Top 10 Kickstart Projects

KickStarter is a website that allows inventors to promote their projects using images, video presentation and descriptions for everyone to see and generate funding. When a project is fully funded, it is brought to market and begins shipping.

The number of photography-related products is incredibly high, ranging from unique iPhone lens attachments to versatile camera stabilizers and more! Here are our top 10 favorite KickStarter photography projects.

1. AirTracks: Inflatable All-Terrain Camera Slider by Tom Baker

The ability to shoot amazing cinematic videos is now in everyone’s reach! Created by Tom Baker, AirTracks is an inflatable slider system that gives you a practical way of always having a slider available to use for soft and fluid video movements.

Its purpose is to replace heavy metal sliders, so you can easily take it with you everywhere you go – it shrinks it down to the size of a water bottle! And you can also use it with an iPhone. The ability to shoot amazing cinematic videos is now in everyone’s reach.

You can find out more about AirTrack on their KickStarter page. This project has exceeded its pledge goal of $20,000 by raising so far $26,610 – the project is still open for 22 more days.

2. HiLO Lens for iPhone & iPad by Mark Hampton

If you love taking pictures with your iOS device, then you’ll want to have this new invention! Created by New Zealand-based engineer Mark Hampton, HiLO Lens is the first right-angle detachable lens for iPhone & iPad that allows you to take creative photos with your device in a flat position.

The great thing about it is that it redirects the camera – just like a flip screen, helping you shoot in difficult positions – shooting above a crowd, photographing pets and children down on the floor and more!

Watch the video presentation here and see it in action! As they say it, any surface becomes a tripod! Find out more about the HiLO Lens on their KickStarter page and website. This project is still open for funding – their pledge is $27,500 and so far they’ve raised $16,214 (still have 23 days to go).

3. Stow-Away Lens Cap Holder for your SLR camera! by Preston Turk

US-based photographer Preston Turk created a unique way to store your cap lens while shooting. Stow-Away lens Cap is a cool accessory for your camera that serves various lens cap sizes (52mm, 55mm, 58mm, 62mm, 67mm and 72mm).

You can easily screw the device into the tripod mount with a thumb screw and you can attach the caps by just pushing them into the right-sized ridge. A quick note: you won’t be able to use the tripod and the cap holder at the same time.

Check out their KickStarter page and watch a presentation video. This project is still open for funding – their pledge is $8,000 and so far they’ve raised $6,256 (still 7 days to go).

4. Memoto Lifelogging Camera by Memoto

Memoto is a stamp-size camera that automatically takes 5-megapixel snapshots every 30 seconds – as you go. You just clip it on and as long as you wear it, Memoto is constantly snapping shots. The camera has no buttons – the app easily manages your shots with information about the time and place of the capture.

Then, the shots are organized on a timeline that highlights about 30 keyframes per day – each representing a moment. You can select a moment to play it in a stop-motion video of all the pictures within that moment. At the end of the day, you upload your shots to Memoto’s cloud servers and access them using an iPhone or Android app.

This project is still open for funding – their pledge is $50,000 and so far they’ve raised $ $324,040. Find out more on their KickStarter page and website https://memoto.com/ (currently down). You can also watch a video presentation.

5. CineSkates Camera Sliders by Cinetics

Developed as a MIT lab project by Justin Jensen, CineSkates are a set of three wheels that attach to Joby’s GorillaPod Focus tripod, allowing you to create fluid, stabilized videos with your camera without bulky or expensive gear.

Now you can produce videos that have previously been extremely hard to accomplish and only with heavy and expensive gear. CineSkates allows you to capture the smooth fluid shots and pans that are done by professionals using highly expensive equipment.

CineSkates is especially useful for wedding videos, product demos, real estate presentations corporate campaigns and more. Check out their KickStarter page and website for more information.

Projects 6-10 are here.