Come by our booth in Hall 4.1, Booth G39. We’d love to meet you there. The coffee is on us! ;)
Visit us at photokina 2016, Hall 4.1, G39!
We made it! Funded on Kickstarter after just 5 days! But what looks like the end, is just the beginning!
We are literally speechless. After just five days we reached our funding goal on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. This means our next product, the new Unleashed, will definitely go into mass production. A wireless smartphone remote control for DSLRs unlike any other on the market!
After months of hard work we’re so happy and grateful to see that people trust in our products, in us and our vision. We know that our workload won’t subside, but we’re pumped we’ll be able to deliver a remarkable product and make the lives of many photographers around the world easier.
This is why reaching the funding goal isn’t it. We have big plans and are convinced that these first 5 days are just the beginning of a much bigger story. We want to get as many backers as possible to say: “I want to be part of it!” and pledge their support on Kickstarter.
So as a customer, friend or just visitor, we ask you to continue to share the Kickstarter campaign with all your friends and colleagues! Soon we’ll announce our stretch goals: the higher the total sum pledged, the more features we’ll add to the Unleashed.
Stay tuned, subscribe to our newsletter and back us on Kickstarter.
Check out our Kickstarter campaign
Greetings from Berlin
Big plans and many changes. It was about time.
Quite a while ago, Oliver founded foolography. Since then a lot of things have changed, developed and gone from ideas to tangible products.
In the last years we moved forward and shaped a vision that guides the team in making smart camera accessories, unlike others on the market. We have big plans for the future and to realize those, we’ve taken many steps and there are still several more ahead.
One big step was: moving to Berlin. Even though Wiesbaden is one of the most beautiful cities we know, we believe, surrounding ourselves with an atmosphere of innovation, ‘Think different’ attitude and knowledge-sharing in the tech capital Berlin is what will help us to thrive and build the best products we can. And so far, it did. Plus, Berlin is also one of the greatest cities to live in, and we’ve already grown to love it.
Another big step which was long overdue: give foolography a new look that matches the vision, the team and the products we want to make. And boy, what a step it was! But so worth it!
Today, we introduce to you our new CI.
Five thoughts shaped and influenced the entire redesign process:
- We love photography. We are our own first customers, so the new design needs to be attractive to us personally.
- We build smart niche products for cameras. We want a design that portrays the world of photography, yet is unique to attract the attention of people who want to get the most out of their cameras. Oh come on – not another aperture in the o ;-)
- We are a small team of professionals driven by smart technology. The CI should reflect that. Though our name might be a little foolish ;-) , our logo and word mark are simple, straight forward and bold: including everything necessary while keeping it simple with a strong focus on functionality. Just like our products.
- We love technical details. So you’ll find a little technical drawing every now and then.
- What can we say? Black is the new black. Even though we look into a bright future, our design is dark, representing style, quality and professionalism.
We’re very happy with the final design and are grateful for amazing teamwork with Christin from Studio Varo.
The next big step is something you’ll hear about soon. Sooner than you think. We’ll keep you posted and thank you so much for being on this journey with us together.
Nikon D500 has Bluetooth! Unleashed D200+ still needed
Along with the D5, Nikon also announced the D500, their new DX Flagship camera with all pro features. While many have been hoping for this D300 successor for many many years, most had given up waiting, and settled for the very capable D7x00 lineup instead.
After skipping the D400 (we still don’t know why), and all the rumors focussing on the D5, Nikon really surprised everyone with the D500, but only positively: It inherits many of the D5’s features and sports 153 point AF system, 10fps up to 200 shots, 20.9MP, ISO 51200 expandable to 1640000, Hi-Res Touchscreen and 4K UHD Video – all in a compact but pro-grade DX Body, but you’ve probably already read more about those here, here and here. However, what really sparked my interest was that Nikon finally added Bluetooth to their DSLRs, with their “Snapbridge” feature. Unfortunately, Nikon did not consult us on this, so you won’t get the features you’re used to from our Unleashed just built-in. You’ll be pleased to know that our Unleashed D200+ with the D800 modification will continue to work on the D500 as well, and can co-exist with Snapbridge – the two technologies will not interfere with each other!
