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The Triggertrap apps for iOS and Android are now Open Source

When it was announced that Triggertrap would be winding down its business, many users expressed concern. What would happen to the apps? Will they be updated? Or will the hardware they’ve bought and paid for suddenly become useless? The common suggestion was to make it open source.

A couple of weeks ago we reported that the Triggertrap Mobile dongle had indeed been made open source hardware. Now, they’ve followed along with the software. The Triggertrap apps for both iOS and Android have now been released. They’re completely open source and available on Github (iOS / Android).

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Triggertrap Mobile camera-control dongle goes Open Source

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Over the course of its life, Triggertrap has had a pretty eventful journey. Triggertrap started life as an Open Source universal camera trigger backed through Kickstarter in 2011. It tripled its goal, and was very successful. Fast forward to 2013, and along came the Triggertrap Ada, also backed through Kickstarter. It smashed its goal, of £50K, raising almost £300K (around $500K at the time).

But then various problems ensued which eventually led to the demise of the company at the beginning of this year. Triggertrap has been winding down ever since. Despite this, they’re still receiving plenty of requests from people who want to buy a Triggertrap Mobile Dongle. With no stock left, and no ability to sell even if they had, they’ve now made the Mobile dongle hardware Open Source.

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Failed kickstarter campaign eventually kills Triggertrap

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The journey of Triggertrap has been eventful one. A small startup with a promising future, releasing some great products. It made them an instant hit. Their success and popularity was growing rapidly. Then, they launched a Kickstarter for a new product. Ada; An expandable modular system that offered all sorts of triggering possibilities. It raised around half a million dollars, but then ultimately failed.

The short version as to why is that they simply underestimated the actual costs of bringing the product to reality. They also had no backup plans when other companies they relied upon let them down. Since that failed campaign, the company has been doing what it can to hold on. Now, though, Triggertrap have officially announced that they are ending the business.

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Here are 6 Photography companies who are in the UK

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The ballot is done and U.K. are leaving the EU. Yea Brexit is full on.

I am not really sure what will happen to our friends in the E.U and our friends in the U.K. but I think that photography gear from U.K. companies will have to be affected.  I am not sure it the price will go up or down, or if stock will be easier or harder to come by, but changes are coming for sure. Here is a list of 7 U.K. based gear companies. Use at your own discretion.

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The perfect timelapse kit giveaway (+ Trigger + tripod)

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UPDATE: this giveaway has ended, see the winner at the end of the post, thanks Triggertrap and 3LT for the awesome prizes.

Timelapses are awesome and so is high speed photography. if only there was a device that can do them both….

Oh wait… Triggertrap connects your camera to your smartphone and uses all the phone’s sensors to make timelapses, star trails, bursting balloons, breaking eggs, night to day sequences, water splashes and so much more. If only there was some place nifty to put your camera while shooting all this awesomeness. Oh wait, we are also giving away a 3 Legged Thing Evo 3 Brian tripod. so you really will be getting a full kit for just about any advanced tech shooting. The complete package is after the jump, but retail value is about $500, depending on your camera.

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Autonomous Lily drone delayed: or, why pre-ordering undeveloped tech isn’t all it’s cracked up to be

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Earlier this week, we shared with you how Peak Design became Kickstarter ninjas, crowdfunding numerous products and – so far – delivering on every last one of them. But that’s not always the case with crowdfunding projects.

Just look at TriggerTrap’s Ada, a Kickstarter project that failed a year after it successfully raised over £290,386 in funds. Or, more crushing, look at Zano, a handheld drone whose manufacturer went under, even after raising a $3.4 million on Kickstarter.

It’s for these failures that those who pre-ordered the Lily drone should be severely concerned that their drone might never come to fruition. Thursday, the San Francisco-based drone manufacturer announced that its production schedule has been delayed, citing a problem with the flight software that controls the autonomous drone.[Read More…]

TriggerTrap’s LapseWorld Shows off 5 Major Cities Through the Eyes of Crowdsourced Time-Lapse Photographers

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Last month, TriggerTrap asked photographers in five cities around the world to come together to create ‘the most diverse time-lapse ever made.’ After a month of receiving, organizing and editing, TriggerTrap has shared the final results, LapseWorld.

The cities TriggerTrap asked to go out and shoot were San Francisco, New York City, Cape Town, London and Milan. In each of the cities, photographers went out, gear in tow, and shot the world around them.[Read More…]

6 Years Old Takes Stunning Popping Balloons Photos

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How old were you when you took your first stunner shot? Photographer Aiden Barger is 6, and is already with a few good photos behind him.

Ok, so Aiden is getting a little bit of help and guidance from his dad, Eric, who is a civil engineer. But at the end it is Aiden’s ideas and curiosity that make the magic happen.

There is a very technical side to shooting balloons burst (either with a Nerf gun, as the team started, or a pellet gun as they do now) and the process has a repeating aspect to it. This combination, along with a constant setup which uses a Triggertrap as the high speed aspect of the setup, releases Aiden to come up with creative ideas.

Eric tells triggerrap a little bit about the process, where Aiden plays an important role:

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You Have An Established Company, Why Did You Turn To Kickstarter To Make Your Next Product?

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Kickstarter has been great to the community, it allows those with a great idea and little money to bring fabulous products to the market. Yet, every once in a while we are seeing a company which is not new turning to kickstarter to get funded.

Every time we post such project, the first comments are why is this company going to kickstarter? They should have plenty of money in their pockets and they should not offload the risk of development to us.

We were intrigued by the same question and asked 5 companies this exact question. Here is their response:

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$500K High-Speed Trigger Project Funds. Pulls Back After A Year. Owner Is Taking Responsibility

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This is an interesting story about how your best dream coming true can turn into your worst nightmare. TriggerTrap who makes mobile camera triggers did the impossible and raised over £290,386 in their Ada kickstarter campaign, this is not trivial at all considering that high speed photography is a bit of a niche. Now a year after funding they are cancelling the project. I think it is a great story about what Kickstarter really is, why it takes so long to deliver a good product and how you handle (or should handle) such a massive fail.

You would think that funding half a million dollars would make almost anything impossible, right? Turns out that even that much money may not be enough when you are making a high-ended-complex product.

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