Little Cyclops Motion Detection Video

Playing around with the buttons on my Little Cyclops I've discovered a previously undocumented mode.

If you are in Video mode with the Red LED showing and press the FRONT button then the LEDs will change to show Steady Red and Steady Yellow:

After a few seconds the LEDs will change to Flashing Red and Steady Yellow:

Trying this with the lens cap on or with the camera held still pointing to a static view makes it fairly clear that the camera is waiting for movement to happen before it starts recording a video.

I haven't worked out yet if the camera will stop recording if movement stops, that's another experiment I'll have to try if I get the time.

But, it's interesting that there are still features to discover on this camera...

Other camera news - 360 degrees and pocket price pocket cameras

Do you want an even wider lens than the Little Cyclops?

Ricoh have announced a model called Theta: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23980615 and https://theta360.com/en/concept/

It uses two lenses to capture a 360 degree image - so each lens must have a horizontal field of view of over 180 degrees (compared with around 115 degrees on the Little Cyclops) - and some clever image stitching to make for a single scrollable image. (Though the cleverness only has to be done once as the cameras are always held in exactly the same relative position.)

There was a suggestion of turning the Little Cyclops into a 360 degree camera, but this would need four cameras mounted together. This would be bulkier than the Theta and cost almost as much...

There a few other clever 360 degree cameras about - I quite like the Lomography Spinner.

Meanwhile at a more down-to-earth level. This year's version of my favourite pocket camera is down to £49.99 at Argos: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Search/searchTerms/CANON+A1400.htm

Why is this Canon Powershot my favourite? It's down to two main features:

• It has a viewfinder - and no matter what they say about extra bright LCD screens, I always find that in bright sunshine it's impossible to see an LCD screen properly - so this makes it easy to line up your shot in difficult situations
• It uses AA batteries - and again, no matter how much I like the convenience of USB charging on the Little Cyclops, there are always those occasions when you are away from a suitable charging point (camping or out in the wilds) when the ability to slip in a couple of fresh Alkaline AA batteries is really useful

Litlle Cyclops - How to...

I'm starting work on a "How to" guide for the Little Cyclops, my first article is listed on the right: How do I Take Better Photographs?