2001 Casio's Revolutionary Wrist Camera: Your Little Black Book Grows Up!

Relive your turn-of-the-millennium encounters with the Casio Digital Wrist Camera! 📸 This 2001 ad playfully suggests upgrading your 'little black book' by snapping black-and-white photos of new acquaintances directly from your wrist, complete with names and contact info. 💾 Upload images to your PC or Palm Pilot!

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This Wrist Camera Feeds 35mm Film Through the Strap

Iranian photographer and camera tinkerer Alireza Rostami has created a new homemade wrist camera that operates in a neat way: two 35mm film cassettes are attached to the strap under the wrist, and 35mm film travels through the camera inside the straps.

Rostami says the inspiration for the device camera from the tefillin, the set of boxes containing Torah verses worn by adult Jews during prayers.

"The idea of making this wristband came to me when I was researching Jewish prayer before it became a wristband," Rostami says. "If you look closely, there are many similarities between tefillin and what I have made."

Israel Defense Forces soldier Asael Lubotzky prays with tefillin. Photo by Yoavlemmer and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The camera components of the wristcam were salvaged from an old HIMPEX AF-21D 35mm camera.

"I make this wristband using a broken camera," Rostami tells PetaPixel. "Inside the leather strap, the negative 35mm moves easily and is located in the middle of the strap. The negative goes from one cassette to another empty cassette."

The finished wristcam looks a bit unwieldy on the wrist -- who wants two film cassettes hanging off their wrist? -- but it's fully functional.

Here are some sample photos captured with the camera:

Rostami says this first build is a prototype that he hopes will convince a camera company to partner with him in commercializing the concept.

"Unfortunately, I do not have the money to make advanced designs," he says. "I always use recycling. I try to turn waste into an art tool. We must teach our children to produce less waste. Earth and nature are in danger of extinction. We must be careful and take care of nature."

Rostami also hopes that young people will see his inventions and be inspired to also tinker with cameras and fall in love with imaging science.

"I feel like all teenagers need smart wristbands these days -- they love smart wristbands," he says, "I also love exciting wristbands. If you do not have enough money to buy one, you can make one for yourself."

Here's a short video in which Rostami shares scenes from the build process:

You can find some of Rostami's previous camera inventions here and on his Instagram.

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Wristcam Launches Video Chat Capability from the Apple Watch

Wristcam, an accessory strap with two built-in cameras, has announced expanded functionality through its new Wristcam Messenger app. Users can now send and receive live video with anyone with an iPhone, even if they don't have a Wristcam or an Apple Watch.

The launch of the Messenger app makes it what the company calls "the first and only Apple Watch experience to offer live video communication." In addition to the new app, Wristcam is also introducing a computer vision SDK for Apple Watch app developers.

Last year, Wristcam unveiled the $300 accessory and touted it as an easier way to more seamlessly take photos while on the go. While bulkier than a typical Apple Watch strap, it packs two Sony cameras: one is an 8-megapixel “world-facing” camera designed to take photos and videos of surroundings, and the other is a 2-megapixel self-facing camera made for taking video calls.

Below are a few 4K screen captures taken with the Wristcam and provided by the company:

At the time, both cameras were touted as supporting video streaming, but with the dedicated integration of a chat app, Wristcam clearly is looking to create a community of users in addition to those who would purchase its hardware.

The Wristcam App for Apple Watch allows video communication to be sent to anyone with an Apple device, and doesn't require the use of the Wristcam nor an Apple Watch to use. Video chats that are sent can be viewed in real-time or later. The concept is a spin on popular apps like Marco Polo, but differentiates itself by keeping messages to a fixed, short length and deleting them once they are watched. Of course, the company also differentiates itself by focusing on and targeting users of its watch-strap-based camera.

For those with an Apple watch that has a cellular plan, the Wristcam allows video communication without an iPhone, which the company touts as a lighter, freer way of communicating while on the go. That air of simplicity is echoed in some design decisions, like the ability for Wristcam users to activate the app with Siri. Commands like "Hey Siri, snap a selfie/photo, start/stop video," allow for what the company is billing as a "completely hands-free" capture and share experience and eliminate "friction points around camera capture and communication."

In conversations with PetaPixel , Wristcam's founder and developers strongly believe that the Apple Watch, once outfitted with its camera system, is the future of communication, and the launch of this messaging app is a core part of making that belief a reality.

The Wristcam Messenger app is free to download and separate from the original Wristcam app that is used to customize and set up the Wristcam. Wristcam istelf is now available from both Wristcam.com and Amazon for $300.

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Facebook’s Impending Smartwatch Will Have Removable Camera: Report

A new report alleges that not only is Facebook working on its first smartwatch, but it will also come equipped with two cameras, with at least one capable of being detached from the wrist to more easily function as a photo and video capture device.

The Verge reports that it has learned that Facebook's smartwatch's front-facing camera will function primarily for video calls while the 1080p camera on the back (which will also feature autofocus) can be detached from the body of the watch and be more easily used for taking photos and videos.

The design is supposedly aimed at encouraging the camera to actually be used as a capture device, an issue that has plagued any wrist-mounted camera that has been produced to date as it generally considered awkward to take pictures with a camera that is affixed to the body in the way. The report says that the smartwatch and its camera system are part of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's plan to build more consumer devices and more directly compete with Apple and Google. The two technology juggernauts currently control how Facebook can reach its audience, which is a fact that has hamstrung Facebook from gaining access to its most monetizable asset: users.

The Verge also reports that Facebook is currently working with United States wireless carriers to provide LTE connectivity to the watch, which indicates that it won't need to pair with a smartphone in order to offer full functionality. It is also anticipated that the smartwatch will be the first in a series, and later versions will act as a primary connection point for Facebook's planned augmented reality glasses. One of Facebook's acquisitions, CTRL-labs, has already demonstrated armbands that are capable of acting as a computer controller through wrist movements.

The Facebook smartwatch is not the company's first foray into hardware or even a smartphone -- its 2013 phone partnership with HTC bombed -- but it will be the first time it will attempt to market a wearable. Facebook is no stranger to camera technology either, as proven by its Portal webcam devices. The only question will be if a wrist-mounted camera will catch on, as that has not been the case as of yet.

The smartwatch will reportedly use a custom version of Google's Android operating system and leverage its own set of first-party applications and several partnerships to make the hardware compelling enough to pry eyes away from Apple.

Image credits: Header graphic created with assets licensed via Depositphotos.

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