As the latest Android phones cram more camera tricks up their unibody sleeves, what about your current smartphone that’s barely a year old? Well that might be where the Eye-Plug comes in. Hidden inside a humble stand deep within Computex here in Taipei, the USB-C accessory plugs into your (currently Android-only) smartphone, adding another camera sensor to your phone for front- and rear-facing dual camera frivolity. (That’s where you need that handy reversible connection.) I tested out the prototype accessory, with full production scheduled for later this year. 3D selfie videos could be a horrifying reality.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drbi1WH9d1g?rel=0&wmode=opaque]
The company’s spokesperson told us it would be priced at around $35, which sounds insanely cheap — we’re double checking that. The company alsowasn’t specifying the resolution of the camera, but the live preview footage we recorded and tested was a perfectly acceptable resolution for Google Cardboard 3D viewing. Alongside shooting your own 3D video, you can also do some post-processing focus and blurring, with the second camera helping to define depth.
There’s some caveats: there’s no iPhone model (it’s in the works), your Android phone needs a USB-C port, and the camera quality may not perfectly match your smartphone’s own shooter — not all sensors are made equal — so color accuracy could be wobbly. The accessory pairs with custom-made camera and 3D viewing apps, and don’t worry if your smartphone’s camera isn’t center-aligned: the software compensates and calibrates when you use the Eye-Plug, to keep things as 3D-ish as possible.
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Source: Eye-plug (Facebook)