Photography

Crank it up and shoot with the Sun and Cloud camera

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The onboard battery of the Sun and Cloud camera from Superheadz can be charged via USB, a small photovoltaic panel or by a side-mounted hand crank
Some happy early adopters showing off their Sun and Cloud cameras
To the rear is a small LCD screen for preview/playback, a menu wheel and physical programmable mode selection buttons
The Sun and Cloud camera features a 3-megapixel CMOS sensor, and though its up to ISO800 sensitivity won't grab you a flash-free, low-light shot, the built-in LED flash should help in this regard
Pumping away at 100 - 150 turns per minute will give you about 60 seconds worth of power or between 4-8 images
Charging the device's battery via USB will take about 75 minutes
The onboard battery of the Sun and Cloud camera from Superheadz can be charged via USB, a small photovoltaic panel or by a side-mounted hand crank
A charge status indicator above the power button will keep you updated on progress
The lens has three distinct zoom settings which are selected via a sliding control below
The crank's handle fits snug within the camera's body when not in use
The lens can be closed to protect it from travel damage
Close up of the hand crank
The camera's top-mounted PV panel will charge the battery in about 12 hours of bathing in bright sunlight
View gallery - 12 images

Though the increasingly competent cameras in smartphones are making the digital compact all-but obsolete, there is still a healthy market for novelties like the Digi Cam and Digital Harinezumi 2++. Another decidedly lo-fi cutie from the same product stable is the Sun and Cloud "self-generating" pocket camera. Its battery can be juiced up via USB, but the palm-sized snapper offers users greener charging options in the shape of a PV panel on top and a hand crank on the side.

The 6 x 6 x 8 cm (2.36 x 2.36 x 3.14 inch), 190 g (6.7 oz) Sun and Cloud camera is built around a 3-megapixel CMOS sensor, and though its up to ISO800 sensitivity won't grab you a flash-free, low-light shot, the built-in LED flash should help in this regard. The camera offers 15 creativity filters/modes and a self-timer, and is capable of 640 x 480 resolution video recording at up to 30 frames per second, with files stored in AVI format. The lens has three distinct zoom settings (for macro, portraits and landscapes).

To the rear is a small LCD screen for preview/playback (no specs are given), a menu wheel and physical programmable mode selection buttons. There's a microSD card slot to the side, though the unit doesn't come supplied with a card.

Charging the device's battery via USB will take about 75 minutes, the PV panel on top can do the same if it bathes in about 12 hours of bright sunlight, or there's a hand crank to the side. Pumping away at 100 - 150 turns per minute will give you about 60 seconds worth of power or between 4-8 images. The crank can be turned in either direction. A charge status indicator above the power button will keep you updated on progress.

The Sun and Cloud camera is available now in either black or white from A C Gears for US$199.

Source: Sun and Cloud cam via Gizmodo

Product page

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2 comments
Gadgeteer
Not "retro" enough. Use a generator running off a mainspring that's wound up with something resembling the film advance lever on an old camera that didn't have motor drive. Ditch the LCD in favor of a simple optical viewfinder, which would save power. You wouldn't get the instant gratification of seeing how the shot came out, but that would be just like the old days when one had to either repair to the darkroom or wait for Fotomat or another photo developer to get you your prints in a few days.
Adrien
actually I would pay money for something that would slot into the battery bay of my SLR, and allow me to crank charge it. Would just need a generator, and probably super-cap or some lipos.
Can't begin to count how many times I want to take a picture and the thing is out of juice. A few cranks is way quicker than finding the charger.