Batteries not included, because they’re not needed with self-powered camera

By Enid Burns March 25, 2013

superheadz-suncloud-7 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Survivalists and those without power often make use of radios and flashlights with a crank to electrify the devices. Now a camera uses the same concept to generate power to light its LCD screen and give energy to the LED flash. The Sun & Cloud Self-Generating Digital Camera from SuperHeadz Japan (in Japanese) has several ways of energizing itself: a hand crank on the side and a solar panel on top, as well as a USB jack you can use to charge it should you find yourself without sunlight or arms.

The Sun & Cloud is a 3-megapixel camera with a CMOS sensor (ISO 100 to 800). It records on a MicroSD card (up to 2GB) or MicroSDHC card (up to 16GB). The camera is capable of shooting at a range of distances: normal (150cm to infinity), portrait (60cm to 150cm), and macro (25cm to about 35cm). There are 15 filters built in, which you can use to add some creative effects to you images. Video can be shot in AVI format at about 30 frames per second (can be changed to 8 and 1). In terms of photo quality, the Sun & Cloud should be viewed more as a toy camera, in that you’re using it to take fun, lo-fi-quality images.

superheadz sun and cloud camera generates power with crank solar

superheadz sun and cloud camera generates power with crank solar

superheadz sun and cloud camera generates power with crank solar

superheadz sun and cloud camera generates power with crank solar

superheadz sun and cloud camera generates power with crank solar

superheadz sun and cloud camera generates power with crank solar

Currently AC Gears has the Sun & Cloud for $199. SuperHeadz Japan also has a handful of carry cases for the camera, including a felt bag with appropriate cutouts for the lens, flash, and inputs, although these cases may not be available from some of the U.S. sellers who have picked up the Sun & Cloud camera.

(Images via SuperHeadz)

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Contributor

Enid Burns is a freelance writer who has covered consumer electronics, online advertising, mobile, technology electronic…

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