A tale of two very different cameras....

In August of last year a group of former Holga camera employees from Hong Kong decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign to launch a digital version of the beloved asian toy camera.  The original Holga debuted in 1982, and has since become a favorite of many artists due to the lack of complexity and flexibility.  Their goal was to get the $50,000 dollars needed to begin production, but demand was so great that they exceeded that goal in just 4 days.  Ultimately the project exceeded $300,000 and more than 2500 backers during the 60 days it was active on Kickstarter and they continue to get orders via Indiegogo here.

The camera is as low tech as a digital camera can get, owing very much to its roots as a toy camera.  With a manual shutter lever, exposure time is as flexible as possible and hard to gauge.  In addition, the only selections possible are a switch on the bottom to toggle between BW and Color modes, and the power dial on top allowing you to select between simulating 135 or 120 film.  You additionally have the option of attaching the flash or not via the hot shoe on top.  Everything else is done by feel and experience alone.  As you can see from the sample images below even with very little automatic control the camera provides decent quality and good dynamic range.

Picture of flowers taken with the Holga Digital

Picture of shelf with kickstarter rewards taken with Holga Digital and a flash

Lytro's Illium is by contrast one of the most advanced digital cameras ever made

The second camera I received is the Lytro Illum, an extremely advanced camera using what is called Light Field imaging to capture all of the available light in each pixel.  This not only provides superior dynamic range, but allows for what Lytro calls "living pictures" because by capturing all of the light in the lenses field of view you have the ability to change the depth of field and point of focus after acquiring the image data.  In addition, the technology allows the camera to export 3D images.  With manual focus, 8x optical zoom, and dynamic range equivalent to 80-3200ISO it is perhaps the most advanced still camera ever built with a single lens.

As you can see from the linked pictures below, you can share images that the viewer can choose a point of focus in on demand, a feature unique to Light Field technology.  At an MSRP of $1300 this is an amazingly expensive camera, but incredibly fun to use.  If it could shoot video as well it could be the perfect all around camera.  Fortunately, Lytro has moved on to trying to change cinematography and as result the camera can be found on Amazon for $387 dollars from some vendors.

GeekFuel, Wet Shave Club, Nerd Block C2E2 Special, and LootCrate in pictures

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so these are worth a few days worth of writing I guess.  Some great stuff this month, and some things that will be going to the kids too.  Have a look, and make sure to subscribe to these great services if you like what you see. 

Kickstarted: SharkTooth 16-1 Survival wearable

Sometimes a kickstarter project comes along and just makes you say "How the hell do people think of these things?".  The SharkTooth was initially one of them for me, but now that I have it in hand it makes total sense.  A simple laser cut pendant at first glance, upon closer inspection it is easy to see how useful this tiny tool could be. Besides the ten wrenches cut into the center it is easy to see the saw blade on one edge and knife edge opposite.  Harder to see until you hold it is the shape of the point besides being able to sharpen into a spear or arrow point also has a diamond shape which makes it usable as a Phillips head screw driver. 

Designed by the minds at Archwing LLC. in Madison, WI as part of what they are calling their Tactical Apparel venture, it really is a marvelous design.  They will soon be available for order from this website. 

Monthly boxes of random coolness (and sometimes crap)

I realized as I was sitting in the dentists office waiting for my son and daughter to finish that it had been a while since I had posted anything about the random unsolicited boxes of products I have received.

Some of these boxes I expect every month from subscription services hoping for publicity like the great folks at GeekBox and Wet Shave Club.  Others show up out of the blue, like the tshirt and sweatshirt that arrived with the "Last Star Fighter" logo shortly after I reposted an article about a sequel to that amazing movie being in the works.  Sometimes the contents are worth keeping, sometimes they are worth passing on to Jimmie and other friends, or handing to the wife and kids. Once in a while they are barely worth the room they take up in the trash can. 

Here come the pictures and descriptions, I'll come back through when I get time and add links where I can tomorrow.  Enjoy! 

This liquor infusion kit from TongueSpank Spice Co. was a welcome arrival

This hoodie and matching tee came from the production folks behind the new Last Starfighter movie

These are just some of the tees to arrive from the guys at pop-up-tees this month

Zac Brown Band sent us a few copies of their newest album.  If you haven't yet, buy it now. 

