First produced in 1970 for the Photokina trade show in Cologne, Germany, Nikon’s Nikkor 6mm f/2.8 Lens was crowned “the world’s most extreme angle lens”. Able to shoot 220º thanks to a massive glass dome that’ll dwarf almost any camera you attach to it, the astonishing lens was only available on special order so it’s unsurprising there are few of them around today, never mind in perfect condition. Taking months to track down, specialists Grays Of Westminster now at last got their hands on the product, on offer with the original slip-on lens cap and for sales with a ruggest metal case. It carries a price tag of £100,000, but then this is a piece of photographic history.
Only the second reporter to ever gain access to the factory floor at Apple’s Chinese producer, Foxconn, Marketplace Shanghai Bureau Chief Rob Schmitz explores the assembly line as well as Foxconn’s wider facilities at a time labour laws and the treatment of workers has never been more under scrutiny. Though the job is mundane, for many it’s one of the best options to escape poverty and they say offers better conditions than at similar plants.
The AMG V12 Turntable is the first turntable from Analog Manufaktur Germany, quite a mouthful I’m sure you’ll agree, but with looks like that, I’d let them call themselves anything. Featuring a 12-inch tonearm, 25mm aircraft grade aluminum platter and three speed settings, the mechanism is belt-driven and will set you back around $15k.
As part of their (amazing) new Spring 2012 collection Herschel Supply Co. have perhaps very belatedly rolled out an expansive set of laptop and iPad sleeves. Available for 13″, 15″ and 17″ laptops, they preserves the brand’s signature design and will provide a hefty amount of protection for the tech inside. From $29, check the bags too.
Limited edition of only 10,000 sets, the Fujifilm X100 Black packs the now standard retro styling alongside some trend-setting technologies inside. Though despite a 12.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, Fujinon 23mm f/2.0 prime lens, new EXR imaging processor, unique Hybrid Viewfinder and HD video capture, it’s probably the matching leather ever-ready case, lens hood, adapter ring, and protective filter that’ll teaser you into a purchase.
Now available for pre-order, Art Lebedev’s Optimus Popularis is the result of many, many years of development of their ’screen in every key’ keyboard idea, pleasantly emerging from rumours that again an Art Lebedev idea could turn into vaporware. With the ability to program each key for any purpose in any program, you can design an icon for each key or chose from a wide selection of presets, with popular programs already covered by software included in the box. Photoshop-aholics start drooling, multi-language households too, although the €747 price tag might prove too much of a snag. There’s a more cost-effective six-button model coming out too, though even that’s €258.
The most gorgeous iPhone tuba around, En & Is Gold’s MegaPhone works with all models bar the original, plus iPods of course. Available in three colours, they offer excellent audio quality thanks to thin wooden frame, allowing the MegaPhone to “float off the table”, optimising the emission of sound. €399 in white and black, €599 in gold.
From the creative minds at London agency, Berg, comes the fantastically cute Little Printer. Operated via an app for your phone, you can subscribe to various daily puzzles, newspapers, feeds and personalised to-do lists and work-out evaluations for super easy printout on the pocket-sized device, running new printouts on-demand throughout the day. Berg have already partnered with The Guardian, Google, Foursquare and more to provide content, with more on the way too, making this a very exciting little product when pre-orders open in early 2012. Get your order in quickly.
Unveiling the C300 on the lot Paramount’s Hollywood studios to a crowd that included Martin Scorsese, it’s no secret which market Canon are after with their latest shooter. Hoping to compete with the Arri Alexa and RED’s EPIC, the C300 offers up an EF or PL mount (not both), 1080p capture, a pair of CF card slots, timecode and HD-SDI output. With a pricetag of $20,000 too, Canon better hope the film industry catches on, because they’re not going to be conquering the consumer market with the C300 just yet. Although we are quite tempted ourselves.
We’ve gotten pretty heavily addicted to Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 of late, so perhaps it’s unsurprising that these Sony DEV-5 binoculars are top of our shopping list right now. Under the shellf, the DEV-5’s pack a pair of high-res LCD electronic viewfinders, replacing the traditional optical finders you’d normally expect, meaning the digital binoculars can record full HD video, with GPS geotagging and Sony’s trusty SteadyShot rolled into the package too. At £2,000, they still sound like a snip, and you’ll be somewhat prepared if that WW3 comes about.
