You can see what I’m talking about in our post last week about the Tokyo Maker Fair.

One of the coolest DIY projects that’s come out of Japan recently has been the “Last Camera.” It’s a little, built-it-yourself film camera that’s so named because in a world of Instagram and DSLRs, it feels like it might be the last film camera in the world.

You can buy the Last Camera kit for about ^$45 and assemble it yourself. It has an interchangeable lens and light leak switch to give your pictures a little more flair.

But the real story here is the customization of Last Camera. The builders encourage you to customize it as much as you want, and some Last Camera owners have taken that suggestion as a mission.

Here’s what a stock Last Camera looks like:

Before

Here’s what the Last Camera looks like after artists get a hold of them:

After

Sure, most of these are more art installations than actual, functioning cameras, but I think that it’s great that so many artists have been able to turn one of the last film cameras into something memorable.

You can find the Last Camera website here.

Via the Mescale Newsletter (still in alpha)

Although her photoblog has changed over time, the two main features are the “levitation” photos and the 3D photos. Both are really cool, and her regular photos (though you’ll have to go back in time for those) are nice too. Personally, I was captured by the levitation side of things.

Magic?

The thing that mainly amazes me is how natural she makes the levitation look. It’s not photoshopped, and there aren’t really any tricks. According to her About Section, she sets the timer on her camera, uses intuition, and jumps right when she thinks the photo’s going to take (though sometimes she uses a friend for the button pushing for far-away shots). Obviously she’s had quite a bit of practice, but just imagine having to take the above picture over and over again in the middle of a train. Good thing Japanese train-riders will just ignore you, no matter what you’re doing.

Still though, the “levitation” is really natural. I can’t jump in the air and make it look like I belong up there. You’d just end up with a dumb picture of me jumping while making a stupid face…

It’s not just levitating she does, though – there’s also flying.

Seriously, though. How do you look so calm and relaxed while jumping like that?

When she’s not doing levitation photos, she’ll occasionally dabble in the third dimension as well. THREE dimensions, you ask? How is that possible with a photo? Actually, this technology has been around for a long time (and is even present in the oldest pictures of Japan). The hard part is the setup, though. You need two identical cameras that take pictures at the same exact time (so you need something that presses both picture-taking buttons at once). You put the two cameras next to each other (just like eyeballs) and then put the two pictures you’ve taken next to each other too.

In order to see the 3D, you have to cross your eyes until the two pictures come together as one. Then, relax, and enjoy the three dimensions. I think it really adds a lot to the photos in a quirky sort of way. Here, give the 3d a try for yourself – click on the pictures to get a bigger view:

In fact, these are all half levitation, half three dimensions. What more could you ask for in photography?

If you go through her blog, you’ll definitely find a lot of gems. I think she’s gotten better at levitating over time, so I hope she continues to post. Maybe one day she’ll discover that if you forget to fall you’ll just be able to fly all the time…

Vacuuming just got a whole lot easier

You can find Natsumi’s blog over at yowayowacamera.com. She’s also on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Levitate on over to your favorite social network and give her a “hallo.”

The most  common question I’ve been getting is “What are you bringing on your trip for TofuguTV?” To answer that, I’m breaking things up into two (maybe three) pieces. The first part I think is the most important part… gadgetry.

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The Camera Equipment

When it comes to filming, the most important things are going to be the cameras. Since it’s mostly going to be just me, I’m only bringing one camcorder and one point and shoot camera.

Canon Vixia HF S200

My camcorder isn’t a pro video camera… it isn’t even a semi-pro camera (maybe it’s verging on that, but I don’t really know much about this). It is, however, just about the nicest camcorder you can get within the consumer category (or should I say prosumer?) It’s what I’ve been using lately for videos on Tofugu, and what I’ll be bringing along on the trip. I think it’s a pretty sweet camera, and it’ll definitely do the job pretty well. To make it better, I got some additions, as well.

Canon DM-100 Directional Stereo Microphone

The video on this camera is great – the audio… also pretty good, but an external mic makes it better. When it comes to internal microphones, all the machinery inside the camera will make noise… plus, there’s only so much quality you can mash into a small space. External mics are where it’s at. I had another mic before this, but decided to get this one because it goes right into the shoe mount, gets powered by the camera, and doesn’t need to be turned on and off. My old camera couldn’t do any of those things – I didn’t want to be in a situation where I accidentally forget to turn the mic on, and have no sound.

