Hasta La Gadget!

There was some uproar about the possibility of using unarmed drones over US soil to locate that cop turned killer fugitive, but maybe that’s because drones have a bad rap because of all of the bombs they’ve been known to drop. Now, engineers at FliteTest are trying to make a kinder, gentler drone, the kind that captures artsy images.

The Lomo-Copter is a remote-controlled tricopter, outfitted with a medium-format Diana F+ Lomography camera with an instant back and remote-triggering mechanism. This brings fuzzy, light-leaky, and vignette stylized imagery to secret spy footage.

The Lomo-Copter also has another camera mounted to the Lomo-cam’s viewfinder, which transmits real-time footage to the operator’s stylish goggles for first-person-view operation of the drone, so they can snap pictures remotely with the old-school analog camera. Here’s a comparison of the FPV goggles and a Lomo print:

So if you’re worried about drones flying over your neighborhood, don’t be because some of them are actually pretty nice, and they might just Instagram you some photos of your garden gnomes.

If you’re the sort of tinkerer that enjoys making projects using devices like the Raspberry Pi, a new hardware product has been announced. Raspberry Pi has announced the availability of a new digital camera module for the low-cost computer-on-a-board. The Raspberry Pi Foundation is mum on the technical hardware details for the camera module.

The sensor used in the digital camera module is rumored to be five-megapixels, but that is unconfirmed. The module can record HD resolution video and the foundation expects users will take advantage of the camera module for robotics, home automation, and perhaps aerial applications. At only $25, the camera sensor won’t break the bank, and may be usable in projects where the sensor is at risk of damage where users might not consider a more expensive option. That said, the camera is still nearly as expensive as the $35 computer itself.

It’s unclear exactly when the camera module will launch. Currently developers are working on drivers and hardware interface for the camera module with the Raspberry Pi developer board. “The picture quality is ‘pretty good’ at the moment, but we’re hoping to get it to ‘bleedin’ marvelous’ before we release the hardware,” the foundation said.

[via Wired]

We’re seeing more and more cameras that can take – or at least put together – 360º panoramic images. This prototype made by Ricoh is another example. It has two fisheye lenses that can each cover 180º. The camera will automatically combine the images from each half to create a full 360º image.

But the camera itself is just one part of Ricoh’s project. After it processes an image, the camera will upload it to a mobile device using Wi-Fi, so users can immediately view and play with the picture.

We’re gonna need a bigger picture frame.

[via DigInfo.TV via Akihabaranews]

Looking to make some stylized photos on your iPhone, but are bored with of Instagram’s effects? Well, look no further than Alt Photo, a cool little app from Alien Skin Software, the same guys behind some of the best photo effects plugins for Photoshop.

Alt Photo provides a really easy way to add film-like effects to your photographs, and is extremely well executed – especially for a free app. You start out by selecting an image from your existing photo library or snapping a new pic directly in the app.

Then you simply hit the “Edit” button, and you’ll have access to a selection of 36 base photographic effects, ranging from vintage color and toy camera styles to black and white tintypes.

In the edit mode, you can swipe up, down, left or right to instantly preview your images with various effects applied, and similar effects are adjacent to one another – making navigation a breeze. The app also allows for quick image cropping to 1:1, 4:3 OR 3:4 proportions, as well as an unconstrained crop mode. Crops can then be combined with effects, and you can also adjust the intensity of the effect and brightness levels by tapping the appropriate control and dragging across the image.

Once you’re satisfied with your image, you can quickly save it back to your Camera Roll (in full or cropped resolution) and share it with the world. Alt Photo has built-in integrations with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Flickr, as well as E-mail sharing – and with the press of one button, you can share to any or all of these methods.

While Alt Photo doesn’t really cover a lot of ground that Instagram hasn’t already covered, I’m still impressed with this little app. It doesn’t aspire to be a full-fledged image editor like Photoshop, but there are already plenty of apps for that. It does everything you’d want a mobile app to do – it’s easy to use – and doesn’t try to go too deep. Best of all – it’s free. So what are you waiting for? Head on over to the iTunes App Store and download Alt Photo now.

If you’re a fan of James Bond movies or other flicks where spies have to sneak into someone’s office and take pictures of secret documents, you’ll love this new product from Hammacher Schlemmer. The gadget is called the Pen-Sized Scanner and it’s retro spy tech with a futuristic twist.

While it is actually a functional ballpoint pen, you can also use its integrated five-megapixel imaging sensor combined with an autofocus lens to snap close-up images of documents and other items whenever you want. The images are taken at a resolution of 2048 x 1536. When you press the shutter button down halfway, the pen camera even shoots a red laser outline around what it will be taking a picture of. That makes it easy to ensure that you are lining up the portion of the document you want to copy.

The camera pen has 1 GB of integrated storage allowing it to store up to 1000 pictures in JPEG format, though you can only capture about 300 images per battery charge. The pen also has a built-in microphone allowing you to record voice memos in WAV format. The Pen-Sized Scanner is available right now for $124.95(USD).