Kickstarter

Creator Mark Hampton on March 16

Wendy, thanks very much, that is one of the nicest compliments we've had!

Creator Mark Hampton on March 6

Hi David, there was an update 2 days ago. Please checkout the "Updates" link, it is next to "Home" "Backers" "Comment" near the top of this page.

Creator Mark Hampton on December 13

Hi Luis, could you add your comment over on the update thread - this comment section is public and I'd rather reply for backers only. Cheers, Mark.

Creator Mark Hampton on November 20, 2012

Amazing!!! We did it. Tom took us "over the wire" :) We set the stretch goal of $37500 9 days ago. The support has been fantastic and many of you contributed a little extra to make this possible. With only 4 hours left on the clock we've met our Stretch Goal. You are getting a voice activated shutter in the free HiLO Lens app!!!

Creator Mark Hampton on November 20, 2012

Awesome effort from our backers! We needed 12 backers in the last 7 hours to reach our stretch goal. Now we need 2 with 5 hours to go. We are taking it "down to the wire" :)

I wondered what "down to the wire" means also! Here is an explanation:

The origin is indeed in sport, though not football but horse-racing. American racetracks in the latter part of the nineteenth century — before the days of cameras — had a wire strung across the track above the finishing line to help stewards decide which nose had got across the line first. An early example appeared in Scribner’s Magazine in July 1889: “As the end of the stand was reached Timarch worked up to Petrel, and the two raced down to the ‘wire,’ cheered on by the applause of the spectators.

I'm sure if all 541 of us were in the same room there would be some cheering going on :)

Creator Mark Hampton on November 18, 2012

Hi Yukihisa, the $60 pledge will be OK for the iPad Mini too.

Creator Mark Hampton on November 17, 2012

Hi Yukihisa,

Nano Cache is a cool idea but it looks too small. We have designed a cap - which protects the lenses. I'm wondering about packaging HiLO Lens in a film canister - what do you think ?

I don't have an iPad Mini but I'm very confident it will work OK after reviewing the photos of the iPad Mini on Apple's website.

The iPad compatible version will include an attachement for the iPad, so you can still use the HiLO Lens on your iPhone.

Thanks for backing us!

Creator Mark Hampton on November 15, 2012

Hi Alwyn, we didn't say we found KickTraq today, but we mentioned it for the first time in todays update. I'll admit I didn't know about KickTraq until after our launch - I found it when Googling for mentions of HiLO Lens. It is a great source of stress watching the projections!! The KickTraq site is really well done and they even tweeted about our project. Cheers, Mark.

Creator Mark Hampton on November 12, 2012

Hi Craig,

The current prototype does not work with the iPod 5th generation because the camera on the iPod Touch 5 is raised above the back surface. But we are modifying the optics for the iPhone5 and this will also give us a chance to review the design for the iPod Touch 5. I can't guarantee it will work with the iPod Touch 5 because we have not finished the redesign.

Basically to fit the iPod Touch 5 the tacky gel pad needs a larger central hole so there is room for the protruding camera. At the same time we don't want to reduce the area of the tacky pad for other devices. I'm hoping we can modify the container design with the hole for the iPod Touch 5 AND the tacky pad area can be increased. But it is too early to say if this will all work out.

Sorry I can't be more certain at this time.

Creator Mark Hampton on November 11, 2012

@Robert thanks for the push Robert - you started a rush :)
@Sara we are modifying the design so it will work with the 4/4S and 5
@Gillian we reached our goal:) Thanks in part to all your tweets!!

Creator Mark Hampton on November 5, 2012

Hi Yukihisa,

I'm contacting a few case manufacturers to see if they are interested in partnering with us. There is a good review of 7 thin cases on http://goo.gl/ASiiU

Another option is to use a skin instead of a case e.g. http://www.slickwraps.com/

I don't think HiLO Lens will work with a standard bumper case because the lens goes to the edge of the phone and the "bump" of the bumper case will get in the way. You could modify that area of the bumper case yourself so HiLO Lens fits.

Creator Mark Hampton on November 2, 2012

Hi Yukihisa,

Thanks for your support! HiLO Lens needs a flat surface around the camera so it can attach. Bumper cases typically have a raised lip at the edge of the iPhone, this would interfere with the HiLO Lens. If you choose a case that has a thin flat back, with a small hole for the camera, then it will work well with HiLO Lens.

Creator Mark Hampton on October 22, 2012

Hi Jon,

Thanks for joining our project! I'll go through your questions below

1) the app corrects for geometric distortion (barrel distortion). This is different from perspective distortion, our app does not correct for perspective distortion.
2) the optics offer a 0.7x wide angle. In photos this is reduced a bit when the barrel distortion is corrected.
3) the optical system is afocal (it does not have a focal length) but the exit pupil size will not match perfectly if it is moved away from the camera window- basically you could see black edges around the image. A thin case would be the best option if you want to use HiLO Lens with a case. The current app does not adjust for the case thickness but that it is a good idea - thanks.
4) the thickness of a protective film on the back of the iPhone would not cause any problems

Thanks for your suggestiosn and support!

Creator Mark Hampton on October 16, 2012

Hi Jon, thanks for your support & ideas!

1) we will plan to have exposure control integrated into the app
2) the tacky pad allows you to position the HiLO Lens toward the top or the right (this is shown at 1m29s in the Kickstarter video). When oriented to the right it is great for shooting landscape video "from the hip".
3) we are thinking about making the container's design files available, so anyone can design a case/clip etc. These could be 3D printed with a service like Shapeways. People like yourself will have better ideas than us for new fixtures.

Thanks again!