Cinemagram converts short film clips into a single, animated image. It also offers special filters and photographic effects that can be layered onto the resulting animations. You can even select only a part of an image into a GIF, making it look like a video is embedded in a still photograph. Here are a couple of examples produced with the app:

You can get Cinemagram from the iTunes App Store for $1.99 (USD), and check out more Cinemagrams on Cinemagram’s Tumblr site.

[via designboom]

The premise of the site is simple: if you’re willing to shell out one more dollar than the previous person who uploaded the most recent picture on the site, then you can upload your photo and have have it featured on the main page until the next person with deeper pockets comes along. The first image was uploaded for $1, the second at $2, and so on and so forth.

The site itself is an art project that was conceived and launched by Sebas­tian Stadler, Stefan Jan­dl, and Carlo Jörges. The first 300 photos submitted on the site will be published in a catalog that all the photo submitters will receive. And in case you were wondering, all of the money collected from the site will go into producing that catalog and into new TMEP projects to get the submitted images noticed.

As of this writing, there have already been 105 photos submitted. The site was launched in December 2011, so it might take a while before the 300-image mark will be reached.

If you think your photo is worth $106 (or more), then head on over to TMEP to submit it and have it featured.

[via Pop Up City]

Now, I know a bunch of you tech geeks are going to comment in the comment section about how this idea doesn’t make business sense, since the iPhone is already Apple’s camera, and that there’s no need to create a product that is solely a camera when you can have a phone and a camera in the same device. I have recognized your side, and I may even agree with it – but the Apple QuickTake Camera Concept is cool nonetheless. Take it for what it is: a concept. And don’t take my ice cream at all, because then I’ll RAGE.

Designer Josephy Dumary’s Apple QuickTake Camera Concept has some pretty unrealistic specifications, but I’m sure that if Apple were to make a camera, the capabilities would be pretty high. 32 MP photos? Seems a bit unreasonable to me – besides, nobody really needs that much definition – we stopped reading dictionaries years ago. Also, most people just keep their photos on the computer and don’t print them, so they don’t need crazy resolutions.

The concept also has a rather frivolous 360-degree swiveling feature that would only serve to have children break your expensive camera because they’re spinning it like a toy. The automatic red eye removal is a neat idea though, as are the possibilities with Wi-Fi capabilities, automatic syncing, and on-screen photo editing. There’s a lot that Apple could do with a concept like this – and why not? They’d profit off of fanboys who buy anything produced by Apple regardless of whether or not they really need it, so I’d say it’s a safe venture. Plus, they should start an Apple clothing line before I have to EVER go back into Abercrombie and have my brains blown out by their loud alternative music.

If you were able to take a pinch of happiness from this geeky concept, you’ll want to check out other cool concepts like the Apple Hairband Headphone Concept and the Off Door Handle Concept.

Contributor Jack Kieffer owns Cool Gizmo Toys, a blog that rants about random geeky products.

This hack comes courtesy of Stacie Grissom and it uses a silk scarf, that needs to be about 60 inches in length, three key rings, and a couple of other odds and ends. The ends of the scarf will need to be cut, then folded over and sewn with the a keyring popped in. Two small leather straps can be added to decorate your scarf-strap to make it look cooler.

The end result is a pretty sturdy and stylish looking camera strap – though you won’t be able to use it to keep your neck warm with that camera attached. Of course, you can really do this with any fabric you want, so you can have your own personal design.

Head on over to Photojojo for instructions on how to make your own scarf camera strap.

The K-01 uses the standard Pentax K-mount, so it’s compatible with numerous other lenses the company has made. The large APS-C CMOS sensor has 16MP and supports full 1080p HD video capture. The back features a 3″ high-res LCD screen, but no optical viewfinder.

There are three different colors available, the black and yellow, the all black, and the black and white. The K-01 will launch this March for $900(USD) with the 40mm lens or $750 for the body alone.

[via Cool Hunting]

The camera measures 1.1 inches in width, so it’s pretty thin for a camera with that much real zoom range. Its new CMOS sensor has been optimized for low-light conditions. The camera’s Leica lens allows to reach from 24mm to the 480mm range. The 14MP sensor has noise reduction features and a new autofocus system. It can shoot 1080p AVCHD video at 60 fps, and 1080p MP4 recording at 30 fps. It also offers GPS for geo-tagging of photos.

The camera has both touchscreen controls and actual buttons, which is refreshing, since more and more cameras seem to be going strictly with touchscreens these days.

The Lumix ZS20 will be released in March 2012, and will list for $350 (USD).

[via Ubergizmo]

The iPhone Lens Wallet is designed to keep your magnetic iPhone cell lenses in one fold-out case since it comes with a magnetic strip to hold your macro/wide lens, fisheye, and the 2× telephoto lens. It will even take an 8× telephoto lens in its side pocket, as well as a one of those lens-adapter case backs and a mini tripod.

Photojojo sells the iPhone Lens Wallet for $15(USD), or you can get it all packed up with all of the lenses mentioned above for $79.

But this camera doesn’t just look good, it’s actually got some impressive specs. The DSC-TX200V has an Exmor 18.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, and it can shoot 1080p video at 60 fps. It’s got a 3.3-inch 921k resolution touchscreen, a 5× optical zoom as well as a 10× digital zoom, and has a BIONZ processor to reduce noise. The camera is even waterproof up to 16 feet. It’s also dust resistant and you can use it in temperatures as low as 14°F.

Sony has also included a dual-record function that lets you capture still images will videotaping. It’s also got a built-in GPS and compass which can record photo location data. The camera weighs a pocket-friendly 4.6 oz, and comes in silver, red and violet.

The only real problem I can see with this camera is its price – the DSC-TX200V will retail for a rather spendy $500(USD) when it hits stores this March. It’s available for pre-order now over at the Sony Store.

[via designboom]

Google has announced that it has updated the service to version 6.2, and with that update the photos loose their gaps and irregularities, and get a uniform appearance.

That means now when you view the Earth, instead of seeing a mosaic of square photos plastered next to each other you just get a very smooth and cohesive image.

The tech used to accomplish this evens out the pics so ones taken night aren’t so dark and ones with clouds don’t stand out. Google also added the ability to get better search results, as well as added walking, public transport, and biking directions and the ability to share maps via Google+.

You can grab the latest Google Earth installer here.

[via Google Lat Long Blog]

Recon has just announced a new feature of their MOD Live module (their heads-up display add-on for various goggles) that is very cool. The company teamed up with Contour, the company that makes some rugged sports cameras. With the new feature, MOD Live-equipped goggles can now be used as the viewfinder for Contour action cameras.

The goggles will link to the camera using Bluetooth, showing you what you have recorded, and allow you to be sure your camera is aimed correctly. The system supports the ContourGPS and Contour+ cameras, which both have Bluetooth. The cameras offer HD recording and can survive the inevitable falls spills and wet weather.

Of course, all this cool tech does come with a price tag attached – The Recon Instruments MOD Live display sells for about $400(USD), while compatible Contour cameras sell for $300 to $500 each.

But anyway, do you agree that the size of portraits are a reflection of the (figurative) size of a person’s spirit? If you do, then you might want to say that great minds think alike, because that’s what Dennis Manarchy thought of for his 35-foot long mammoth of a camera called the “Eye of America.”

Here’s some background on the plans for the camera and its design:

While the video shows what the finished camera will look like, it appears that Manarchy has already built a functional version in his studio – it’s not as finished as the images shown above, but it is fully-functional, and captures images of extraordinary detail.

Manarchy built the “Eye of America” camera for his project entitled Vanishing Cultures. Basically, it’s a series that will honor America’s people by capturing their images on huge negatives that measure 6 feet × 4.5 feet and subsequently onto prints that are two stories-high. Here’s more about Manarchy’s project:

FYI, Manarchy is a celebrity of his own right in the world of photography; in fact, he has been voted as the world’s best photographer – twice.

[via PetaPixel via Dvice]

It’s able to detect up to 32 simultaneous touch points, so multiple users can interact with it, and it offers full 1080p HD resolution. The giant LED backlit LCD screen is fully 3D capable, and is bright enough to work even in well-lit environments, like museums, offices and classrooms.

The MT65 Presenter isn’t just a display – it’s a fully self-contained Windows 7-based system (a Linux version is coming in March.) Under the hood, it’s got a speedy quad-core Intel Core i7 2720QM CPU, along with 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SATA SSD hard drive, and a GeForce GTX 460 GPU, so it’s powerful enough to run just about anything you can throw at it. Ports include Ethernet, HDMI (in and out for mirroring), USB 2.0, and 3.5mm audio in and out jacks.

The whole system is loaded into a durable 4″ thick vandal-proof aluminum frame, so it can be used in public places without too much worry. They’ve also attached a small HD webcam and stereo microphone on top of the display, so those can be used as inputs for interactive projects. Also included is GestureWorks 3, which lets you easily create interactive touch-based apps using Adobe Flash, Flex or Air. The package also includes software components for quickly integrating and interacting with photos, videos, and audio files in touch-based projects.

The ideum MT65 Presenter is available now, with prices starting at $17,450 (USD), and can be ordered in custom colors for $1,000 more. Sure, you might not be able to afford one for your living room, but it’s a pretty good deal for professional users, given its size and capabilities.

Polaroid’s latest digital camera, the SC1630, is an Android-powered smart camera, with a 16MP sensor as well as a 3× optical zoom (and 5× digital zoom). It also offers automatic face and smile detection, red-eye removal, color correction and geo-tagging of images.

The SC1630 packs a touchscreen display and Wi-Fi connectivity which allow you to easily upload your photos with a single button. The 3.2-inch screen (800×480 resolution) allows you to preview images nicely. In terms of storage, it can hold up to 32GB, via a microSD card – though it’s unclear if this will be included in the price.

It also offers all of the abilities normally associated with Android, such as web browsing, a calendar, email and app downloads. So basically, it’s a smartphone without the phone – and none of the carrier contracts that usually go with. The Polaroid SC1630 should be released this April and will sell for $299 (USD).

