Hasta La Gadget!

I don’t know whether or not Bigfoot really exists. What I do know is that we find new species no one has ever seen with remarkable regularity. I’m not ready to rule out the existence of Bigfoot, but I’m also not ready to go running around the woods at night hunting for a hairy, smelly, primate.

A researcher from Idaho State University, Jeffrey Meldrum, is set to use a scientific approach to trying to determine once and for all if Bigfoot is real. Meldrum, a professor of anatomy and anthropology at the university, is trying to raise $300,000 to build a remote-control blimp that will carry a thermal imaging system. The idea is the blimp will float above forests searching for evidence of Bigfoot.

If the dirigible finds evidence of the beast, the location would be sent to people on the ground who would follow-up and try to catch an in-person glimpse of the fabled Sasquatch. Either that or the blimp could route them to their demise at the hands of a hungry and angry primate.

[Yahoo News via The Register]

If you’d like to snap pictures while standing away from your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, this nifty little device makes it easy to do so. Gizmon’s Remote Shutter simply plugs into your gadget’s headphone jack and provides you with a remote you can use from several feet away.

To keep things lighthearted, the remote is designed to look an old canister of film. While its retractable cord isn’t long enough to let you stand on the other side of the room, it’s perfect for letting your grab high-quality images when your device is on a tripod or mounting bracket, since you can snap pics without touching the screen and potentially shaking the camera – especially important in dark scenes. Another advantage of the corded design is that it’s compatible with all camera apps, whereas the Bluetooth remotes out there require software developers to modify their apps to be compatible.

The Gizmon Remote Shutter is fully compatible with the iPhone 3GS/4/4S/5 as well as the iPod Touch and iPad 2 or higher. You can grab one now over on Amazon for $23(USD).

The swiveling displays on some modern cameras make it easier to shoot pictures from a variety of angles. iPhones and iPads don’t have swiveling displays (yet), but this attachable right angle lens can help even up the playing field.

The HiLo’s three lenses and prism help it do its job. So what can you do with a right angle lens? Watch the video below to find out:

Pledge at least $60 (USD) on Kickstarter to reserve a HiLo lens. What I want is a lens add-on that prevents people from shooting videos vertically.

[via HiLO Lens]

About a week and a half ago we talked about the official unveiling of the awesome new GoPro HERO3 action camera. The camera was up for pre-order when we mentioned it last time with an estimated ship date to be somewhere around the middle of November. GoPro has now announced that the camera was now officially available for purchase in its three main versions.

The HERO3: Silver Edition is available right now and has all the same features as the HD HERO2 it replaces – and more – including 11 megapixel still photo capability, up to 1080p HD resolution video, and adds integrated Wi-Fi. This camera sells for $299.99. The HERO3: White Edition offers five-megapixel picture resolution, up to full HD video recording, and has integrated Wi-Fi for $199.99. This camera is a direct replacement of the original HD Hero. As with all GoPro cameras, there is a vast array of mounts available to suit just about every recording need.

The top-of-the-line HERO3: Black Edition ships starting on November 14th for $399.99(USD) and includes the Wi-Fi Remote accessory that normally sells for $79.99. That remote accessory allows you to turn on the camera and start recording even if the camera located too far away from you to reach physically. That is a big deal if you use one of these cameras for motorsports where deeply bolstered seats and racing harnesses make movement very difficult within the vehicle. The HERO3′s resolution is pretty incredible, with full 1080p/60 and even a 4k mode (only 15fps, though.)

All these new features make my original HD HERO look pretty lame.

Light painting can be a pretty awesome technique, which involves the capture of a moving light source, using long-exposure photography. Photographers have created some pretty amazing images using the medium, but it can be complicated to pull off unless you know exactly what you’re doing, and have a camera with full manual exposure controls. Now the fine folks at Japan’s Takara Tomy Arts have released a little gadget and app combo which makes it easy for anyone with an iPhone or iPad to make their own light paintings.

This little penlight gadget, thats name roughly translates to “Oekaki: The Night Sky” provides a bright, point source of light, and works with a companion iOS app to let you record long-exposure images. Simply start up the app, place your phone in the included base (or stand up your iPad), and start drawing in space. The penlight itself lets you choose from combinations of cyan, magenta or yellow light in 8 levels each, providing for a total of 27 colors for your images, and you can shoot either stills or time-lapse video with the app.

You can check out the app and pen in action in this clip (though it is in Japanese, it’s pretty easy to follow), or you can download the app itself for free here – though you’ll really want to have the light pen or a good point light source to make it work. I tried it out with a laser pointer aimed at the wall and it worked pretty well.

The app and light pen combo makes it shockingly easy to create light paintings. While the gadget was designed for Japanese markets, you can pre-order one for worldwide shipment over at Gizmine now for $69.99 (USD) with an estimated ship date of November 20th.