Have you ever tried to take pictures with your iPhone outside on a sunny day? It’s hard to see what is on the display because the sun washes it out. The Daylight Viewfinder changes that. The Daylight Viewfinder is a patent pending viewfinder eyepiece for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad that blocks out external light to make taking pictures and videos outside in bright sunlight easier. Just start the special app, turn the suction ring to attach the Daylight Viewfinder, and you are ready to take pictures in the brightest of conditions.
How It Works
The Daylight Viewfinder app shrinks the live camera image down to a size that fits under the eyepiece, and the eyepiece blocks out the surrounding light. The eyepiece also magnifies and focuses the image. Even though the resolution of the live image you see is reduced, Apple’s Retina display is so good that you still get a great view of what the picture will look like. Above left is a screen capture of the iPhone’s display showing what was seen through the viewfinder and on the right is the picture of Mt. Hood that the iPhone took using the Daylight Viewfinder.
Compact
As you can see from the video, the Daylight Viewfinder collapses to a small size to easily fit into your pocket or purse.
Viewfinder Image
The viewfinder image on the iPhone is 216 pixels by 162 pixels. When magnified by the eyepiece, it is large and clear, with plenty of detail. Below are a couple of screen captures of the viewfinder area.
App Features
The Daylight Viewfinder app has video mode, flash mode, camera zoom, and picture review, all of the features that Apple's camera app has except for HDR and the face time camera. And after the launch, we will begin working on advanced features like panorama and burst mode.
The Idea
After unsuccessfully trying to take pictures with his iPhone while skiing on Mt. Hood last year, Paul tried to find a viewfinder attachment for his iPhone. When he couldn’t find one, he decided to make his own. With the help of an iOS developer, and after many hours in the garage making prototypes, the Daylight Viewfinder is now ready for production.
The Plan
In order to produce the Daylight Viewfinder, we are in the process of setting up a new company that will coordinate the manufacturing, assembly, app development, and distribution of the Daylight Viewfinder. We will use local injection molding companies to manufacture and assemble, and local order fulfillment centers to distribute the Daylight Viewfinder. We plan to rely mostly on internet sellers such as Amazon, but we will market to brick and mortar retailers as well.
The Kickstarter editions of the Daylight Viewfinder are being manufactured right now and should be ready to ship as soon as the project is successfully funded. Once the project is funded, manufacturing of the injection mold tooling will begin and should be complete by the end of September. First run Daylight Viewfinders should begin shipping in October.
You Can Help
We are working hard to make the Daylight Viewfinder a reality. We have a working prototype and a beta version of the required software. But we also need your help. To get it into production we will have to spend more than $30,000 on the injection mold tooling.
Made in the USA
Support us on Kickstarter, and you will be supporting American jobs. The Daylight Viewfinder will be manufactured entirely in the USA. We are not going to outsource it.
Compatibility
Today, the Daylight Viewfinder is compatible with the iPhone 4, 4S, iPod touch 4th generation, and the new iPad only. The app will be available for free on the Apple App Store. With the success of this project, we hope to expand its use to other smart phones, mobile devices, and compact cameras.
Rewards
Daylight Viewfinder & Pouch KICKSTARTER edition
Preliminary Retail Packaging
No comments:
Post a Comment