Photon
Hardware
camera
SHOW HN2024
843points
299comments
#15of 3,515 in 2024
Top 1%of 2024 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
51 positive, 77 neutral or asking, 7 mixed, 39 critical, out of 174 comments about the project. Thread score +0.15.
Design: 14 for, 13 againstIdea: 10 for, 8 againstDocs: 8 for, 4 againstExecution: 4 for, 6 againstPerformance: 2 for, 5 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Impressive hardware and design work
From 2 comments
so cool! For your next trick, how about a super long battery life MP3 player? A friend asked if I knew of an MP3 player that would be good for a two-week hike with no access to…
Eric_WVGG on HNWould this be suitable for strapping on a helmet to take a picture every (other) second on a bike ride and turn into a time lapse video afterwards?
tromp on HN
Objections
Companion app is Mac-only
From 2 comments
> exclusively for Mac Why not just have it connect as a generic mass-storage device?
laweijfmvo on HNIf you don't mind me asking, what is Mac-specific about it? Is it the GUI toolkit? The PC-program toolkits I've used to transfer data to and from embedded devices using USB-C:…
the__alchemist on HN
Battery replacement is hard for users
From 1 comment
I try to avoid devices with built in batteries. Could a version be created that uses a replaceable 18350, 18650 or even AA? I'm OK swapping every few months etc, but when its…
clumsysmurf on HN
Requests
Linux and Windows support
From 2 comments
If you don't mind me asking, what is Mac-specific about it? Is it the GUI toolkit? The PC-program toolkits I've used to transfer data to and from embedded devices using USB-C:…
the__alchemist on HNReally appreciate the feedback. The honest answer is I'm a Mac guy, and a terrible businessman. FWIW I love Linux and used it extensively to develop Photon. (In fact the…
davekeck on HN
Video export in the app
From 2 comments
> Do you think this would be appropriate for turning into a long form video? Time-lapses are certainly one of the intended use-cases. I still need to add video-export features to…
davekeck on HNI think it should work pretty well for that use case. I need to add support to the companion app to make exporting videos convenient though. Right now it only allows…
davekeck on HN
Mounting solution
From 1 comment
It unfortunately doesn't have a mount. (A friend has been hounding me for months about that...) I've been using adhesive pads to mount it to things. The Gorilla "mounting tape…
davekeck on HN
Questions
Can it be used for bike time-lapses?
From 2 comments
Would this be suitable for strapping on a helmet to take a picture every (other) second on a bike ride and turn into a time lapse video afterwards?
tromp on HN> How does your manufacturing process look like if someone decides to click the "buy" button and do you have any open orders currently? I assembled ~120 of these devices…
davekeck on HN
How the storage and overwrite works
From 2 comments
> Do you think this would be appropriate for turning into a long form video? Time-lapses are certainly one of the intended use-cases. I still need to add video-export features to…
davekeck on HNTotally fair question! My reasons were: 1. To maximize Photon's battery life I tried to make the hardware do the absolute minimum to record imagery. To that end, Photon stores…
davekeck on HN