So I’ll ask the obvious question, Have you ever wanted to be a camera? Yeah me either, however Hong Kong’s Eric Siu thinks you should at least give it a go with his new invention, Touchy.

This helmet based camera system claims that it can turn anyone into a kind of a human camera. The helmet is attached to the “Touchy Bulb”, a tiny globe. When another person touches the globe and the wearer for 10 seconds, a signal is sent to the helmet, apertures open over the wearers lighted eyes and a photo is taken.   The photo can then be previewed on a small 3.5 inch LCD display at the back of the helmet.

I gotta be honest, I don’t get the point. But hey maybe this is a niche in the market that I haven’t thought of. Or maybe it is just one of those things that exists because it can. What do you think? Do you want one or see a potential special use for the Touchy?

[ source ]

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Just under 3 months ago, Google purchased Nik Software, the developer behind Snapseed. At the time, Snapseed was only available for iOS and it cost $4.99. Today, Snapseed arrived in Google Play for free and was changed from the $4.99 price tag to free in the App Store.

The original thought was that Google was purchasing Nik Software to get ahead of Facebook and Instagram. Furthermore, the Verge claimed that “snapseed integration would instantly put google+ on par with facebook and instagram’s editing capabilities”.

On the first day, Snapseed for Android has a 4.8 average rating over 1,182 ratings. Not bad for one day.

Snapseed boasts image Auto Correct, Image Borders, and filters such as Grunge, Vintage, Drama and more. Sadly, Snapseed only supports Android 4.0+ (Ice Cream Sandwich) or later. Although some of the features may require the new APIs, we assume this is a push  on Google’s part for the Android versions and their improved features.

Snapseed was taken on by Google mainly to drive the creative and artistic aspects of Google+. Additionally, Snapseed will be a huge addition to the already existing Picasa features of Google’s social network.

Google stock is up +3.31 (0.48%) on the day.

Have you downloaded Snapseed for free yet? If so, what do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

[ Source ]

The post Snapseed Arrives on Android, iOS Version is Now Free appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Your iPhone certainly allows you to take some good photos and you can take some great shots, but having a way to mount your iPhone would even give you greater opportunities for the perfect shot. That’s exactly where the new Stickable Resin guard for the iPhone 4 or 4S comes in. This unique case offers a way to protect your phone for scratches and also mount it onto any glass surface for handsfree functionality or photography stabilization.

The new Resin line from Uguard.me is available in a variety of candy, matte, and metallic colors, and, according to the makers, is made with top-quality, durable, and anti-UV materials for ensuring superior protection. All you have to do is apply the skin to each side of the device (not the screen, of course) and press the phone’s backside onto a glassy surface to keep it mounted. Mounting should be done only after making sure that both the surface of the case and glass are clean.

Besides providing anti-scratch protection, the case adds an extra grip, but we are not sure how much it will protect the device from falls, it would be better if it was thicker. If you want to remove it, they say that it will come off easily without leaving residue. The best feature of this case is without a doubt, it’s ability to stick to surfaces, although it promises just temporary mounts. Of course, no one would want their iPhone to stick to a surface permanently. According to Uguard.me, it won’t stay mounted for “hours or days”, so this is just a temporary mount for a few photos, plain and simple.

The case could be helpful when traveling in a car, when you can’t roll the window down but need to take pictures or videos. You can mount the device on the window and this way you will also avoid window glares (and this will work well with the new app). Or you can stick your device onto the microwave in your kitchen for a quick app use. Check out the video for more uses.

Head here if you are interested in the product. It comes with a price tag of €15.50 (around $20).

The post Stickable Resin Skin For Your iPhone (Video) appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

An official document from the Department of Homeland Security has explicitly stated that just about anyone is allowed to take as many photos as they’d like of government buildings. From your iPhone to your Digital Rebel, your shots are fair game.

There have been plenty of stories about photographers having their equipment seized or being told to erase their memory cards by security personnel around the White House and other government buildings. This memo is saying that such “orders” are no longer okay.

It’s saying that “officers should not seize the camera or its contents, and must be cautious not to give ‘orders’ to a photographer to erase the contents of a camera, as this constitutes a seizure or detention.” Score one for the paparazzi photogs.

[Lens]

The post Homeland Security says you can shoot the White House with impunity appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Solar Powered Camera Strap Concept

I’m not particularly keen on the flashy white strap of this solar harness, but the idea is fantastic and anything leaning towards sustainability gets a thumbs up in my books. The Solar Camera Strap is a concept developed by designer Weng Jie. It capitalizes on the need for a sturdy camera strap for photographers, while trickling you power as well.

[Yanko Design]

The post Solar-powered camera strap charges in the sun appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

When you try to take pictures under lower light conditions, you are largely left with one of two options. You can use the flash and get all sorts of unnatural and uneven lighting. You can avoid the flash and get one big blurry mess. Well, a couple of students are coming up with a much better alternative.

Some people are calling it a “dark” flash, whereas others are referring to it as an “invisible” flash. Whatever you choose to call it, the innovation is supposed to provide us with much better photos at night and under other dim lighting conditions.

Hailing from New York University, Dilip Krishnan and Rob Fergus are developing a two-step technique that can be completely automated in regular digital cameras (and maybe even camera phones). The flashbulb has been modified to emit a wider spectrum of light, but it filters out visible light.

The UV and IR filters that are normally present in camera sensors have also been removed. The net result is a picture that looks like an infrared image, similar to the picture you see on the left. The blur is gone and the lighting is even, but it’s the wrong color, right?

An algorithm takes care of that. A second photo is taken immediately after the second one, but without the “dark” flash being used. By doing so, the camera is able to grab the color information from the resulting grainy and shaky pic. Combining the detail from the first pic with the colors of the second, you get the picture on the right.

This sounds like it could be quite a fantastic innovation if it really works as promised, but it almost sounds like the camera has to be dedicated to this purpose. If they can merge the technology with existing tech for “regular” photos, they could have a very lucrative patent on their hands.

Source: Gizmodo

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