Due to launch on Kickstarter next month, Tikee is a camera system that's aimed at making it easier to shoot high-quality time-lapse videos. The camera features dual wide angle lenses to produce immersive footage, and is designed to be durable enough to remain in position longer than you'd probably be happy leaving your DSLR out for.
We've seen plenty of devices to help create time-lapse videos, including the Pico, NeroTrigger and ioShutter. But all of these are add-ons for your current camera, which means it's tied up for the duration of the shoot, which could be hours, days or even months depending on your subject. Many cameras also make it considerably harder to produce good quality time-lapses than it should be.
Tikee aims to simplify this by being a dedicated time-lapse shooter, which can be left in place for long periods of time. The camera uses dual wide angle F2.8 lenses each paired with 1/2.3-inch 10-megapixel sensors to produce immersive 16-megapixel stitched images which can be easily compiled into time-lapses with a companion web app.
Weatherproofing, to an IP54 standard, means Tikee is durable and can be use in most conditions, while an integrated battery and an adjustable solar panel allow it to be left in position without having to worry about a power supply. This is handy if wanting to capture a time-lapse of things such as the change from day to night, or the progress of a building being constructed.
For those with safety concerns, in addition to the ability to attach a cable and padlock, Tikee boasts an anti-theft alarm which uses Wi-Fi or GPS location, and can send a notification if the camera's moved out of a defined location. There will be Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G versions of the camera system, both of which also have Bluetooth. Mobile apps can be used for previewing and framing shots on smartphones, as well as changing shooting settings.
A companion web app is then used to produce the time-lapse videos from the images shot to SD cards by the camera, which can be easily shared at Full HD 1080p 30 fps. This setup also makes it possible to create multiple time-lapses using the same image set, with the ability to alter the time scale, apply filters, and adding effects such as pan and zoom. While core web app functions will be free, specialized functionality aimed at the likes of the construction industry will incur a fee.
The Tikee camera, which measures 18 x 18 x 6 cm (7 x 7 x 2.4 in) and weighs 800 g (28 oz), is due to launch on Kickstarter next month. The retail price is said to be from €600 (that's about US$650) but early-bird Kickstarter backers could be able to snag a discount.
You can check out the promo video for the Tikee camera below.
Update Dec 10: The Tikee project has now launched on Kickstarter, where pledges start at €349 (about $380) and shipping is estimated to start in August 2016, if all goes to plan.
Source: Enlaps
