Nikon has today announced what appears to be the world’s first compact camera equipped with a built-in projector. You can project photos from the camera on any flat surface up to two meters away. Rumors of the innovative camera had been especially rampant on the net for the last few days, but now it is official with a full slate of promotional videos (see later in this post) and other materials directly from Nikon.
Is this new projector camera just the latest fad to come and go, or does it represent a disruptive change in the industry that will force competitors to play catch up and rewrite our definition of camera? Only time will tell the final outcome, but in the meantime I think the camera is extremely intriguing. The new Nikon S1000pj camera is just the latest instance of technology becoming smaller, more powerful, and more invasive in our lives. The potential for the camera to further enhance the social interactions, the immediacy, and the versatility of our increasingly recorded lives is fascinating.
The primary mode of use for projection will be handheld projection of the desired images onto any flat surface – wall, table, chest of a person, the floor, etc. For more formal settings, the camera can be placed on a tripod and operated remotely with a hand remote for shutter release, projector operation, etc. Slideshow modes can be configured to automatically transition through the images and videos stored on the camera, and various animated effects can be added to the projection for further fun.
Battery life is of course a concern when such a small device is going to be acting as a projector. Surprisingly to me at least, Nikon claims the camera can operate as a projector for an entire hour on a fully charged battery – pretty sweet! The camera supports the increasingly common 12.1 megapixel resolution and 5x wide angle zoom. The camera will be available in September with a suggested MSRP of $429.95. Now, on with the video already:
