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Tactical Camera

An anonymous reader writes "What do you get when you mount a Nikon D200 with a standard rifle stock? Why a Tactical Camera of course! One that no reporter would be caught with in a war zone or covering any armed action anywhere. What started out as a tongue in cheek project for April Fools wound up being quite the successful demonstration of concept. It features a fully functional trigger; it has controls for operating the shutter and auto focus; and for the patient shots, it has a mounted bipod. Carry sling optional."

137 comments

  1. Photo Sniper by Misanthrope · · Score: 4, Informative

    This was done a long time ago during the cold war, it's slightly less inconspicuous than a tripod, though much more likely to get you shot by the police.

    http://shop.lomography.com/zenit/fotosniper/

    1. Re:Photo Sniper by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 4, Informative

      Darn, you beat me to this.

      Modern equivalents (which probably function better for camera purposes but don't have the "cool factor" of using an actual rifle stock) are the BushHawk (highend unit) and the Agonic Stedi-Stock (relatively cheap, doesn't have the trigger switch and cabling the BushHawk has)

      --
      retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
    2. Re:Photo Sniper by Misanthrope · · Score: 1

      Err. slightly more inconspicuous.

    3. Re:Photo Sniper by lastchance_000 · · Score: 3, Informative
    4. Re:Photo Sniper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Leica made a rifle stock camera pre-war as well. It's truly a beauty, though incredibly hard to find these days.

    5. Re:Photo Sniper by tomhudson · · Score: 5, Funny

      Come on, this is slashdot.

      Q:What do you get when you mount a Nikon D200 with a standard rifle stock?

      A: "You can have my rifle-camera when you pry it from my cold .. " BANG!

      A2: Imagine a Beowolf cluster of those? BANG! BANG! BANG! RATATTATATATT! INCOMINGGGGGGggggggg ......

      A3: Netcraft confirms it - photo sniper is dead!

      A4: In Soviet Russia, photo shoot gets YOU!

      A5: Did it survive field testing?

      A6: Why does the "after picture" of the user look like the goat guy?

      A7: Why not just mount it in a Zune? They might still shoot you, but at least it would be justified.

    6. Re:Photo Sniper by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yup applying gun parts to cameras is old hat. I find it funny as kids "discover" new things that us old geezers have done for decades.

      Like a shotgun sight on the top of your SLR. works awesome for fast action or sports shots, you can shoot without looking through the lens and with both eyes open. I get perfect shots every time with it. and I dont get killed by that motorcycle that was 20 feet in the air and is now coming down wher I am standing.

      The fresh new hires for the local news look at my camera with questions, and then say "you cant get a good photo that way"

      I ask to look at their camera, they dont even have a focus prism. None of these "photographers" coming out of college know how to take photographs or how to use a camera. They all rely on autofocus and program modes.

      Athough IS lenses area godsend for still life or low motion zoom shots. but they are worthless for action shots where you are panning trying to catch a bike doing 200mph around a track.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    7. Re:Photo Sniper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, I've used my dad's rifle mount before. Its from the 70's and instead of having a standard rifle mount, it has a hallow rifle mount. It works great, and doesn't exactly look like a gun like this one, but its still held the same one.

    8. Re:Photo Sniper by ArsonSmith · · Score: 2, Funny

      Here's a picture of someone carying one almost exactly the same back in 1977 Here

      --
      Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
    9. Re:Photo Sniper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here's a picture of someone carying one almost exactly the same back in 1977 Here

      Bloody hell, this looks to me like a really, really old-time hand mortar...

      That guy's asking for a bullet from unfriendlies...

    10. Re:Photo Sniper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/gun-camera1.jpg

      this is one for rapid fire.... bad joke...

    11. Re:Photo Sniper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are correct about being done before. I remember Walter Cronkite showed a similliar device as a type of photo equipment that was confiscated/ban buy police durring the JFK's funneral procession. Another interesting device was the Doryu Z-16 pistol cammera.

    12. Re:Photo Sniper by belmolis · · Score: 1

      Yes, but does it run Linux?

