Hey Mum, Look At Me!

The business of the selfie has become big business for the digital age. Of course there have always been self-timers on cameras ever since shutters became mechanical rather than animal-powered*. But nowadays we can get many more options for self-recording than ever before.

Case in point is my own Fuji X-10 - the standard 10-second self timer coupled with the integrated flash means I can record myself in a number of restaurants whenever I go on holiday in glorious colour and good exposure.

But if I am determined to capture myself on a Gopro or Ion action camera - or a DSLR or mirrorless that has video recording - and I plan on bouncing about in front of the thing wrestling Schnauzers or whatever, I need someone to track my movements. No mate to watch me run into a wall, and no video to post on EweTube**.

The answer for the new photographer is the Soloshot. The orange box you see in the images is an electronic tracking system that mounts the camera on top. It is in turn set up on a dedicated tripod and the subject of the video is given a small padded transmitter to strap on the arm - about the size of a matchbox.

Set the device to talk to itself, go out about 50 feet away from the tripod, and let it lock on. Then as you
run back and forth it moves physically to track you and you appear in the middle of the video. It works - we've seen videos of water skiers using it and they look as good as a professional tracking them.

In store right now.

* Photographers fingers and the lens cap...

** New Zealand website...