12 POPULAR SCIENCE
selected consciously by ANTHONY FORDHAM
The world is full of amazing and possibly not very useful
gadgets, and this is the page that celebrates them (or
at least mocks them with gentle fondness). This month
we’ve found everything from a 3D printed camera to a 3D
printer (but not the kind you can use to print this particular
camera). Plus a new thing for making coffee that will
amuse your friends if you can’t get it to work.
State
of the
ArtObsessed
The Standard 4x
http://www.nikonowicz.com
FROM US$
Digital cameras are so passé. Everyone’s
into going back to super-primitive pinhole
lens cameras, you know with the
magnesium flare flash and the cloth over
the head, all that. To get the kinds of
results only 5-10 minutes of fiddling with
Instagram filters can replicate, you need to
3D print your own 4x5 format camera.
Film? Nah mate, photographic plates is
what this is all about. On the other hand,
the Standard 4x5 is reasonably cheap and
might give you a new appreciation of how
convenient digital really is.XYZPrinting Nobel
Superfine
http://www.xyzprinting.com
US$
Most 3D printers sacrifice smooth
resolution for simplicity and cheapness of
materials. Digital light processing (DLP)
printers like the Superfine give a much
better result, and now they’re not too
insanely expensive. The resin is messy and
toxic, sure, but if fine detail matters to you
then all the sponging up after each print
will be worth it.Roidme F8 Vacuum
http://www.roidmi.com
$US
No we didn’t leave off the word “Dyson”,
this is a cordless bagless vacuum cleaner
that isn’t a Dyson, they do exist. The
Roidme F8 did get a big campaign on
Indiegogo which was a bit cheeky since
Roidme is owned by Chinese megacorp
Xiaomi. Who cares right? It’s not a Dyson,
its way cheaper than a Dyson, and it
generates 18.5 kilopascals of centrifugal
air pressure! No, that’s a real thing, it is!Modal Electronics
SKULPT
http://www.modalelectronics.com
$
We love analogue synthesisers here at
PopSci and we’re open-minded enough
to give some of the digital ones a go
too. Modal’s says this is a “virtual
analogue” synth. Okay. It’s a four-voice
synth with all the esoteric synth
features you’ve forgotten about since
the rats got to your Telstar EP. Still
Modal’s has rep and the SKULPT has
many, may knobs to twiddle. Funk on.NOTE ON PRICING: Prices, where appropriate, are given in currency of origin
because the USD is on a bit of a tear right now. Also, we can’t figure out the
import rules anymore, like do you always have to pay GST on top of everything
now, or what? Still, at least it means we don’t have to go to a shop. Ugh!