Picture(s) a Day: Jul 29

The cube-shaped gadget above is a digital camera from Superheadz, the same company behind the Digital Harinezumi line of digicams. This one is called Sun & Cloud, as can be seen on the front, presumably alluding to the two alternatives to USB charging – the solar panel for sun and the hand crank for cloud(y days). From what I gathered, this camera has similar features to the later versions of the Digital Harinezumi, including 8 color and 7 monochrome modes, a self-timer, and different FPS settings for movie recording.

Ever since I revived my Digital Harinezumi 2, I wanted to find an updated version of the camera with better color and shooting modes, but high demand has pushed used prices to a ridiculous level, ~$350-$600 USD. The DH cameras are cool, but NOT that cool. While searching eBay for a non-price-gougy auction for the DH cameras, I happened upon this Sun & Cloud camera listing and it was much more reasonably priced (I paid 75 GBP, plus shipping). I had no idea this camera existed, but I got super excited when I did some cursory research, because it essentially had the upgraded features I wanted, but in a weird, less pocketable form factor. The weird form factor kind of appeals to me, despite its lack of ergonomics and pocketability.

The camera didn't come with a box, only the instructions and a mini-USB cable, but it was in great shape. There was even plastic film still on the rear display (though it could've been put there more recently by the seller). The camera looked a bit dusty around some parts like the lens cover switch, and the lens cover itself, but otherwise, it didn't seem like it was used much at all.

I'll post more info about it later, after I've used it more, but I'll post some test shots of the different color modes, in menu order, starting with color, and then monochrome modes:

I'm excited to play around with the different color modes. The Sun & Cloud camera has three buttons that you can customize as shortcuts to a bundle of different settings, e.g. Super Mono mode and ISO 800; or Cross color mode and ISO 100. Nice touch.

Sure, the added complexity and the form-factor makes the Sun & Cloud a less obvious carry-around camera, but I'll be excited to play around with this quirky digicam. I'm also curious just how usable the hand-crank recharging will really be. Considering the camera doesn't have a replaceable battery like the Digital Harinezumi 2 does, it would be cool to eke out a few more pictures thanks to manual, physical recharging.

Let me know if you have any questions about this new addition to my camera collection.