Camera Restricta

Here's an interesting idea: a German designer named Philipp Schmitt created a camera that will NOT let you take a photo if too many photos have already been taken in that location. It's called the "Camera Restricta."

Here's a bit from this article:

The concept relies on GPS technology and geotagging: the camera body, which is 3D-printed, houses a bundle of electronics and a smartphone; the phone determines a user’s location and runs an application that scans the photo-sharing communities Flickr and Panoramio for existing pictures taken and tagged at sites within a 115-foot radius of the device. If that number is 35 or less, the camera’s screen, which displays the number of photos the application has tracked as well as one’s GPS coordinates, will read YES — and photographers may snap away. But if that number is over 35, a large, red X and an error message will appear, the shutter button will retract, and users will likely be frustrated.

The threshold of 35 itself is not a limit that theorizes on when photographs become too repetitive: Schmitt said he chose the number simply to refer to a roll of 35mm film.

Here's a video of another photographer using the Camera Restricta:


Direct link: vimeo.com/137595414