Capturing Bullet Speed

December 13, 2009 by Mike Szczys 20 Comments

Sometimes it’s amazing how slow our sense of time is. We find [Maurice’s] bullet capture system a great example of this. A pair of IR sensors spaced two inches apart can capture and calculate the speed of a projectile. Couple this with a user-input distance from the sensor to the target and a microcontroller can extrapolate the exact moment to trigger a camera to catch a bullet in mid-air.

As with his other projects, all the details on how to build and use this system are available for your perusal.

BiDi Screen, On (and Off) Screen Multitouch

December 12, 2009 by Jakob Griffith 18 Comments

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXuxK6IeQfo&feature=player_embedded%5D

MIT is debuting their latest advancement in technology, a multitouch screen that also functions as a gestural interface. The multitouch aspect is nothing new, the team explains how traditional interfaces using LEDs or camera systems do work, but fail to recognize gestures off-screen.

Gestures are a relatively recent highlight with the introduction of projects like Natal or perspective tracking, but fail to work at closer distances to the screen. MIT has done what seems the impossible by combining and modifying the two to produce the first ever multitouch close proximity gestural display.

And to think, just a couple of months ago the same school was playing with pop-up books.

[via Engadget]

Remote Control Pellet Gun – With Scope

December 10, 2009 by Mike Szczys 40 Comments

Project Thunderbird is an automated predator and pest control system. It consists of a pellet gun mounted in a motorized base. The icing on the cake is a 60x zoom camera that has cross-hairs superimposed on the picture. This reminds us of the Internet hunting for the handicap we heard about years ago.

In the video after the break you can see how the motorized base works, watch the trigger-pull motor, and observe a demonstration of some target practice. The creator, [Gadgetapodimus], mentions the possible sale of plans and kits as soon as he completes the system. Perhaps it would be better if this was not easy for people to build.

Continue reading “Remote Control Pellet Gun – With Scope” →

Homebrew Kodachrome

December 8, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 19 Comments

What do you do if you can’t find the film that your camera uses? The answer seems pretty simple, you just make it yourself. Making film is not a simple task. There are multiple stages involved and it all has to be done in complete darkness. This project is causing a bit of stir in its respective communities. Though not completely finished yet, it is already an impressive piece. Everyone is waiting eagerly for it to be completed. You can find a few of the discussion groups linked from the flickr page.

[via BoingBoing]

Double Dose Of IPhone Camera Hacks

December 1, 2009 by Jakob Griffith 34 Comments

Why take an iPhone, a slim device that already takes decent photographs and add several macro magnifying lenses? For [Mathijs], simply because he could, But now he can take some awesome macro pictures.

[Bhautik] (maker of the tilt-shift Plungercam) took the concept further. With some more trademark plumbing supplies and a lot of duct tape, secured an interchangeable SLR lense assembly to the back of his iPhone.

Check out some photos from both setups after the break. Continue reading “Double Dose Of IPhone Camera Hacks” →

Build A Camera Boom At Less Than A Grand

November 21, 2009 by Mike Szczys 25 Comments

The folks at The Geek Group built a camera crane for less than $1000. In the video embedded after the break a presenter takes you through the different parts that make up the boom and how it is operated. This feels like something from a Junkyard Wars challenge as most of the parts are scavenged or from an industrial surplus store. Don’t let that sour your opinion, what they’ve ended up with is amazingly functional.

The base of the unit is a rolling tripod used for television cameras from around the 1960’s. The aluminum boom attaches to the base with a few large bearings and features a fine tuning balance system. The camera mount is motorized and can be moved using a joystick or set to scan automatically. It’s nice to see more examples of custom camera mounts. Obviously this isn’t a build for everyone, but as cameras and camera equipment become more readily available it makes high quality video production available for the masses, not just the networks.

Continue reading “Build A Camera Boom At Less Than A Grand” →

Axe Your Camera (again!)

November 19, 2009 by Jakob Griffith 9 Comments

[Maurice] let us know that his latest photography tool for hackers, the Camera Axe 3.0, is now available. The original allowed you to trigger a high-speed flash and camera from a multitude of sensors, including light and sound. The new one does all that, but also: allows multiple cameras or multiple flashes, clean up of software to make it more user adaptable, and the best (arguably the most important) part – cheaper components! All that and more under the Creative Commons that we do love so much. Keep up the amazingly detailed and just pure awesome work [Maurice].