Light Start – Kickstarting HAL, Nikon teaser, Venom revealed, and 8K under the sea

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If you’ve ever wanted your very own HAL 9000, now’s your chance

Okay, so the main headline says ‘kickstarting’ but the Hal 9000 Bluetooth speaker replica funding program is actually on IndieGoGo. Consider it a programming error, perhaps? We’ve seen Master Replicas do this before with the AI computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey but they’ve turned to crowdfunding for their latest incarnation of the slightly homicidal computer. There are two speaker options available, one which is desktop based on its own little stand and then one that is wall-mounted in the more traditional manner. The second option also comes with a Command Console which completes the look of HAL while having a range of useful functions. But neither version is going to be cheap. Early pricing is $420 (R5,620) and $890 (R11,900) for the standard and Command Console editions respectively — if you wait you’re going to wind up paying $600 or $1,200 for what is a highly-branded Bluetooth speaker. Like we said, not cheap. But the campaign has managed to raise over $480,000 so far so they must be at least a little popular.

Source: IndieGoGo[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Nikon keeps teasing its upcoming mirrorless camera announcement

Nikon has a new full-frame mirrorless camera announcement coming. The Japanese company, though, seems to be bent on not ruining the surprise. To that end, they’ve been hyping the announcement with a set of teaser videos like the one above, which kinda gives us some idea of the coming device’s outline. Other videos claim that Nikon is prepping for the next 100 years with their new device (yeah, Nikon’s hit its century already) and its new mount. Nikon’s actual announcement will be taking place in Tokyo on 23 August. If you’re really a fan, catch the countdown clock at the website below. We expect a few more teasers will hit us in the next few weeks as well, which should give us a better idea of what will be announced later this month.

Source: Nikon[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Start your morning with three minutes of Venom

Right, so the DC film universe isn’t doing as universally well as Marvel’s is. Even Marvel-lite, the small chunk of the MCEU owned by Sony, is putting DC’s efforts to shame. Case in point, the newest trailer for Venom starring Tom Hardy as yet another villain-type with his face covered. He plays Eddie Brock, a reporter with anger issues who is taken over by the alien symbiote Venom. Venom… is not a very nice alien, prone to taking people apart to see what’s on the inside. Still, he manages to be a little funny when he’s threatening to turn someone into a very sad torso — or is that just us being weird again?

Source: Sony Pictures (YouTube)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If you have to film underwater, you have to make it in 8K

Meet the Hydrus VR, a new underwater camera from Marine Imaging Technologies. Big deal, right? Actually… yes. The Hydrus VR is designed to shoot underwater in low-light conditions (basically anywhere up to 300 metres down), providing up to 8K 360-degree video to its lucky owners. And you would count as lucky if you had the Sony UMC-S3CA and custom SLR Magic E-Mount lenses at your disposal while you’re out finding Nemo. The Hydrus has been made to function both as a hand-held and a robot-mounted unit, meaning it should see action in the sort of underwater documentaries that keep us out of the ocean for months. As for its price: that hasn’t been detailed but if your budget stretches far enough that you’re looking to film that deep underwater, you can probably afford it.

Source: PRWeb[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]