[via Ubergizmo]

It’s certainly an… interesting technology, although I have a feeling that this dalmatian’s creepy stare is no exception. I think any portrait will become terrifying when subjected to this technology.

The dog’s blood red eyes don’t help its efforts to remain adorable. Fortunately, Casio also has a scaled back version of this 3D-fication. They’re calling it Relief Painting Technology, and what it does is add just the right amount of texture to pictures to make them look and feel like they were paintings, like in the sample below.

But here’s the kicker to this story. Speaking with Casio, Evan Ackerman of Dvice found out that the company “is as unsure as we are about whether anyone actually wants them to be doing this.” I actually burst out laughing when I read that. That’s a nerd’s mentality right there – tech first, business second. Screw the new HDTVs and PCs, it’s nuggets of insanity like this that make me wish I was at CES.

[via Dvice]

This unusual looking, egg-shaped device claims to be the first dedicated consumer device which takes full 360-degree panoramic images using a special “panomorph” lens. Unlike some gadgets which shoot panoramas by slapping a fish-eye lens or mirror onto your smartphone, or spinning around with your point-and-shoot and letting it stitch an image together, the 360-imager is a dedicated camera just for such immersive images. This can only mean that the image quality should be better than add-ons for standard cameras. The gadget will shoot high-res, fully navigable images with a single click. While its not clear from the beauty shot above, there’s an LCD viewfinder built into the bottom of the device too.

A little Googling turned up this product page which details the nifty sounding gadget’s specs, which include a 14 megapixel resolution, autofocus, and the ability to automatically detect whether you want to shoot a 360 degree, horizontal or vertical panorama. It’s also got Wi-fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity in addition to a USB port. At this point it doesn’t look like it can shoot video, but the panoramic images it shoots look impressively sharp and bright.

No word yet on pricing or a release date, but I expect that all will be revealed next week on the CES show floor. Keep an eye out on Tamaggo’s website for more details.

The i-Fly Micro Lightning helicopter comes with an IR remote adapter that you can plug into your iOS device to control the copter using the iFly iOS app. It has eight minutes of flight per charge and can be controlled with up/down, left/right, and front/back movements. It can also be controlled using an included infrared remote. The i-Fly copter sells for $69.99 (USD).

The Sky Eye and the Black Swann both use 27MHz RF tech and are good for 110-feet of range. They have integrated cameras that can shoot video and still shots with a button press as well. The Black Swann has a microSD card slot for expanded storage and the Sky Eye has 512MB of internal storage. Each camera copter sells for $99.99, and should be available in stores soon.

[Press Release]

The tiny, oddly-named Fuuvi Bee 8mm camera (JP) doesn’t shoot movies on film, though it sure looks like it should. Instead, it captures video or still images with a decidedly retro look to them. It even does away with the LCD viewfinder, and replaces it with an old-school optical one, with all of the unpredictability that goes with. It’s also got a tripod mount on the bottom of the handle, in case you want to steady your shots.

The Bee captures low fidelity photos and movies with plenty of chromatic aberrations and other grungy artifacts to give them lots of “character.” Below are a couple of example stills and a video for you to enjoy.

Resolution is a decidedly retro 640×480 at 30fps for video, and still images are captured at just 1280×960 resolution (appx. 1.3 megapixels.) But you weren’t planning on using the Fuuvi Bee in place of your DSLR, were you? Images are captured onto an SDHC card, and you charge the camera using a USB cable.

In addition to the examples here, there’s a gallery of samples with a few more videos and images for you to check out.

You can find the Fuuvi Bee 8mm camera over at Audiocubes for $79.99 (USD) in either black or white. If you do end up buying one, and are baffled about how to use it, you can download the English manual here (PDF).

The app is called Poly by Innoiz that allows you to draw points that allow you turn your pictures into sharp-edged geometric shapes and simplified colors. The art Poly creates is inspired by the triangulation invented by the mathematician Boris Delaunay in 1934. Apparently, there’s lots of fancy math stuff going on behind the scenes, though you easily manipulate images and reduce them to their essential forms using just your fingertip.

The resulting images are pretty cool, don’t you think? If you want to try it out for yourself, Poly is available from the iTunes App Store for $0.99 (USD).

The case works exactly the same as the iPhone 4/4S version and has the same nine effects and filters. It just looks slightly different, with the wheel located more to the middle of the case because of the difference in the placement of the rear camera between the two phones. Note that the sample shots below are taken with an iPhone. Tsk, tsk. Lazy Holga.

Snap open your browser and head to Holga’s online shop to order the lens filter case. It’s a bit more expensive than the iPhone version at $28 (USD).

[via Engadget]

He took some telephone wires and wired them up to a Radio Shack 2.5mm plug. Then, he fed it through a hole that he made through the rubber strain relief of the Nunchuk and soldered it where the shoulder button connected to the main board. C aut0-adjusts and Z fires the shutter. None of the other controls do anything at this point, though it would have been cool if the joystick could be used for  zooming and focusing remotely.

I always like the idea of reusing tech that you might throw away or no longer use. What spare gadget do you have lying around, and what would you like to rebuild it into if you could?

[via Ubergizmo]