shades of Sci Fi

<p>Recently I watched 2001: A space Odyssey and was intrigued by one of the scenes early in the movie where a photographer is doing a photo shoot of some prominent scientists and the camera was all built around a pistol grip - almost looked like a pentax spot meter that was conscripted into service for the movie.<br>

And now, there is this offering which is way more 'pistol' looking than the device in the movie but offers a similar concept. I like seeing these convergences of science fiction and reality, just always makes me laugh a bit.<br>

http://petapixel.com/2015/10/27/this-is-a-3d-printed-pistol-grip-for-the-olympus-air/#more-188375</p>

<blockquote>

<p> ...allowing photographers to aim and frame shots without having to look at any display.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Wow, what a stunning, new concept! Unfortunately, the camera only works in lunar gravity. And, don't even think about boarding an airliner with one of these. <em>I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that... ;-)</em></p>

This and the holster would be perfect for people who enjoy being hassled by the police or having people in crowds running away in panic.

The idea of point and shoot is a compelling one I expect. Although I think cameras like the AO-1 deserve even more imaginative concepts to built upon...no I have none I am waiting for patent approval. The idea that cameras would be well to adopt, in my opinion, is the model of handycams. Where the left hand does more work. And the right hand punches the toggles of zoom and other functions. Perhaps I am looking to that time when we can shoot a whole movie clip and select the images we like from it. No I don't care for the gun analogy. Modular cameras open new avenues to play with . That derringer quasi mortar one would get me arrested or worse, like detained in custody by Turkish border patrol. Nope, no gun cameras, thanks.

 

This early prototype from 25 years back made some sense in terms of convergence. Note the rocker switch for the zoom and the high quality single super duper lens. And those outer space cadet curves conforming to hands. Flash thrown in/ no extra charge and a distance from optical axis too.

 

Next challenge for MIT labs. A way to attach eye cap so people aren't calling for gaffer's tape. The next breakthrough is sticking it.<div></div>

I always thought of that camera as a takeoff on the Linhoff 220, a camera I was enamored with as a kid (on the basis of ads from Grossbild

Photo Technik (?)). I guess the logical projection into the future would have been to envision better films, allowing smaller formats.

 

But as a kid doing a lot of high school photo work, my main memory of that scene was, what a lousy photographer - no searching for angles

nor waiting for interesting expressions, as though the sole purpose was to serve as an attendance record. But mostly a very cool film at the

time.

Interesting observation since the whole scene I would expect was carefully choreographed by a credentialed directed. Of

all people he would know how a photographer would set up his shots. So is this something he just put in or an integral

element?

I like the total vacuum camera in the excavation where they photographed the science crew in front of the monolith. It was large and film was advanced as one would an aerial camera by twisting the assembly. But the photographer still asked them to get " a little closer." "Tighten up a little bit, folks" does that seem familiar. And then, sci fi interrupts by an alien screech from the monolith. A siren that said some critter has fudged with our sentinel. Still a great movie. When I saw it on the Cinerama screen in first release, ah, the first image of an eclipse from the moon's perspective. Was great. My wife saw the movie so many times she said she got to read all the Nav displays on the lunar lander cockpit instruments.

Plenty of MF examples of superior grips, than this ridiculous contrivance. Which takes a novel product and

makes it empirically worse in design.

 

Rollei, Bronica, Hasselblad, et al. Many available in the 60s prior to "2001".