Snapbridge on the D500 is an always-on Bluetooth Low Energy connection to your smartphone, transferring low-resolution images as you shoot them, so that you can easily share those on Social Media. It’s also possible to sync the smartphone’s time and location with the Camera. The wording in the marketing info is not 100% quite clear whether this is just for updating timezone settings as you start using the camera in a new location, or whether this means that the photos will actually be geotagged with the smartphone’s location. We’ve mentioned a few times, that this is not to be compared with using a “real” GPS, as you can with our Unleashed, but is a nice feature nonetheless, if Nikon manages to get it right, that is. Unfortunately, this is not something that I have very high expectations for, judging by the current “WMU” app, I used with the D5300 and its built-in wifi, or the D7100 with the WU-1a Wifi-adapter. Nikon also called this Snapbridge, by the way! The Wifi connectivity is only a very small part of this problem, but the app itself is just a little more than unusable. Lets hope Nikon hired some great app developers for the new Snapbridge. In any case, I am looking forward to testing it, and will keep you updated when I do.
D5 announced – add GPS with our Unleashed D200+
So Nikon finally put an end to all those D5 rumors, and revealed their new Flaship FX DSLR at CES 2016, delivering even more than everyone reading the rumors already anticipated! It really is a beast of a camera, and trumps the D4s in all the important specs: 20.8MP FX Sensor, EXPEED 5 Processor, Native ISO up to 102400, extendable to Hi5 (3280000 – yes, 3.28 million!), brand new 153-Point AF System, 12 fps continuous shooting incl. AF (up to 200 shots), new 180k RGB pixel metering Sensor, Hi-Res Touchscreen, and 4K Video, just to name a few! I’m sure you all know the details, or will want to read up on dpreview (hands-on), nikonrumors, engadget or from official sources: nikon.com.
The D5, like all other current Nikon DSLRs does not have GPS built in, but we’re pleased to tell you that our Unleashed D200+ (with the D800 modification) will work on the D5, giving you the best direct geotagging solution currently available.
This year is the first time since many years that we are not at CES, so unfortunately I was unable to test compatibility personally. However, I have received confirmation from a customer that the Unleashed D200+ with the D800 modification fit the D5 well physically, when he tested it. Since it was indoors, he was unable to verify the functionality. I’m very sure there will be no issues, as the D5, just like the Nikon’s Pro-DSLRs remains compatible with Nikon’s own GPS product, which our Unleashed is electronically compatible with. However, once we get our hands on a D5, we’ll be sure to test it extensively and update this post with our results.
The Photography Show in Birmingham
We’ve arrived at our first ever trade show in the UK. For the next few days we’ll be exhibiting at The Photography Show at the NEC in Birmingham, Hall 5, Booth J111.
The Booth is set up, and we’re looking forward to seeing you, and showing you our products in action!
Nikon announces D7200 – Unleashed Dx000 adds GPS
Nikon is on a roll! Just weeks after the D5500 and D810A, Nikon just announced the D7200 – the successor to the D7100. Little seems to have been changed from the D7100 (read here and here), but this can also bring advantages: Our Unleashed Dx000 will fit, just like it did on the D7100!
Nikon D810A for Astrophotography
A special Version of the D810 was released by Nikon at CP+ in Japan: the D810A. There is little difference to the D810, except that the sensor and the range of some exposure settings have been changed to be more suitable for Astrophotography. Read more here and here.
Our Unleashed D200+ with the D800 modification will fit the D810A, so get it to add GPS data to your awesome photos of the night sky!
[foologic-shop-product id=’0′]Nikon D5500 – no more integrated GPS
So, just in time for CES, Nikon announced the D5500, successor to the D5300. The D5300 was Nikon’s only DSLR that had GPS built-in. Its successor, however, no longer does. It seems the function was either not popular enough, or did not work as well as it was supposed to. My guess/experience: Both! (The worst was the battery drain). As usual, you can read the details on dpreview.com or engadget.com
At CES, I went over to the Nikon booth, to test our Unleashed on the D5500 there. Luckily, one of the guys there was curious enough himself to let me test it – even though they were just prototypes, and he wasn’t supposed to let me.
- The good news: the Unleashed Dx000 works on the D5500 (see the GPS Satellite icon)
- The bad news: I was unable to properly test how well it fits the D5500, but can tell you it’ll be tight!
It would have been necessary to remove the rubber flap to insert the Unleashed Dx000 completeley, and of course was not going to do that on Nikon’s prototype. The socket is a little more recessed than on other cameras, so I cannot yet promise that the Unleashed can be plugged in all the way, and therefore get enough contact to work properly. I will update this post when I know more – if you’ve tested it, let us know in the comments!
CES2015
Having just arrived in Berlin, we had to leave again, and started off the year as usual: with a trip to Las Vegas, to exhibit at CES2015! It was a great show, as the German Pavilion we were part of was located in South Hall 2 – a much better spot than the LVH where we were last year.
Thanks to everyone that came by!