May's monthly box from the guys at Birchbox included no-show liners from the folks at Taft in addition to the normal variety of grooming samples

This month finally brought the release of the Nüüd for iPhone 6 Plus from the folks at Lifeproof.  I've been amazed at how long it has taken some companies to get precision manufactured cases on the market for the 6 Plus, but this is by far the most durable case you will find, especially when combined with a ballistic glass screen protector. 

GeekFUEL's theme this month was Teams, and featured items surrounding comic and movie teams like the Avengers and TMNT

As I've written about before, one of the most important items in my gear bag is a large battery pack to keep my devices charged.  This aluminum number from EliteBuy was on sale for just $30 on Amazon and is rated at 10000mAh, or around four full charges for your iPhone.  The color didn't win me over but construction was solid

This pack from Aukey, who are quickly becoming one of my favorite accessory companies was on sale for $20 when they sent it for review.  It features auto sensing technology that adjusted the output on the USB ports to charge devices as quickly as they would take power, and more importantly reduce output when your device gets closer to fully charged or is a lower powered device.  Very important to prevent overheating, especially when they are carried together in a gear bag. 

This cool tabletop BX Bluetooth speaker from GoGroove is part of their BlueSYNC line.  While it's dual drivers and multiple input sources are pretty standard, and it's wood grain finish helps it fit in nicely on my night stand, GoGroove is hopeful that what will set this product line apart from the masses is the addition of a removable and rechargeable battery that is interchangeable with the other speakers in the lineup. 

The newest kid on the "lets throw together a box of stuff geeks and fanboys will like every month and see if they will pay to get surprised" block is NerdBlock, and they didn't do too bad with their first box.  I'll reserve final judgment on the company as a service until we get six months in, but I'm not upset by what I've seen yet. 

The Foldio 2 from the folks at Orange Monkie is the perfect mobile photo studio

Well, that was most of the assorted stuff that came in May.  I have some other reviews to get caught up on, and some great recipes to post for you guys.  Stay tuned. 

I opened Esquire this month and a video started playing.....

It isn't the first time it's been done apparently, but it's the first time I've seen it.  Chevy Truck's ad agency worked with a company called Americhip to put a video player inside the page of my magazine.  It powers on when the plastic tab you see at the left side in the fold pulls out and allows the battery to complete the circuit.  You select which video file to play with one of three buttons on the right hand side.  On the back of the page is a perforation that reveals a micro-USB connector.  I tried plugging it into my computer but it didn't show up as a drive, so it appears to only serve as a charging port with video files hard set in the memory chip.

I'll play around with maybe tearing it down and seeing if the parts are hackable over the weekend.

Is Echo the beginning of home automation or Amazons bid to take over the home?

For a couple of weeks I've been using the new Echo from Amazon, training it in different rooms of the house and finally settling on the kitchen as its home in our house.  ​

While it looks like just another Bluetooth speaker the technology behind this little cylinder is Amazon's next bid to change our lives, ​and unlike the Fire Phone this one has the potential to shake things up.

When you see it in the plain black box, you really have no idea what you are in for when you start using Echo. 

Once you plug the Echo in you go through a process with either your Kindle Fire or iPhone to configure it to connect via your wifi network.  Once it is on the Internet it is really just ready to work.   

You can fine tune its ability to recognize your voice commands by going through training sessions, but it worked amazingly well right out of the box.  As the software improves more features will be added, including the ability to interact with more content services and the ability to change the keyword used to wake it for commands. 

For now you are limited to iHeartRadio, Prime Music, and Tune In Radio for audio.  I would think the Amazon owned Audible will be next to be supported (and I hope so, as audio books are what I listen to most while doing chores around the house). 

When they are available to everyone I would encourage anyone who has bought into the Amazon ecosystem to snatch one up.  Echo is going to be the center of the home soon. 

LootCrate: January 2015

This month LootCrate celebrates classic arcade gaming with its theme, "Rewind".  From 8-Bit sunglasses and Voltron t-shirt to a skinny tie featuring Space Invaders from BlackTieGeek and special limited edition cover of issue 1 of the new Star Wars comic re-launch.  There is nothing here that I don't want to hold on to.  As always we'll let the pictures do the talking as we unpack the box this month. 

Voltron T-Shirt from FlopHouse

The full box with the shirt removed

8-bit Glasses by Lootrate Lab

Comic Notebook from Unemployed Philosophers Guild

Retro Arcade Skinny Tie from Black Tie Geek

 Retro Arcade Skinny Tie from Black Tie Geek

10-Doh Figure from Squid Kids Ink

Star Wars #1 - Exclusive LootCrate variant cover

Boulder Creek Men's Big & Tall Fleece-Hooded Camo Shirt Jacket.