    13. Re:Photo Sniper by Philip_the_physicist · · Score: 1

      It is much older than that: it was done in the 1850s (see page 2).

    14. Re:Photo Sniper by ZosX · · Score: 1

      I like the gun sight idea, but I think live view really trumps everything now. Just hold the camera up and compose. :)

      I still prefer the viewfinder though, but then I'm not usually trying to take pictures of fast moving action. You are right though. I see all these people with Mark IIs and D90s and it makes me really sad to see them using them like P&S cameras. I mean, they could have saved $1000 and bought a coolpix or something and probably gotten about the same results. I'm no expert, but I always strive to make my shots better and I pretty much shoot in M or at the very most Av all the time. The art of photography you knew is now dying and being replaced by photoshop and dslrs. Everyone is trying to recreate the effects of film digitally and yet all the techniques for getting good shots in the first place without alteration are seemingly left by the wayside because exposure can be so dramatically altered without a great deal of loss. I think the prevalence of HDR is making even the look of classic well exposed photography a dying form. Without the WTF moments that film can provide Lumography sure won't be the same anymore....

      What new frontiers are there for photography? It seems like anything "new" anymore is just a rehash of older ideas. Maybe more digital art convergence and more digital painting with photographs, which is my favorite thing actually, but I don't know. I'm just rambling at this point and I do apologize. You just kind of struck a chord there. Thanks.

    15. Re:Photo Sniper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    16. Re:Photo Sniper by azav · · Score: 1

      New Nikons have VR and AF lenses.

      Step 3?

      PROFIT!

      --
      - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
    17. Re:Photo Sniper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That is why IS lenses have a PAN mode. You can turn off the IS in one plane. This is common on the long primes. If your IS system doesn't support this, you have the wrong camera system. :-)

    18. Re:Photo Sniper by dzafez · · Score: 1

      Yes, and all of these are not to be used by the press in riot coverage ...

      face it, its a Police state

    19. Re:Photo Sniper by Landshark17 · · Score: 1

      I just got a new DSLR, and I love it with one exception: the lack of focus prism. I like to do everything myself, and the presence of brackets for auto-focus zones makes me feel like I'm using a camera for lazy people, and it ends up taking me longer to focus without the prism I'm used to on the film SLR I used to use. I wish I could find a company that could swap out the prisms.

      --
      This sig is false.
    20. Re:Photo Sniper by MKBR · · Score: 1

      Somewhat less "gun related" but still: Rollei had a pistol grip for their double eyed cameras (rolleiflex) in late '50-s. http://www.urmonas.net/manuals/rollei-prac-acc-60/rollei-prac-acc-60-10.jpg

    21. Re:Photo Sniper by EdZ · · Score: 1

      A8: Cowboyneal

    22. Re:Photo Sniper by Carik · · Score: 1

      What kind of camera do you have? I've got an old Canon 20d, and focus prisms are easily available, and simple to install. They're not cheap, but admit it, photography isn't a cheap hobby. I don't have one yet (spent all my money on lenses), but I'm hearing good things about Katz Eye Optics.

    23. Re:Photo Sniper by thethibs · · Score: 1

      I have one of those; still have the Rollei too. It wasn't all that useful except as a flash holder. The value of the Rollei comes from shooting from the waist, where the pistol grip is useless.

      On the other hand, shooting chest-height with a standard two-handed pistol grip on the pistol grip and with elbows tucked against my chest made a really stable platform.

      I hadn't considered using it with the digital, where it could give you a solid hold while using the view screen. Something to try.

      --
      I'm a Programmer. That's one level above Software Engineer and one level below Engineer.
    24. Re:Photo Sniper by Camann · · Score: 1

      Could I get a car analogy?

      --
      I can't believe you don't know what a Hasemalphaginnojinglanaporphomism is.
    25. Re:Photo Sniper by Landshark17 · · Score: 1

      Nikon D60, admittedly a bit tempermental in low light, but otherwise admirable. Thanks for the link, they appear to have exactly what I'm looking for.

