Philippe Kahn, founder of Borland, camera phone pioneer and guy who helped make that Fullpower MotionX-Poker iPhone game is making yet another run at the Pacific Cup, double handing from SF to Hawaii. I took these shots of them leaving the bay this Saturday on a Nikon D300 and you can see the progression from balmy Sausalito sun to foggy, rough, 30-knot bay sailing. And then into the open ocean.

Read More »

Back in 2006, 3 introduced an IP webcam that you could monitor on your 3G phone. It was called the 3 Eyecam, it was about the size of a coffee mug and it was a HUGE failure. From the fact that it beeped when you connected to it, to the terrible video quality, it was panned universally for being the suckiest security camera ever.

Now, two years later, Optus is offering a similar IP security vision solution. Dubbed the Securecam, it allows Optus 3G customers the ability to monitor their home or office via a private IP camera.

Users can easily install the camera themselves, and can receive SMS or email notification if the camera detects movement. They can then check the camera via an IP address or a compatible Optus 3G phone.

Read More »

I must admit that I was intrigued by the Super 8 projector that Japanese manufacturer Gakken released back in March. My only problem was that you would need to get your hands on an 8mm camera in order to get back to the retro filmmaking stylings of our forefathers. Fortunately for film buffs, Gakken is planning to release a companion to their projector with their own low-cost, no frills 8mm camera.

Read More »

It may be tired to bring up Minority Report, but remember the scenes in the movie where our hero gets bothered by interactive targeted advertising wherever he goes? Thanks to dear ol' NEC, this nightmare of advert pestering may really be in our future: its new ad display panel watches its watchers with a camera, then tailors the adverts to the audience. The 50-inch plasma's camera and software doesn't quite go so far as identifying specific people, but it does guess at age and sex and then offers you the chance to grab data on the products wirelessly to a mobile phone. It'll be demoed at Fuji Television's festival in Tokyo: go along and see how irritating (or not) the future of advertising may be, if you're interested. [Times of India via Dvice]

Read More »

Previously named the DS400GB, the SmartMirror is a GPS system that is mounted in place of your conventional rear-view mirror, and has a rear-facing cam input. With Navigon Mobile Navigator 6.5 inside, it's got "reality view", a 4-inch touchscreen, integrated speakers and Bluetooth and takes SD cards. It's actually got two inputs for rear-view cameras, which may be good news for the parking-skill-challenged. It sounds like a neat solution, but I'm a little unconvinced that mounting a GPS high up there on the windscreen isn't actually going to distract you from looking in the rear-view mirror— after all, we know how distracting GPS can be. SmartMirror will be available August 1st for US$799. [Navigadget]

Read More »

Canon's AVCHD HF10 camcorder got an excellent reception earlier this year, and now Canon have tweaked it slightly into the upcoming HF11 version. The most important tweaks are doubling the internal storage from 16GB to 32GB and the addition of a 24Mbps high quality MXP imaging mode. Otherwise, most features of the camera remain the same. Similar tweaks have been made to last year's HG10 HDD camera, adding in the 24Mbps shooting mode, a 120GB drive and now allowing movies to be saved onto SD card whereas before it was limited to still imagery. Both cameras will be available in August for US$1,300. [AVWatch]

Read More »

CamTim is a hack that'll let you use any digital camera with a remote control for time-lapse photography. It's not super-easy, but it won't make you cry (probably). It's basically a board you program to buzz the camera's remote button at whatever interval you want. Using a ZigBee module, you can also set it up to run wirelessly, which is pretty handy for long-term spying... on birds. [ZigGrid via MAKE]

Read More »

Panasonic's new high-end LX3 point-and-shoot totally bows out of the megapixel war, keeping the same 10-megapixel resolution as its LX2 predecessor for a 40 percent bump in sensitivity and 35 percent greater saturation, plus it can shoot up to 3200 ISO in full res, or 6400 at a reduced one. As a semi-pro point-and-shoot, it has an F2.0 2.5x 24mm ultra-wide angle lens, full manual controls and RAW output, though it still has more consumer-y stuff like Intelligent Scene Selector and HD video recording. Out in August for US$499.

Read More »

Panasonic has a nice set of digital camera summer sequels to last year's lineup. Here's the rundown, with full releases below:
•Panasonic's FZ28 updates its original 18x super-zoomer FZ18 with a higher res, and some new software features, autofocus tracking and more robust face detection, plus it shoots HD video, like every new Panasonic camera. Out in Aug. for US$399.
•The ultracompact FX150 bulldozes the FX100 with a ridiculous 14.7-megapixel resolution (hopefully not with meteor-size noise, but probably), RAW recording, HD video shooting, and a 28mm wide-angle lens. Available Aug. for US$399.
•Finally, the FX37's raison d'etre is its 25mm ultra wide-angle 5x zoom lens. It's tiny, has a 10MP resolution and also shoots 720p HD video. It's available in Sept. for US$350.

Read More »

According to reporter Nobuyuki Hayashi, the camera of the iPhone 3G sold in Japan will make a shutter sound every time you take a photo, even if you put the telephone in silent mode. The reason: all those pervs taking photos up the skirts of unsuspected women in public places.

Read More »