design

Michael Zhang

Apple’s Jonathan Ive to Design a Single Uber-Limited Edition Leica M

Do you love the design of Apple products? Do you have infinitely deep pockets? If you said yes to both questions, then I have some good news for you.

At Leica's special event last night, after the new Leica M was announced, company owner Dr. Andreas Kaufmann revealed that they've got a very special limited edition version of the camera planned -- one that's designed by legendary Apple designer Sir Jonathan Ive.

Michael Zhang

Pentax Si is a Concept Camera Based Around a Single Dial Button

Designer Andrew Kim thinks that point-and-shoot cameras aren't simple enough for many ordinary consumers. After all, if you're only looking to take snapshots of everyday life, having buttons and dials that can toggle undesired functions is more of an annoyance than a benefit. Taking a page from Japanese industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa's book, Kim created a concept camera that he calls the Pentax Si.

Michael Zhang

First Glimpse at a Retro-styled Compact from Fuji, Possibly Named the “XP1”

Fuji already introduced retro, Leica-style design to the world of mirrorless cameras with its gorgeous X series line, and now it appears that the company wants to do the same thing for the world of point-and-shoots. New leaked photos, first published on Digicam-info, show an unknown compact camera by Fujifilm that features a slick leather wrap and an elegantly minimal UI -- a camera that definitely wouldn't embarrass fashion-forward folk.

Michael Zhang

Iris: A Concept Camera That’s Controlled Using Your Eye

Using the human eye to control cameras isn't a new idea -- Canon used to offer eye-controlled focusing in its SLRs -- but designer Mimi Zou's Iris concept camera takes the concept one step further by having the camera be entirely controlled by the eye. Shaped like a lens, the photographer uses the camera by simply looking through it. Focusing, zooming, and snapping photos are done by looking, narrowing/widening the eyes, and blinking (respectively).

DL Cade

The All.Round Camera Concept: A Bendy Take on the DSLR

Concept products aren't a rarity. In the world of cars and computers concepts usually make us ooh and ahh at their beautiful styling and implied functionality, but in the world of cameras things can get a bit, strange. Such is the case with a new SLR concept by industrial designer Arti Patel called the All.Round SLR.

Michael Zhang

Apollon: Concept Cameras that Connect Together for Social Photography

Apollon is a concept camera designed by product designer Gordon Tiemstra for his industrial design university project. The big concept is that the camera can be physically combined with your friends' cameras, allowing them to snap photographs together to create things like panoramas and 3D photographs. The images captured by any camera in the cluster is wirelessly transferred to all of the others, giving everyone the complete set of images that were snapped.

Michael Zhang

D-CAN: A Cylindrical Concept Camera

Designer Jean-michel Bonnemoy thinks that traditional camera designs are wrong, and that form factors were driven more by technical necessity (e.g. the need to hold film) than by ergonomics and ease of use. Instead, he proposes that modern digital cameras should be cylindrical and resembling a handheld telescope. A lens cap is built into the front, a viewfinder and LCD screen are built into the back, and the controls are in easy-to-access locations on the side of the camera.

Michael Zhang

Pentax K-01 Now Official with The World’s Thinnest Interchangeable Lens

Pentax officially announced its new K-01 mirrorless camera today after leaked photos emerged yesterday. The system features the world's thinnest interchangeable lens: a 40mm lens that's just 1cm thick. The body, on the other hand, isn't exactly the sleekest camera we've seen. It's designed by "acclaimed and influential" designer Marc Newson, who hadn't designed a camera before this one (he spends much of his time designing airplanes). The camera features a 16.28MP sensor, an ISO range of 100-25600, 1080p video recording at 30/25/24fps, and an aluminum body available in yellow, black, and white. The system starts shipping next month, with the body priced at $750, the lens priced at $250, and the combo priced at $900.

Michael Zhang

Concept Bicycle Doubles as a Tripod

The T-Bike is a concept bicycle by designer Reza Rachmat Sumirat that's inspired by the camera tripod. In addition to having three sliding bars that can help riders easily adjust the bike to their desired size, the bike also doubles as a tripod for active outdoor photographers. The handlebars provide a tripod mount, and the kickstand on the front wheel helps stabilize the shot.

Michael Zhang

Apple iCam: A Modular Concept Camera That Uses an iPhone for Brains

The Apple iCam is a concept camera by Italian designer Antonio DeRosa that imagines a future where cameras are modular and powered by smartphones. Smartphones have already invaded the compact camera market in recent years, but their small lenses and sensors keep them from being seen as suitable alternatives to more advanced cameras. The iCam camera changes that by adding a large sensor and interchangeable lens system to the mix. Simply attach your iPhone 5 to the case and you'll have yourself a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with a huge LCD screen, fast processor, internet connectivity, and countless photo apps!

Michael Zhang

Guess What the Shape of Sony Alpha DSLRs Was Inspired By? A Sock!

In interviews published on Sony's website, the company's designers talk about how its latest DSLRs are based on a styling technique called "Tensile Skin", in which sharp lines and curved surfaces giving a "natural sense of tension". What's interesting is the tool they used to explore this idea: an ordinary sock.

Michael Zhang

Walnut and Cherry Wood Coverings for the Fujifilm X100

Remember the light brown leather X100 special edition announced by Fujifilm a couple of days ago? While those might come with a unique limited edition serial number, the look apparently isn't as unique. As a commenter pointed out, it appears to be a covering offered by a shop named Aki-Asahi Custom Camera Coverings. There are quite a few styles in addition to that look (which is named "Lizard Ochre"), including a couple of beautiful wood coverings crafted from walnut and cherry wood.

Michael Zhang

Spray Can Light Makes Light Painting Fun for Graffiti Artists

Light painting is sometimes called light graffiti, but who does graffiti with flashlights? Halo is a neat light-painting tool designed by Aïssa Logerot that makes painting with light feel much more natural for people accustomed to creating... less-legal forms of art. Shaped like an aerosol can of spray paint, the tool includes interchangeable LED lights for painting in different colors and a battery inside that recharges when the can is shaken.

Michael Zhang

Concept Ilford Film Package Doubles as a Twin-Lens Reflex Pinhole Camera

Film usually comes in pretty boring boxes, but what if you could reuse those boxes as a pinhole camera? Designer Linna Xu won the Packaging category of the 2010 Adobe Design Achievement Awards with this concept, creating these awesome boxes for Ilford medium format film that double as pinhole cameras resembling old school twin-lens reflex cameras. Each box allows users to explore the world of medium format photography without even having a medium format camera!