Zeikos ZE-LH58 58mm Soft Rubber Lens Hood

This thing goes around my lens to help keep sun out and prevent me from running into things (and smashing stuff up). I got this one because it’s soft and it folds into different sizes, depending on how much protection I need. Not sure if it’s 100% necessary, but it’s definitely nice to have.

Extra Canon BP-827 Lithium Ion Battery

I’m bringing three of these batteries and one smaller battery. I don’t want to be caught without batteries when there’s something great to film. I’ll probably be setting alarms every few hours in the middle of the night to wake up and change batteries out, though I have a couple chargers. That’s going to be painful.

Pedco UltraPod Lightweight Camera Tripod

I also wanted a smaller tripod, like this one, in case I was filming from a table or something where I don’t want a tall tripod (and I don’t want to hold onto my camera). This little tripod also can tie itself to tree branches and things, which may or may not come in handy. You never know.

Dolica 62-Inch Proline Tripod and Ball Head

I wasn’t originally going to bring a tripod, but then decided it would be good to have for some stability and the ability to shoot myself doing things from farther away. With this, I was going for something light and something fairly strong, though I didn’t want it too light, because then it could get blown over (there’s also a hook I can use to tie something heavy to it). It’s a nice little tripod. My only complaint is there’s no handle to move the camera around with, but that would add extra weight anyways.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 10.1 MP Digital Camera

This is a point and shoot camera (meaning it’s pretty small and not super fancy), but I really like it. I did a lot of research, and this one came out to be one of the best ones I could find. If you’re looking for a point and shoot camera, I highly recommend this one. The pictures come out pretty nice and I’m definitely happy with it. For its size and weight, it’s a really sweet camera (probably won’t make the pro-ish photographers happy enough, but I like it).

Computers And Backup

Since I’m doing a lot of video, I need to make sure I don’t lose any of it. In order to back things up, I’ll need a computer. Plus, I’ll be blogging / vlogging about the trip as it’s happening, so I’ll need a computer for that too. Here’s the computer / backup equipment I’ll be bringing on the trip.

13″ Macbook Air (2010)

If you’ve read this blog for a while, you’ll know I’m a bit of a Mac Fanboy… I didn’t want to bring something heavy (The Macbook Pro’s 5.5ish pounds was too much), so I got a Macbook Air, which will transition to be my future laptop anyways. I got the 13″ because I wanted the extra hard drive space, and I got a Macbook Air because it’s going to be light (less than 3 pounds) and also has the solid state hard drive (less chance of hard drive failure on a bumpy road). And, of course, I got a Mac because I wouldn’t get anything else, anyways. I thought this computer was going to be a little sluggish, since it only has 2GB of ram, but I’ve been really surprised. I’d say for most things, it’s faster and zippier than my Macbook Pro (2009), and lighter with a better screen resolution. The only thing that’s sad is the processor, which will take a long time when it comes to exporting edited video while I’m on the road.

Transcend StoreJet 320 GB 2.5-Inch USB 2.0 Anti Shock Hard Drive

I got two of these hard drives, and while they aren’t solid state, they do have special fall/drop padding (or something like that). I got them because they said I could drop them and jostle them, plus they were fairly cheap. I’ll be putting copies of all the video on both these drives so that way I’ll always have three copies of everything saved, though I’m a bit worried this will be enough. We’ll find out, I suppose.

Apple iPhone 4

Of course, I’ll also have my phone. I don’t know how much I’ll be able to use it (I’ll write another post about plans / pricing for using my phone in Japan), but it’ll be good to have and be available in case I need to call someone. That, and if I can get wifi, I’ll be able to FaceTime call anyone for free (i.e. girlfriend, mother, and certain friends). The important people will be able to get calls, and it won’t cost me anything. Oh, and there’s always Skype, too… but once again, I need to get on Wifi (if I don’t want to get big charges or eat up the limited data I’ll end up having there).

Clothing Is Next!

The other question I got a lot was what kinds of clothes I was wearing / bringing, and how I am going to pack it. I’ll do another post on that, sometime before I leave (for those of you who are curious). Then… all that’s left is the packing part, and I have no idea how that will go. I suppose I’ll find out last minute night before, right?

Anything you’d recommend that I should bring, but haven’t, gadget-wise? I think I’ve covered all my bases, but I know there are others with more experience in this kind of thing. Seriously, I have no idea what I’m doing (and that’s what’s going to make it fun, I think!).