      --
      This sig is false.
    26. Re:Photo Sniper by Carik · · Score: 1

      No problem... like I said, I don't have any personal experience with them, but I've heard good things. There are a few other manufacturers as well, at least for some models. You might try a google search for "split prism nikon D60".

    27. Re:Photo Sniper by tomhudson · · Score: 1

      Could I get a car analogy?

      A8: "This is slashdot - just do "man car analogy" and RTFM, you ignorant clod!" :-)

      A9: Here - let me fix it for you: "Can I get a pr0n analogy?"

      A10: See link/a>.

      HTH

    28. Re:Photo Sniper by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

      If I could afford (or, more accurately, justify) a DSLR, I'd drop my P&S in a second. It didn't matter as much when we were all film - grab a Yashica T4 and you got great pictures because you used the same film. Most digital P&Ss have such little sensors that the noise is significant for anything other than full daylight. The bigger sensor gets you lower noise and more useable shots. I don't want my inside pics looking like I picked up a roll of Konica 3200.

      Digital photography really just takes a lot of the ongoing expense out of the hobby/profession, and allows us to take less than perfect shots and "correct" them easier. Recently, it's also allowed better results on the fast end with the best sensors. With Nikon finally putting out a full frame DSLR, they should be affordable in a couple of years, and I'll dig out my bag'o'lenses I have for my old F4s. Then I'll be happy. I still grab the F4 when I know I'm going to be low light and want to take shots quickly. I got some great shots of my kid with a newborn lamb about 3 years ago that I could have never done with a digital. The gap is closing fast though (has already closed, I think), if you have enough money. BTW - I want full frame for max sensor size, and so my 20mm is still a wide angle lens, not some boring 3?mm.

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    29. Re:Photo Sniper by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      None of my Canon L series lenses with IS have a PAN MODE switch. the few cheapes that do suck at fast pans, so it's moot. NO IS lens on the planet can capture a ice racer speeding past you at 90mph 3 feet away. Photographer skill is the only thing that can.

      P.S. I have yet to find a lens system that can touch the clarity of my L series lenses, so no thanks.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  2. Northern Exposure by stoolpigeon · · Score: 2, Informative

    The character Holling from the tv show Northern Exposure had something like this.

    --
    It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
  3. SMILE... by Yanimal · · Score: 0

    ...you just shit your pants!

  4. Yikes. by Anachragnome · · Score: 1

    I do not recommend this for the "man on the street" journalist.

    Aim that at a cop and your more then likely going to get shot.

    Personally, I'll stick to cell phones.

    1. Re:Yikes. by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 2, Funny

      Personally, I'll stick to cell phones.

      That's better. Then you get a righteous tasering for 'failing to preemptively comply with police directions'.

      I prefer the Sgt Shultz response: "I see nothink!"

    2. Re:Yikes. by ArsonSmith · · Score: 1

      But you'll have first hand pictures for proof.

      --
      Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
  5. Don't try this at home kids by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It features a fully functional trigger; it has controls for operating the shutter and auto focus; and for the patient shots, it has a mounted bipod

    ... and will get you killed quite readily.

  6. This will get you shot... by Manip · · Score: 3, Informative

    You want to run around either a Warzone or hell the Streets of any major city with this thing? You'll wind up getting either shot, or if you're lucky tasered.

    1. Re:This will get you shot... by cashman73 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Many dSLR photographers are already hassled enough just walking around cities with their lenses and multiple cameras and such, taking photos of buildings, bridges, and trains. Anybody caught with this thing is likely to have more problems than he bargained for,...

