FisheyeLens
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Strongbad is back and he's rapping about fisheye lenses
We knew that the gang at Homestar Runner was coming back, and now that they're here it's hard not to be a little excited. In their triumphant return, Coach Z and Strongbad (pictured above) take a kind-hearted jab at '90s rap videos and their predilection for fisheye lenses. How? With a rap clip of their own, naturally. It sounds impossible, sure, but the new clip almost feels like a warm hug from the internet.
Nyko Zoom for Kinect hands-on
Microsoft's next Xbox 360 Dashboard update may be packing enough deep Kinect integration to make your inner Anderton tingle with glee, but it won't do you much good if you live in a shoebox apartment, cramped dorm, or happen to own a couch. For all of its fun tricks, the Xbox's depth sensor is woefully farsighted, and doesn't play nice if you stand too close. What's a motion loving, spatiality challenged gamer to do? Well, we've heard of one option. Nyko announced the Zoom for Kinect quite some time ago, making lofty promises of reducing the sensor's minimum required play distance by up to 40 percent. It performed notably well when we gave it a whirl at E3, but with Redmond's Kinect heavy Dashboard redesign just around the corner, we thought we'd give it a second look. %Gallery-137073%
Olloclip three-in-one lens for iPhone 4 review
The age of lugging around a pricey DSLR kit just to capture casual fisheye, wide-angle and macro photos may be nearing its end -- for some of us, at least. Designed by a startup duo in California, the Olloclip was the first project featured in our Insert Coin series, and we were thrilled to learn not only that it was successfully funded, but that the device is ready to ship to both early supporters and new customers just two months later. The accessory brings the functionality of all three lenses to the iPhone 4, and it does so well enough to warrant leaving your pro kit at home on occasion -- assuming, of course, that your photographs aren't responsible for putting food on the table. While a bargain compared to its professional equivalents, $70 is a lot to spend on any iPhone accessory, so the lens's price tag may not sit well with some users. Also, design limitations mean you won't be able to use the lens with other devices, and there's no way to guarantee compatibility with future iPhones as well. Nonetheless, we had a blast shooting with the Olloclip, and we think you will too. Head past the break to find out why.%Gallery-128329%
Insert Coin: Olloclip three-in-one lens for iPhone 4 (video)
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. We typically prefer to mount our macro, wide-angle, and fisheye lenses directly on a DSLR, but lugging around a pro-level kit isn't always an option. The olloclip adds some flexibility to your iPhone 4's camera, complimenting the built-in lens with a three-in-one optic that clips onto the phone and can be stored in your bag or pocket when not in use. The attachment includes three lenses: a 180-degree fisheye on one side, a wide-angle lens on the other, and a 10x macro that's revealed after unscrewing the top of the wide-angle. Based on the intro video, the wide lens appears to have some rather significant barrel distortion, so we hope inventor Patrick O'Neill and designer Chong Pak are able to work that out before this hits production. A $45 pledge to this Kickstarter includes one olloclip, which you're getting at a 25 percent discount. Lenses should ship 4 weeks after the project hits its $15,000 funding goal -- if it does hit that goal -- and are expected to retail for $60.
Glass globe doorknob gives you a view of what lies beyond... the door
Got more curiosity than energy to open doors? Then you'll want to get yourself one of these fisheyed globe doorknobs from designer Hideyuki Nakayama. The idea is resoundingly simple, the globe on your end of the door provides a wide-angle view of what's on the other side, which is achieved by collecting and reflecting light soaked up by another globe on the other end. So yes, privacy might be a tiny bit compromised with these door handles, but the fun coefficient should be through the roof.
Artificial bee eye gives diminutive robotic air drones wider range of vision
We'd bother telling you up front that it also gives them a new sense of purpose, but you're already versed in how the impending Robot Apocalypse is going to go down. Wolfgang Stürzl and his best buds over at Bielefeld University in Germany have just published a report detailing how an artificial bee eye could improve the vision of miniature robots -- ones that fly, in particular. By using a catadioptric imaging system, which captures an image using both mirrors and lenses, they were able to utilize a single camera to capture a full 280-degrees of vision, and a lowly internal computer is able to stitch the two panes together in order to create a usable image that humans can interpret. The idea here is to provide more sight with less space, bringing us one step closer to actually having our very own 'fly-on-the-wall' moment. Comforting, no?
JVC 4K camcorder set to transmit solar eclipse cameras live July 22
Not satisfied with just rolling out prototypes and specs, JVC is putting its 4K compact camcorder prototype to work to screen a live solar eclipse throughout several live venues (also in 4K at some locations) in Japan. This camera is the first to deliver its high res, 60p video in real-time, so it can be broadcast a look through the 190-degree fisheye lens shown attached in the picture above in sky domes by 4K projectors. Anyone want to see if they can get Cinedigm on this?
