Galileo is the invention of Josh Guyot, the co-founder of Joby, the company that makes the popular Gorillapod products. Clearly he knows a thing or two about accessories for cameras, and it shows in the dead simple control scheme for Galileo. Using a remote iOS device, all you have to do is swipe on the screen and the Galileo will move accordingly while sending video in real-time. As you’ll see in the video below there is some lag, but it still works beautifully. Aside from moving it around, Galileo will also charge the device that’s docked in it.

In addition to the remote control, they plan on releasing an SDK for controlling the Galileo with your own apps, such as time-lapse and other photographic applications. You can pre-order the Galileo by pledging at least $85(USD) on its Kickstarter page. Guyot says he’s also working on an adapter for GoPro cameras, although this won’t be of much worth outdoors because it needs to be plugged in to a power outlet to work.

[via Cool Hunting]

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 Spinner 360 uses 35mm film and spins its lens around, thanks to the aforementioned drawstring. You can decide whether to use 1/125 or 1/250 of a second or release it slower so that you can capture longer exposure footage, all in 360 degrees on a single strip of film. It even allows you to capture vertical panoramas. This low-tech approach to panoramas is certainly something uncanny, especially when you see the results.

Spinner 360 sells from Lomography.com starting at just $99 (USD). Pictured here is the special edition, covered in Italian toledo leather – which currently goes for $149.

[via designboom]

It’s a little gizmo that clips to a case on your iPhone 4 and fits over the camera lens. The device will let you shoot panoramic video all around your iPhone at the same time. A special app lets you view video from any perspective. You can also use the device to upload the 360-degree video to your website with a special web platform. I guess that would be cool for car salesmen or realtors that want to show off a product easily online.

The GoPano micro needed $20,000 to get the product off the drawing board into the real world. As of now, it has nearly $30,000 and still has 38 days to go before the project is funded and the product goes into production, so it’s pretty much a sure thing now. You still have time to back the product and get one if you want. A $50 or greater pledge will get you one of the initial batch.

Exmor is the CMOS sensor dwarf. He bestows upon the camera the ability to shoot high-resolution images at a high speed. After the shots are taken, BIONZ – the imaging processor dwarf – magically stitches the pictures together to create a single panoramic shot. The maximum resolution for a horizontal panoramic shot is 7152 x 1080.

Sony will never admit that Exmor and BIONZ are magical beings, and instead will call the two “part of the hardware” or “technology”. Right. Meanwhile a Blu-ray disc can store up to 50 sunflowers. You know Sony you’re not the only ones with imagination. I don’t have it, but others do.

Aside from the ability to take pictures of really long lines of people, the DSC-HX1 can also capture 1080p HD video clips at 30 fps. The camera has a built-in mic so audio is stored as well. The AV may be saved as MPEG4 AVC/H.264 format or as standard-definition video and VGA.

Now I don’t know if there are other cameras out there that can do this, but this is the first time that I’ve read about a camera that can also “remember” faces. Sony says, “A new selected-face memory function registers one face (selected by the user) as the main face and adjusts focus, exposure, flash and white balance accordingly. The camera remembers the face every time that face shows in the frame, and will fire Exmor and Bionz Beams at the face.” I added that last bit.

The DSC-HX1 also has a couple of tricks up its non-existent sleeve to help photographers who have to deal with low-lighting conditions and moving objects. The DSC-HX1: made for stalkers. Anyway. In low-lighting conditions, the camera will take an additional shot after the intended shot is taken, giving the photographer the option to choose which of the two to keep. The DSC-HX1 also has a special mode made specifically for shooting moving objects. When set to that mode the camera will take not one but six shots all within a fraction of a second. Then via some Exmor-BIONZ magic those six images are superimposed to create a sharper image.

The DSC-HX1 will be in stores come April and will sell for about $500 USD. Sony says that they’ll be taking pre-orders this March, so if you’re interested, keep an eye on the DSC-HX1′s product page.

The new Powerscape Ultra HD from Zenview is the ultimate in desktop monitor rigs. The system features a huge 30″ diagonal widescreen LCD at 2560×1600 resolution, flanked by four 20.1″ “surround” monitors in portrait mode at 1200×1600 resolution each, for a total screen resolution of 7360×1600.

The entire system is over 73″ wide and 25″ deep, so you’ll need a very large desk for this one. Priced at $5999 USD, it’s certainly not for the meek. You’ll also need to provide your own video cards too, so expect to spend another $1000 or so on that.

For those with smaller budgets and smaller desks, their Powerscape 21 and Powerscape Elite come in at $3599 and $4399, respectively.