This tiny camera lets you shoot the stars, meets crowdfunding goal in just hours

This is pretty much how the final product will look. Photo credit: TinyMOS.

Singapore startup TinyMOS is taking to crowdfunding for its Tiny1 camera. The young company’s Indiegogo campaign just went live, and smashed past its US$100,000 crowdfunding goal in just four hours.

The money raised will help them get to the finish line of production and deliver the first cameras to backers by early 2017. If the campaign is successful, the startup aims to deliver about 2,000 units.

Tiny photographer

At first glance, the Tiny1 is not as tiny as its name implies. It feels like most current compact cameras we’re used to but it really is tiny considering what the team has crammed in there.

The Tiny1 is designed for astrophotography – taking detailed pictures of the night sky. TinyMOS wants to make snapping pictures of the stars as easy for the average Joe as smartphones have made everyday photography.

The team, whose core consists of CEO Grey Tan, COO Ashprit Singh Arora, and CTO Chia Lih Wei, has more or less finalized the camera’s appearance and will spend the next few months tweaking final details like fine-tuning the software and the user interface.

The camera’s final look will be a minimalistic aluminum design that looks fetching and, according to the team, doesn’t give the user too much to fiddle around with. The camera will ship with a lens that allows it to take impressive pictures that would normally require a setup including an expensive DSLR, a telescope, and a laptop. Later, the team plans to make adapters that will let users mount their own lenses on it.

A shot of the Milky Way through the Tiny1. Photo credit: TinyMOS.

A big part of the work has been done so that using the final Tiny1 will feel as intuitive as a smartphone camera. Presets are available to help you take beautiful pictures of the night sky, but manual settings will be at the disposal of more experienced snappers.

The interface includes a star chart overlay similar to that of Google’s Sky Map app. You can use it to locate specific stars and planets or just have fun observing your favorite celestial object.

The Tiny1 can be used on its own, but it includes a companion app for Android.

You’ll be able to choose picture formats (JPEG, DNG, TIFF, and RAW will be available in the final product) and record video, including time lapses.

While the camera can be used on its own (it’s equipped with a 4.3-inch touchscreen), it includes a companion app which will allow you to control it remotely using an Android phone. Support for iPhone will come later.

For astronomers and outdoorsmen alike