The sweet spot for home turntable enthusiasts on a budget seems to be the $200 mark. This might be the best of the bunch.
One can only imagine the sake-fueled club hopping that led to the development of the Seiko Frequency drum machine watch.
The Perfect 16 mm Movie Camera
By James Grahame
I know perfection is subjective, but the Aaton A-Minima is a brilliant little movie making device. It weighs a mere 5lbs, somehow appears classic and bleeding-edge at the same time, and shoots top-notch Super 16 images. Of course, perfection has it's price -- a basic A-Minima costs around $15,000. If you find the price tag shocking, consider that most other professional motion picture cameras run $50,000 plus. Very few indie filmmakers actually own equipment like this; it would be financial suicide. Instead, they rent the best gear they can afford and shoot quickly.
The A-Minima accepts 200 ft (60 m) spools, giving just over 5 and a half minutes of shooting time per roll. It's quiet enough to capture synchronized sound, and light enough for a lone cinematographer to handle without a crew. This makes it a popular choice for documentaries and hand-held shorts.
Just in case you're wondering why you'd go to the trouble of shooting film instead of HD video: It looks absolutely stunning in comparison. Super 16 transfers extremely well to digital (for editing), and it offers considerably wider exposure latitude than video. Besides, it already has the "film look" that videographers are always trying to imitate. By the way, if you're feeling generous, I'd love one for Christmas.
