Well, well. This is interesting. Anyone on the BBS live in Winsconsin and would like to pop down to their nearest Walgrens and pick up one of these things for me? A 2 megapixel digital camera for sub-$11 is just what I'm looking for for model aircraft use, even if I have to hack it to get the images out. I can paypal the money for it.

A little more information: From a Yahoo news article;

The Dakota Digital Single-Use Camera is available beginning July 28th at Ritz Camera and Wolf Camera locations in more than 14 cities, including Washington, Baltimore, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Dallas.

pca

And while we are on the subject can someone explain who the market for these things is? Who (besides somebody like pca who wants to hack it for some other purpose) is going to spend $11 for a one time use digicam when they can spend less on a one time use regular cam that is going to take better pictures?

-Mike

I think you're missing the point. It's DIGITAL. That means it has to be better, right? Right? Am I wrong? Am I wrong? You're out of your element here, Donny! PCA, they are saying that Ritz Cameras also have them, I'll call my local store tomorrow and see if they are going to carry it.

They should also send some cheese curds along with the camera. Yum Yum...

There's also a massive thread on it on slashdot. Most of the comments are the usual slashdot junk however.
A few brought up interesting points like how severe would the compression be? My IXUS 300 is 2MP as well and with the highest quality settings I get about 800-900k per picture. So we're looking at max of about 24MB of Flash in this as well. Added together with the CCD and other misc parts, they can't be making much profit on these???

Anyway, if anybody can get some, I'd like one or two as well.

I guess they're banking on the fact that most people have had the idea that digital = better drummed into them. The real advantage I'd say is that if you know that you've screwed up a picture then you can delete it. Everything else you get you can get with a standard film camera.

Then again, I still want one to play about with

Keep me posted if you get one. I will be in Boston next weekend and will pick up a couple there if you still need them.

If I were going into work tomorrow...or Monday...or Tuesday...I could drop in the Ritz camera that's only a couple doors away and check. I'm in Washington DC (I assume that was the Washington you meant).

If you still want one on Wednesday, and they have them, I can pick one up for you

hey rob,

what dates are you in Boston?

Only the evening of Friday the 8th to do dinner at PF Changs, then off to Vermont for a Saab run the next day. If you have nothing to do, it would be cool to meet up at Changs. I will be meeting a friend, although I'm not sure why since we both live in the same town in NY and have a PF Changs only 40 minutes away. Whatever.

Even if you don't join us, we should definitely have another boston meet. As long as it doesn't conflict with stuff on SaabRun.com, I'll be there.

The advantages are as follows:
-Digital, so you can delete pictures that suck (though no LCD, so hard to tell)
-They are reusable for the retailer, just download, and re-"rent"
-The price of the prints is included in the camera purchase/rental so the $11 or so includes the use of the camera and the prints, and a photo CD (usually 10 bucks by itself)

When you factor in the cost of a normal 35mm disposable and developing, you are usually talking more than 11 bucks anyway especially with a photo CD, so it DOES have some advantages. I personally wouldn't use it, but i can see why some people would.

I'll have a couple and split the transatlantic postage with pca. I'm sure there would be a few more UKers along in a minute to add to the list!

Gareth

I'm returning to Paris on the 28th. If you don't get one before then, I can grab you one if the store near my folk's house stocks them.

If there's a group buy of those cameras, count me in for one!

/Michael

Atlanta? I'll see if I can score one also.

my favorite slashdot quote for today

I work in a photo lab. Please, bring in the camera shell. I just need 3 more capacitors to finish my tazer.

OK, after calling five Wolf Camera locations I finally found this thing. I will be making a road trip this afternoon....

Huh...should have read the other requests for these before I went to Wolf; didn't realize there was that much demand. Anyway I currently have 1 in my possession which will go to pca if he still wants it.

I think he wanted two anyway.

-The price of the prints is included in the camera purchase/rental so the $11 or so includes the use of the camera and the prints, and a photo CD (usually 10 bucks by itself)

Well, it doesn't include free prints only "FREE index print with your prints" and "FREE Photo CD with your prints" so it looks like you may have to buy "25 high-resolution prints...at everyday low prices" in order to get your free index and CD.

I think he wanted two anyway.

pca with no depth perception? Never!!

Well, now that I've been thinking about it two might be useful, so I could build something else I've wanted to do for a while, a digistereogram camera.

pca

I guess you were right... I'll have to swing by and pick up another this weekend.

Edit: What the hell is a digistereogram camera?

What the hell is a digistereogram camera?

#1) A camera that takes digital pictures of a stereo

#2) A camera that takes picutres of a digital stereo

#3) A digital camera that takes stereogram pictures.

I was going to do some balloon photos (a-la the /. ) with my (infamous) Kodak DX3700 but reckoned two of these will be *ideal*. I will probably mount them at different angles to get a range of photos.

For stereo imagery I think the excellent "Panorama Tools" can do all that:

http://home.no.net/dmaurer/~dersch/Index.htm

I think it can do those autostereograms where you go crosseyed and pass out before it pops out.

Gareth

Oddly enough, I've never had any problem with viewing any of the naked eye stereogram systems, they just go 3d almost instantly. I know several people that can't make them out at all, though.

pca

I never can (make them out)

Same here. It's funny to watch someone who just can't seem to do it try for a long period of time though.


/me has a Mallrats flashback...

"It's a scooner!"

I can't make them out at all no matter how much squinting and unfocussing I do. I've been told that because I have quite bad astigmatism they won't work? I guess my glasses don't totally correct my eyesight.