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Sony unveiled last week a new addition to its market leading XDCAM HD422 line-up – the PMW-200, the only handheld camcorder in its class equipped with three 1/2 -inch Exmor CMOS sensors and full HD 4:2:2 50Mbps recording. The 1/2 -inch sensors mean the camcorder performs exceptionally well even in challenging lighting conditions.
Designed using Sony’s advanced sensor technology and decades of experience, the PMW-200 answers the industry’s desire for a 4:2:2 50Mbps camcorder that …

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

Remote-controlled cameras are nothing new — heck, some even ride atop robotic vacuums — but this Android smartphone-powered device delivers quite a bit of versatility in a petite package with a reasonable price tag to boot. Botiful, a “social telepresence robot,” serves as a roving platform for your Android smartphone. You can move the handset (and its front-facing camera) up and down as it speeds along any flat surface, responding to commands from someone on the other end of a Skype video chat. Once you connect the device to your Android phone through Bluetooth or USB, you can control its direction from a pop-up window within Skype, letting you position Botiful however you see fit. If your Android phone doesn’t have a front-facing camera, you can flip it around to use the rear shooter — of course, you won’t be able to see the display in this configuration, so it won’t be ideal for two-way chats. Naturally, this makes the duo a natural choice for surveillance and baby monitoring, but it can also be used to provide a more immersive experience during conference calls or for sending back video from locations that aren’t easily accessible, such as the undercarriage of a car.

Designed in a garage in California (no, really), Botiful is already functional, with working software as well. The current configuration requires Skype for control, though an SDK will allow developers to create other control apps for the device — and who knows, the seemingly capable inventor could release another tool of her own before it’s set to hit production later this year. With much of the design already completed, the project sponsor is turning to Kickstarter to raise the funds necessary to launch Botiful to production — the device could ship as soon as November if it reaches a $90,000 goal before August 22nd. Available in white, blue or red, the remote-controlled rig is currently only compatible with Android, though iOS support may come if funding exceeds a $100k threshold. There’s still more than three weeks to go to make your pledge, with a limited number of pre-order slots available for $199 (retail pricing is expected to come in at $299). Hit up the source link below to show your support.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Botiful telepresence robot for Android (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Digital Cameras, Robots

Insert Coin: Botiful telepresence robot for Android (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 14:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to be a photographer at a major sporting event, Pop Photo has the next best thing: an in-depth interview with Getty photographer Streeter Lecka, who’s going to be shooting the London Olympics in intimate detail. More »

One of the features that RIM showed off at BlackBerry World this year was a swanky new camera for BlackBerry 10. Thanks to technology licensed from Scalado, the camera features remove and rewind features, helping to discard unwanted background objects and pick the best face in a photo thanks to a caching feature. Now it looks like RIM will also be including some basic editing abilities in the camera app, including Instagram inspired filters and more traditional tweaks.

A video from CrackBerry shows the UI and options you can expect to see in the camera app for BlackBerry 10, although since the OS is still in alpha everything isn’t quite baked just yet. Filters that aren’t too far off what you can find in Instagram are on offer, and you can apply some more conventional adjustments such as noise reduction, sharpening, color saturation boost, and so on.

The full range of functionality isn’t working quite yet, but just from the look of things it all seems rather straightforward and easy to use. CrackBerry has a video demonstration of what you can expect to find inside the app, and has the templates for some of the filters over on its site for your consideration.

[via Engadget]

BlackBerry 10 features built-in picture editor is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

You know, getting your subjects to smile in front of a camera could prove to be a challenge, especially when you consider the kind of personalities that you need to work with at different times and seasons. Children should be easy subjects to shoot, but just in case you find it difficult to get your subjects lined up to smile, this is where the Chobi Cam Smile camera comes in handy. This is not the first Chobi Cam that we have covered, but this is one that will carve a smile on your face, regardless of whether you are 8 or 80 years old. Measuring 48mm x 48mm x 16mm, the Chobi Cam Smile will tip the scales at a mere 18 grams, and despite that size, it will feature a microSDHC memory card slot, an internal battery as well as different digital camera parts within.

Not only that, the Chobi Cam Smile will even come with a clip so that you are able to wear it on your shirt or jacket pocket for easy portability. There is also a flexible arm that comes with the Chobi Cam Smile, functioning as a base for the camera. It takes around 2 hours to juice up the Chobi Cam Smile via USB 2.0, and on a full battery, it can record up to 60 minutes of video and 90 minutes of mono audio. The asking price? Approximately $50 after conversion.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Japanese researchers working on a camera that can track fast-moving objects in real-time, World’s fastest camera used to detect cancer cells in real time,