About one year after showing the first image from the camera module prototype, the Raspberry Pi Foundation announced the Camera board is now available for purchase on RS Component or Element14. Navigating either of these sites is a nightmare, but, if you’re lucky, you should eventually find the camera board for around $25 before taxes and shipping. “Raspicam” features the following hardware specifications: Omnivision 5647 sensor in a fixed-focus module 5MPixel sensor Still picture resolution: 2592 x 1944 Max video resolution: 1080p Max frame rate: 30fps Size: 20 x 25 x 10mm Connection by flat ribbon cable to 15-pin MIPI Camera Serial Interface (CSI) connector S5 on Raspberry Pi computer board The first thing you’ll have to do with the camera is to connect it to the CSI connector on your Raspberry Pi, just behind the Ethernet connector on model B. James explains it very clearly in the video below. […]
Veidoo HD2 Android Set-top Box Features a 5MP Camera
There seem to be more and more Android set-top boxes that can be fitted on top of the TV, but if you are mainly interested in video conference they may not always have very good cameras: MK818 comes with a 0.3MP camera and Archos TV Connect has a 1MP webcam according to Arctablet, which is good enough for 720p video conferencing. On the contrary, Veidoo HD2, an Android 4.0 set-top box powered by AllWinner A10, comes with a 5MP camera which should allow you, in theory, to do video conference in 1080p if your internet connection permits it. Here are the specifications of the device: SoC – Allwinner A10 Cortex A8 @ 1GHz + Mali-400 GPU Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 8GB + micro SD slot (Up to 32GB) Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n + 3G support via external 3G dongle Camera – 5.0MP auto focus Video Output – HDMI […]
Review of Measy U2C Rockchip RK3066 Mini PC With Built-in Camera
I’ve received 2 new devices to play with this week, as Geekbuying sent me Tronsmart Promotheus set-top box and Measy U2C, a mini PC with a webcam, so that I can test and review them. Today, I’ll leave the “Spaceship” set-top box parked in another galaxy, and I will review Measy U2C mini PC. This HDMI dongle is powered by Rockchip RK3066, runs Android 4.1.1, and comes with 1 GB RAM, 8GB Flash, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth connectivity, and a built-in 2MP Webcam. For complete specs, you can check my post about B12 mini PC since this device uses the same board internally. Geekbuying sells this all-in-one mini PC for $74.99 including shipping. As usual, I’ll post some unboxing pictures, and then review the device, this time, with a section dedicated to the webcam, since this is the key selling point of this mini PC. Measy U2C Unboxing Measy U2C comes […]
MeCam – $49.99 Wearable HD Camera
Yes, yesterday I already talked about MeCam, the self video nano copter, and no, this is not a double post, as the MeCam is also another product (this may keep some lawyers busy, or maybe not), which you can pin on your clothes, or wear as necklace, that shots 720p videos, or take 5MP still pictures by the press of a button. The MeCam comes with 3 buttons: Power Button- To power on/off the device and enter standby mode. Video Button – To start/stop video capture. Photograph Button – To take photos, or enable/disable IR mode (Long press). IR (InfraRed) mode allows you to shoot videos or take pictures at night. To transfer your media files to you computer, you can either copy the files from the removable microSD card (4 to 16GB), or transfer them via USB. You can watch the promo video below to see the MeCam in […]
Always Innovating MeCam is a $49 Voice-Controlled Nanocopter Camera
Earlier today, I’ve posted a list of some interesting sessions for the upcoming ELC 2013, and one of the talk entitled “Lessons Learned in Designing a Self-video Self-hovering Nano Copter” by Gregoire Gentil, Always Innovating CEO, caught my attention. In this presentation, he will talk about the technical challenges the company encountered when they designed MeCam, a self video nano copter to point-and-shoot yourself, that should sell for just $49 retail. The MeCam launches from the palm of a hand and hovers instantly. It streams video to an Android or iOS phone or tablet that can be easily shared on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. There’s no remote control for the MeCam as it’s either controlled by voice commands, or it can be setup to follow you around thanks to the follow-me feature. It can also do panorama shots automatically. The products is still in […]
Ambarella Unveils A9 4K Ultra HD Camera SoC
Ambarella has recently today introduced the A9 camera System on Chip (SoC) with support for the new 4K Ultra HD video standard in order to power next generation of mirrorless, sports, and digital still cameras. Ambarella A9 SoC features two ARM Cortex A9 cores (surprisingly), as well as Ambarella Image and Video DSPs. The A9’s video features include video timelapse modes, capture of high-resolution still images during video recording, Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS), and burst capture of up to sixty 12-megapixel still images per second. Ultra-wide angle and small form factor lenses are supported with full lens distortion correction. The A9 also support High Dynamic Range (HDR) video. Ambarella A9 Feature Summary: 4K Ultra HD video recording @ 30 fps. High definition video recording at 720p @ 240fps and 1080p @ 120fps. Burst mode support for still image capture of over 700 Megapixels per second. Multi-exposure High Dynamic Range (HDR) […]
Nvidia GRID Platform, Tegra 4 Processor and Project SHIELD Game Console at CES 2013
CES 2013 has finally started, and Nvidia has had a pretty amazing keynote with some PC gaming announcements such as “GeForce Experience” which is a piece a software that can configure your games settings automatically based on your PC hardware (e.g. processor and GPU), and 3 cloud and mobile devices announcements: Nvidia GRID Platform – Cloud Gaming Server with 240 Nvidia GPUs. Nvidia Tegra 4 – Nvidia 4 cores Cortex A15 , 72 GPU and SDR modem SoC for tablets and smartphones. Nvidia Project Shield – Game console with a 5″ display powered by Tegra 4 that can also act as a game controller, and play PC games on your TV. Nvidia GRID Platform NVIDIA GRID Cloud Gaming Platform is comprised of 20 GRID server per rack with a total of 240 Nvidia GPU capable of 200 TFLOPS or the equivalent of 700 Xbox 360. Nvidia GRID render 3D graphics […]
Samsung Unveils EK-GC100 Galaxy Camera Running Android 4.1
Following Nikon steps with its Coolpix S800c, Samsung announced their own Android camera. Samsung EK-GC100 camera features an Exynos 4412 quad core Cortex A9 processor, a 4.8″ touchscreen display (1280×720), Wi-Fi and 3G or 4G connectivity (depending on model), a 16MP camera with a 21X optical zoom, and runs Android Jelly Bean. Samsung Galaxy Camera specifications: OS – Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) Processor – 1.4GHz Quad-Core processor Memory – 8GB + memory slot : micro SDSC, micro SDHC, micro SDXC Display – 121.2 mm (4.8″), 308 ppi, HD Super Clear Touch Display Image Sensor – 16.3 effective megapixel 1/2.3″ BSI CMOS Lens – F2.8, 23 mm, 21x super long zoom IS – OIS (cnxsoft: what is that?) (Optical Image Stabilization) – See Ganesh comment below for details explanation, in case you don’t know this. ISO – Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 Network – 4G, 3G (HSPA+ 21Mbps): 850 […]