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!
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Here’s a geeky shirt that’s relevant to photography: today’s Woot shirt of the day is titled “Everything is Golden“, and features the golden ratio! It’s available until the end of the day for $10 with free shipping.
Everything is Golden [Woot]
A designer in Japan created this mockup of what Fujifilm’s upcoming mirrorless camera might look like based on photos that were leaked earlier this week.
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“Airframe”, designed by Korean designer James Kim, is a picture frame shaped like an airplane window.
Whether you are a seasoned traveler or new to the skies you can always have a lofty window seat view with this portal overlooking aerial views from your memorable vacation.
They come in sets of 3, which cost $47 each over in the designboom shop.
Airframe by James Kim (via @Photojojo)
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. Art director Takuya Niitsu says,
What helped me explore this idea was an ordinary sock. As soon as I stretched the sock over our structural mock-up, it transformed the jumble of blocks into a coherent, sculptural unit. It looked fresh, and the jutting edges resonated nicely with the gentle contours. Although this unified whole could be called “monoform,” it was hardly monotonous, and there was a pleasant sense of tension. I knew that following this approach would lead us to the new shape for Alpha SLRs.
Discoveries in a new approach to design (via sonyalpharumors)
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.
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Verena Lang of Ivy Design came up with this brilliant idea of a table that conveniently folds up into a giant picture frame when it isn’t needed. They’re built out of wood, plexiglass, and stainless steel, and cost about $2,200 on the Ivy Design site. Of course, you could always try your hand at building your own!
Picture Table (via DVICE via Make via Lifehacker)
If for some reason you hate both buttons and touchscreens, then Rotor is a camera for you. It’s a concept camera designed by Charlie Nghiem that bases its entire user interface around a stack of physical mode dials. Rotate any of the dials, and the corresponding settings appear on the screen.
charlie nghiem: rotor digital camera (via Geeky Gadgets)
Designer Miha Feuš doesn’t think the user interfaces on low-end compact cameras are very useable for the average consumer, so earlier this year he set out to create a better camera interface. After a good amount of thinking, building, and testing, Feuš made this video to share his ideas, show off his prototype, and report on his results.
His design revolves around a “touchband”, which is a one-dimensional touch sensitive area positioned next to the screen. According to his user tests, the touchband is easier to use than both traditional button interfaces and newer touchscreen interfaces. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll know Feuš as the Jakob Nielsen of the camera world.
Spotted this shirt, titled “Analog Retirement”, over at BustedTees. The design might be cute and creative, but it was obviously created by someone who isn’t a photographer. Sure the photographic film industry hasn’t been doing so hot over the past decade, but you can’t compare film with cassette tapes, VHS tapes, and floppy disks. Those technologies offer no advantages over the ones that replaced them, while analog photography does. As long as there are people passionate about shooting film, the medium should do just fine.