Boulder Creek has been making clothes for big men for a long time, and they are thankfully consistent with their sizing.  One of the biggest problems I have had with ordering clothing online is that a 6XL can mean wildly different things depending on what country and brand is producing it.

King Size sent me this Camo print hooded shirt jacket, and just from the brand I knew I wasn't going to need to worry about the fit.  As far as the shirt itself, it is warm without being too heavy, and the sleeves button securely but are thin enough to be able to roll them up if you need to.

If you are looking for something to keep you warm but not too hot while working outside that will wear well and fit the way you expect, this shirt will do the trick and keep you comfortable in Fat Boy Heaven.

A new service is on a mission- can they out-geek LootCrate?

A few months ago I was contacted by a new Kickstarter project with a simple concept: to be a better and geekier box-a-month service than LootCrate.  The project was successful, reaching their funding goal in less than a week, and GEEKFUEL was born.

I just received their first ever box, along with a Kickstarter exclusive bonus box, and so far their method seems to be at least partially focused on enlisting popular artists from the DeviantArt community to add exclusive artwork to the mix.  Add exclusive comic books, limited edition Pop vinyl figures, caffeinated beverages and access codes for games and downloadable content on Steam and I think they have a chance to give the veterans a run for their money.

Instead of listing the contents I figured the best way to describe this product would be to take pictures as I was unpacking the box.  So here we go.  I give you GEEKFUEL:  

All told a pretty impressive showing for a first issue.  Subscriptions are available monthly, quarterly, every 6 months, or annually with price breaks and bonuses at each increased level.  I've been a big fan of LootCrate for a long time but GEEKFUEL is definitely making a name for themselves in Fat Boy Heaven.

Review: Lomography's latest camera brings instant photos back to the party!

The Lomographic Society is a global organization that is trying to keep interest alive in film photography, and their latest effort is to revive the tradition of instamatic photography with their newest product, the Lomo Instant.

Dead simple to use, and very easy to get decent pictures while still flexible enough to allow for some wide ranges of creativity in settings of aperture and shutter speed that you wouldn't expect to find in an instant camera.

My first two selfies taken with the Lomo Instant

The Lomo Instant they sent me is a limited edition called the Sanremo, and the kit includes the camera and the "Lomo Instant Lens Kit".  This lens kit contains a fisheye lens, portrait lens, and close up lens.  These lenses give you even more flexibility than you ever had with that old Polaroid.

The bottom of the camera has a chart to help you find the right flash and shutter settings on the go 

The Lomo Instant uses FujiFilm instax mini instant film, an instant film that is easily found online.  It develops fast with strong clear images and is fairly inexpensive.  

The last thing they include in keeping with the societies goal of reviving the lost art of manual photography is a set of cards with photos and tips on how to get similar results with your camera.  They range from the very simple to some very advanced techniques in the 18 card set and are a very nice group of tips.

As with their last major project, the Impossible Instant Lab, this became a reality after a successful run on Kickstarter.  This is why Kickstarter is such a great idea.  It launches great projects like this into the world on a regular basis.  Here at Fat Boy Heaven we love Kickstarter, and we will keep bringing new and successful projects to your attention.  

Review: Wet Shave Club

There have been a ton of changes to the way men shave over the years, and there have been hundreds of patents filed trying to make a better and more expensive razor blade.  In the last year a couple of companies have tried to fight the tide of rising prices by introducing shave clubs, most notably dollarshaveclub.com.  I came across Wet Shave Club and was intrigued by their idea.  Instead of reinventing the razor blade, their idea is to bring shaving back to its roots.

In 1880 the first safety razor was patented, for the first time putting a safety comb over the top of the blade to prevent accidental cuts.  Wet Shave Club said "Double edged razor blades are just pennies a piece and available world wide, why not start a shave club that uses that instead of fighting it?" and they are onto something.

The Wet Shave Club starter pack includes a safety razor, blades, shaving brush, shaving soap, and astringent to help with nicks.

Here's how it works.  For $29.95 a month you get a starter kit (pictured above) which includes a safety razor, blades, shaving brush, shaving soap, and astringent sticks.  The starter kit also includes shaving instructions for those who have never shaved with a brush and safety razor before.  After that you get a box delivered every month with an assortment of shaving soaps, blades, after shave, and other shaving products.

If you are tired of spending way too much on razors and looking to get back to an easier and better shaving experience, give Wet Shave Club a try.