Here’s a really cool gadget that was totally made for the extreme sports industry. It’s called the Flee Digital Camera and was designed for aerial photography. It looks like a NERF toy of some sort crossed with badminton and it works like so:

As soon as the Flee launches, it begins to snap multiple photos at a speed interval of your choice. By the time it returns to earth, not only will it have a slew of aerial photographs, but it will automatically deliver them to your mobile phone via Bluetooth.

Like I said, sounds like it could be used for skydiving, snowboarding, cycling, wakeboarding, etc. Of course, you could get real dirty and shove one up your wife’s…

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Taeyoon Choi is a tourist from South Korea who is tired of the monotony of photography. He asks the question, “Why is there no camera that takes photographs on its own?” So he devised a way to separate the camera from a human operator.  Using French inventor Jacques de Vauncanson’s Mechanical Digesting duck, Choi has turned it into his own “Magical Image Digesting Duck.”

Through a hacked digital camera, the duck is able to snap photographs in response to other camera flashes during its travels to many tourists spots in New York City. It is then able to immediately print it out or post them on the ‘net via WiFi. The duck is currently on display at Eyebeam Studios in the “Tourists and Travelers” exhibit.

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Unless you’ve got enough dough to shell out on equipment you might only use a few times, you’re probably not willing to save up for a high-priced solution for panorama photography. For the amount of money it costs to really get the panoramic view down pat, you’re probably better off taking 360 degree photos manually and duct taping them together.

The Panamatic Mount straps right onto your tripod, ensuring it’s orientation with a leveling bubble. Once the Panamatic is mounted in position, your camera hooks onto the device as if it were the normal tripod with the Panamatic offering a ratcheted wheel which spins around its axis. Snapping a panoramic shot is as easy as revolving your camera along the 12 different position settings, snapping a picture for each position. You can get your own for $25.

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Since the people of Japan aren’t known for being the largest breed of humans, they sometimes have to compensate for their stature in other ways. Whether it be owning and expensive car, creating super strong robots, or designing the World’s Largest Photo Album.

Japanese photographer Hitomi Toyama designed this 4m x 3m, 1000 kg photo album, titled “Women Of Vietnam”, which has secured a spot in the Guinness Book Of Records as the largest photo album ever. The album displays 53 photos of women, some baring some magnificent cleavage. The other photos don’t matter as much. — Andrew Dobrow

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The tagline for the conceptual NYC Ring Flash Camera says “Now You’re Ready To Become A Fashion Photographer”, and from looking at the stylish design and function of the device, the tag doesn’t seem too far from the truth.

Offering a unique design, the flash of the camera is mounted around the lens in a loop, a style we’ve been seeing more and more of. The flashes design gives the photos a typically high contrast, with dark vignettes, lomo feel. The camera also features a cool looking handle-bar styled grip, which is sure to keep the camera steadier then the one-handed snap. — Andrew Dobrow

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Remember the good ole days when you and your poppy would grab your mitts and head out to the yard for a rousing bout of lobbing a ball back and forth until you started to get too aggressive, so he ran you down and tackled you, permanently leaving you with a speech impediment? What if you could share those moments forever with up close and personal photos? The TosPom is a ball-shaped camera which snaps photos as you throw it to-and-fro.

When the catch recipient catches the TosPom, the camera ball automatically snaps a photo, capturing the expression of the catcher, and displaying the image on a built-in screen, or at least that’s the intention. You figure most of the shots will have the camera facing odd directions, capturing snaps of the inside of your palm and your surroundings as well. They should include this sort of functionality on the next-gen Wii. — Andrew Dobrow

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Ever wish you could stare up at the sky and see the stars move, without having to track one specific star for hours on end? This excellent time-lapse photo shows the movements of the stars through a full night, and we don’t mean in some artsy-fartsy design sort of way.

The finished product looks like a tunnel or worm hole has opened and ripped its way through the heavens. Good thing the photographer had a clear and cloudless night. Excellent and intriguing shot. Just to think, somewhere out there, our very own little Mars Man is being demolished by an avalanche.– Andrew Dobrow

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This type of technology is probably a good many years away, but what would it change in the world of photography? Imagine a camera featuring a huge array of sensors which use stereo photography to create a picture perfect depth-of-field, which you don’t need a forklift to carry around with you. This is what Stanford researchers have unveiled as a project in progress.

Of course, a technology such as this always raises more questions than it answers. How will the camera’s aperture adapt itself to the prospective of each individual lens? And most importantly, how will the photos ever be crystal clear with all of the sensors being in varying locations? Pretty damn cool though for a concept. — Andrew Dobrow

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So it might not be digital, and it might not feature all of those cool specs of your favorite super-powered camera, but it is a FREE friggen’ camera. Featuring design patterns by Corbis, you can download your very own pinhole camera from Readymech Cameras.

All you have to do is print, assemble, and read up about using a pinhole camera to get started with your very own. Featuring 5 different designs. — Andrew Dobrow

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If you’ve ever been into photography, you know that composition plays a major part in determining whether your shot turns out just right, or ends in the trash pile. While you can buy a level at your local hardware store which will ensure your camera is sitting on a straight plain, now there is an iPhone-led alternative.

Photographer Ben Long whipped up an iPhone app called iLevel which uses the phones built-in accelerometer to determine whether the phone is laying on flat, or at a angle. Strapping an add-on to your camera stand of choice allows for your mobile device to act as you very own level to ensure a winning shot everytime. — Andrew Dobrow

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