Toaster LLC has launched a tiny anodised aluminum camera for a unique niche. It's not only smaller than a GoPro, it's smaller than an AirPods case – but it can store 20,197 photos in RAW format.
Toaster LLC doesn't seem to be going for resolution with the Photon camera (which no doubt helps toward that capacity) or widespread compatibility—it's Mac only, with elegant Mac OS software.
The camera is, however, motion-activated and at least a little weatherproof. That's where it might come into its own, in fact. The $200 device could fit well into security applications, registering every car arriving in a car park. It's unhackable when it's not plugged (using its USB-C port) into a Mac since it has no wireless connections.
The development of the camera seems to be in part a personal journey of 'Dave of California,' who documents the process of developing the software that operates the camera in his blog. He describes himself as a hardware and software engineer with time at Apple and other companies under his belt.
Sadly – for now at least – it isn't ideally suited to take over as one of the best trail cameras because, according to Toaster, "When placed in nature, Photon's motion sensor tends to trigger often due to grass or leaves blowing in the wind, which can cause Photon's battery to deplete quickly if configured to capture a photo when motion occurs. A future software update may provide a motion-sensitivity setting to help address this scenario."
It can, of course, work better in more human-built environments – the manufacturer suggests monitoring the cookie jar thief as a possibility!
Images captured are 2304 x 1296, and the lens has a 130-degree (horizontal) field of view, which Toaster describes as "36% of everything" – a neat take you don't hear from a typical camera manufacturer!
Since it's USB-C charged and downloaded, there are no subscription fees "Just like the good 'ol days" as Toaster puts it, and the camera is made in California. You can learn more at the Toaster.LLC site, which – for now – is the only way to get one.
It's been an interesting week for tiny cameras; I've also just reviewed the Insta360 Go 3S – a slightly different proposition!
