Working Model

This is the first model where I have focused on putting the electronics inside the camera. Not necessarily looking at the shape and style of the camera, I was interested in the positioning of key components. On the camera these would be: on/off button, usb connection point, balloon connection, hooks for the reel and the camera lens.

The on/off switch is almost in the right place, I'm still a bit unsure about this but it's on the right tracks. I also need to look at what kind of interaction the user should have with this button and how subtly it should blend into the camera.

The lens is the part that I'm not satisfied with. The lens that I've been trying is from a disposable camera. The effects that it gives is good even, it produces a clearer image, but the positioning of the small camera lens is difficult and often cuts off half the pictures. Here's an example. I need to work on how to position the lens so that there isn't a black line around the image.

The usb switch is located on the side of the camera (the lens being the bottom) and a usb cable can easily be plugged in. What I would like to do is take the feature from the polaroid pogo camera where the usb connection pops out the side and there is no need for cables. This is a part I still need to work on.

The balloon attachment was just a quick initial thought where the balloon could be clipped to the top of the camera. This didn't work when tested with a 12" balloon. It was very fiddly to put the balloon in place and thinking about using a 3' balloon filled with helium, this will end up becoming stressful for the user and they may let go of the balloon. I have another couple of ideas which I'm currently prototyping to make this process easier.

There are 2 holes on either side of the camera, which are for the hooks from the string to be clicked into. I looked at the Lomo LC-A+ Krab Underwater Housing (http://tinyurl.com/ykvz83x) for inspiration. I also noticed that all cameras have a loop hole for a cable to be tied onto. So this isn't as much of an issue as I thought. If the majority of cameras have a hook hole then this camera isn't going to look out of place or odd with 2 (if needed).