Podo’s $50 Bluetooth camera makes smartphone photography fun again

After a smash-hit success crowdfunding campaign last year, Podo is back to do it all over again with the sequel to its Cruel Intentions-inspired camera. Turning any surface into an impromptu tripod with its sticky-backed superpowers, the $49 Podo already zoomed past its $50,000 crowdfunding goal on Kickstarter.

Apparently, it can break-dance too. Quick, get some beatboxing going.

Apparently, it can break-dance too. Quick, get some beatboxing going.

Last year’s campaign had the company selling its diminutive cameras at a cool hundred bob. Now, Podo comes a-knocking with an even better deal: Better connectivity, better sensors, better lens, and half the price. Yowzers!

D'aww. It's cute!

D’aww. It’s cute!

The camera shoots 5MP photos — nothing to set the world on fire, but more than enough for sharing on social media. It also happily whirrs along filming 720p video at 30fps. The cam comes with a built-in battery rechargeable via USB, 8GB worth of memory. In short, the camera goes a long way towards making photography fun again for people who know they want some flexibility beyond what their smartphones can offer them.

The micro-adhesive sticky pad attaches by squishing it into a wall, tree, or fence — and when you’re done with it, giving it a rinse restores it to its original, super-sticky condition so it can be reused again and again.

A camera for every occasion

A camera for every occasion

The main selling point, the company tells me, is the new sensor, featuring larger pixels. Why does that matter in a world where everything needs to get smaller all the time? Well, without the size limitation of, say, a smartphone, the company can use sensors that have comparatively better dynamic range, better low-light performance, better thermal performance (i.e. they don’t overheat as easily) and less digital noise. Noice.

“Podo offers freedom and control at the same time. Control is a selfie; freedom is a tripod and timer,” says the company’s president Eddie Lee, pinpointing the product’s USP. “It’s hard to get both.”