-HD1000U model supports both the HDV and the standard-definition DV formats. In DV mode, the unit can work exclusively as a DV camcorder, allowing users to maintain their current DV workflow without any disruptions. When needed, the camcorder can be instantly switched to high-definition mode.

The HDV format allows users to shoot approximately 60 minutes of HD video on a 6mm cassette tape. Sony’s highest-quality 6mm videotape, DigitalMaster™, is the recommended professional media for HDV applications. These 63-minute cassettes (model PHDVM63DM) use Sony’s AME (Advanced Metal Evaporated) II technology and features dual-active magnetic layers.

The new camcorder also has several down-conversion modes that output converted standard-definition signals to users’ current SD production systems, including displays and DV non-linear editing systems, while retaining an HD master tape for future use.

The camcorder adapts to a wide range of shooting situations and features a high-end Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonner T* 10x optical zoom lens to help reduce reflection. The Super SteadyShot™ (optical) feature of the unit is an image stabilizer using an active optical lens method that helps avoid any deterioration in image quality. The lens itself shifts vertically and horizontally to compensate for the polarized light axis in real-time.

The HVR-HD1000U camcorder uses Sony’s 1/2.9-inch ClearVid™ CMOS sensor system with its unique pixel layout rotated 45 degrees to provide higher resolution and sensitivity.

The camcorder’s photo creation functions can produce photo data for DVD jacket designs, website content, news, photo albums and other applications.

Users can capture up to 6.1 mega-pixel still images in Photo mode. In addition, it can capture up to 4.6 mega-pixel still images even while HD video is being recorded. For added flexibility, the new camera can capture still images from any moment of HDV recording in print-ready quality of up to 1.2 mega-pixels.

The camcorder also has a new configuration with an LCD monitor and an electronic view finder (EVF). The LCD monitor is in front of the camera operator when the camcorder is shoulder-mounted, and it is attached to the EVF level. This unique layout enables traditional EVF monitoring, as well as LCD monitoring for the operator even while the camcorder is held on the shoulder.

“The 180-degree tilt mechanism allows for LCD monitoring when the camcorder is held in a high- or low-angle position,” Ott said. “The 360-degree swivel mechanism will allow LCD monitoring from the front, right or even left of the camcorder so that a reporter or a director can monitor what is being captured by the camcorder.”

The “Smooth Slow Rec” function allows users to perform slow-motion playback by capturing images at four times faster than the normal field rate (240 fields/s). In this mode, quad-speed images are captured for three seconds, stored in the camcorder’s built-in buffer memory, and then recorded to tape (in either the HDV, DVCAM™, or DV formats) as slow-motion pictures lasting 12 seconds. When using this function, Ott said the resolution of the camera image is decreased.

The Super NightShot™ function of the new model uses a built-in infrared light emitter to record objects in zero lux light levels and to allow night-time monitoring and surveillance.

A multi-function assignable lens ring is located on the lens unit, and any one of the following functions can be assigned to the ring for easy adjustment: focus (default), zoom, brightness, shutter, auto exposure shift and white balance shift.

Other features include up to 10 hours operation using an optional NP-F970 battery, a range of digital I/O (HDMI, i.LINK®, USB, Memory Stick Duo™ slot), supplied external stereo microphone (ECM-PS1), and a multi-language menu.

The HVR-HD1000U camcorder is planned to be available in December, at a suggested list price of less than $1,900.