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PITTA, a modular ball-shaped 13MP camera that transforms into a drone, is currently blasting its way through a campaign on Kickstarter. The small, sphere-shaped modular camera launched on the crowdfunding platform with a $ 50K goal, but as of this writing it has already raised well over a quarter million dollars.
Eyedea, the company behind PITTA, describes its product as a multi-purpose device:
It’s not just aerial, not just handheld, not just wearable or mountable, it’s all of these. It’s a complete system packed into a single device.
Here’s a quick intro video from the company’s Kickstarter:
In its most basic form, PITTA looks like a simple black sphere, which is the 200g/7oz camera body. The sphere-shaped body features a 13MP sensor, support for 4K/30fps recording, and “software image stabilization.” Additionally, the body contains various sensors including GPS/GLONASS, gyroscope, accelerometer, barometer, magnetometer, object detection and visual tracking hardware, and optical flow positioning sensors.
Joining that is an Action Cam Module, Charging Cradle, and Drone Module. When docked in the Charging Cradle, PITTA can be used as a stationary security camera or livestreaming camera.
When used with the Action Module, PITTA can be attached to a tripod or other mount and used as an action camera that supports burst shot, 60fps slow-motion recording, livestreaming, and time lapse, as well as direct sharing to the major social media platforms.
The Drone Module, meanwhile, transforms the camera sphere into a drone via a snap and twist-to-lock design. The resulting camera drone is controlled using a smartphone and companion app, which itself offers several operation modes. PITTA as a drone supports taking panoramas, hovering in place, orbiting around the operator, auto-following the operator, as well as a “Come Back Home” function, terrain awareness, auto-landing, and GPS. The slow-motion and time lapse functions aren’t available in drone mode.
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PITTA is being offered to Kickstarter backers who pledge $ 290 for a Kickstarter Exclusive Basic Kit or $ 320 for a Kickstarter Exclusive Full Package, though other pledge packages are also available. Shipments to backers are expected to start in May 2018, though as with any crowdfunding campaign, plans could change, so proceed with caution.
To learn more or pledge for your own, head over to Kickstarter by clicking here.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)