It’s sad to think that one day, very few people will get the reference to film-based photography in the headline. Sigh. For now, though, enjoy these crowdfunding projects for the photographer in all of us.
Otto: A Camera For Animated GIFs
There are plenty of ways to make animated GIFs, but nobody’s made a camera that takes advantage of this popular image format. Until now, anyway. The Otto is a hackable, Raspberry Pi-based camera that is designed to take animated GIFs instead of photos. The camera works in conjunction with your smartphone—snap a GIF with the camera and it syncs with the Otto app on your phone over WiFi.
Otto’s creators are also building in a number of different shooting modes, so you aren’t limited to just making GIFs. And since the Otto’s guts are effectively a tiny computer, you’ll be able to create your own modes. The Otto project has already surpassed its Kickstarter goal, and the first units should ship to backers in December.
Pledges raised: $63,425 | Goal: $60,000 | Days left: 15
Lomo’Instant Camera Is Like An Analog Version Of Instagram
Lomography makes a whole line of funky, lo-fi film cameras that produce, surreal, artistic photos. The company’s latest offering, the Lomo’Instant, applies this same concept to instant photography.
The Lomo’Instant has three lenses, three shooting modes, support for multiple exposures (so you can expose one frame multiple times), and a long exposure mode. And it uses the widely available Fujifilm Instax Mini film, so you don’t need to go to ridiculous lengths to hunt down a rare, specialty film. Lomography expects to ship the Lomo’Instant in November.
Pledges raised: $522,786 | Goal: $100,000 | Days left: 27
Polaroid 405 Film Holders Extend The Life Of A Classic Camera
Speaking of instant photography, Steven Icanberry wants to help keep Polaroid 4×5 cameras in service, and so he’s working on developing a new film holder for this classic camera. You can find used film holders, but a new film holder can help reduce light leaks and thus improve the quality of your photos. Assuming Steven reaches his goal, his first replacement film holders should ship to Kickstarter backers sometime in June.
Pledges raised: $1601 | Goal: $3500 | Days left: 8