    2. Re:This will get you shot... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 5, Funny

      Sure, obviously it's a bad idea to run around with a camera attached to a gun stock. That's why instead I mount my camera to the front of my vest, with rows of cylindrical batteries with wires running to the camera (for extra picture-taking longevity) and a big digital timer (to indicate how long until I take a picture to anyone thinking of passing in front of me), and a dead-mans switch to activate the camera (for when I'm waiting forever for the perfect shot, and pass out just as the moment arrives). This should be much safer. Also great for those candid shots. People act different when they know you have a camera. So this way I can hide the camera-vest under my coat, and run up to people and throw the coat open so I can take a picture. Seems perfect to me.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    3. Re:This will get you shot... by hedwards · · Score: 1

      It doesn't look even the slightest bit like a gun. Any policeman that shoots you for carrying that would have shot you anyways.

      You'd have to set aside two very important principles of using a loaded weapon in order for that sort of mistake to be made. First you're not identifying you're target and second chances are you're not checking your backstop either.

    4. Re:This will get you shot... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      But, on the other hand, it probably does pass the "sure, I can say that I had a reasonable belief that it was a gun, with a straight face, in court" test with flying colors(of course, on some forces, so does virtually anything).

    5. Re:This will get you shot... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Congratulations. You just won one (1) Internet.

    6. Re:This will get you shot... by mcfatboy93 · · Score: 1

      Thats why there seems to be a small gun under the camera...

      --
      Its not my fault, someone put a wall in my way.
    7. Re:This will get you shot... by Lumpy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Make up some press passes. hang them around your neck and stencil on a kaki color fishing vest "PHOTOGRAPHER"

      You can walk past a guard and take photos of things you should not and they wont even bug you.

      And yes it's LEGAL to make a press pass for "daves news blog" or whatever blog you have.

      Cops dont bug you if you look like press, hell I have gotten into concerts and back stage to take photos of the singer from 8 feet away with my press and event passes and vest.

      If you look like a press photographer, nobody bugs you. Be ready to talk the talk when spoken to.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    8. Re:This will get you shot... by khellendros1984 · · Score: 1

      You would have to raise it in a similar action to raising a gun, it has an obvious stock, and weaponry imagery is more prevalent in society in general than rifle-stock-mounted cameras are. What do you think would be the initial gut instinct for an officer?

      --
      It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
    9. Re:This will get you shot... by jamiethehutt · · Score: 1

      I take photographs of white water kayaking. You need to keep moving down river so cant really use a tripod and normally need a fairly large zoom so this actually looks pretty useful if it helped you steady a big lens better...

    10. Re:This will get you shot... by TheLink · · Score: 1

      You forget a very important point: it's a lot harder to use your loaded weapon if the other person shoots you first.

      Go point this at an armed cop (or even a soldier - since the idiot submitter mentioned warzone) and see what happens to you.

      You'd be safer with something that looks like a camera than something that resembles a gun.

      --
    11. Re:This will get you shot... by enfield17 · · Score: 1

      Yup. It probably stabilizes the camera quite well, but only an idiot would wander around with it on the street or in a war zone. It probably would be OK for motor racing and other organized sports where organizers control access, but I think I'd be sure to show it to whoever's in charge of site security.

    12. Re:This will get you shot... by CarbonShell · · Score: 1

      And this is different then the way it is now?

      Read up on the number of reporters that got killed 'accidentally' in war zones like Iraq or Afghanistan.

      At least with such a contraption such 'accidents' can be covered up a lot better.

    13. Re:This will get you shot... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But people are still familiar with SLR cameras and other than the stock, it looks like a normal camera. It doesn't look like any rifle that I've ever seen. Depending on the length of pull for the stock and the view finder, it may not make a very practical camera anyway. Way too many people on here have the "OMG! it has a gun part attached to it! I'm going to get shot!" mindset and are overreacting. It doesn't look like a firearm, it looks like a fucked up camera! Photographers in war zones or other violent areas get shot because of where they are and what they're doing: providing images that can be used for propaganda.

  7. Nothing New Under The Sun by redbeard · · Score: 0, Redundant

    My dad built one of those 30 years ago with his SLR and zoom and a 22 rifle stock, including working trigger. And I doubt he was the first one to do it.

    oh, first post.

    1. Re:Nothing New Under The Sun by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First post? Always ahead of the game, aren't you redbeard of glory?

      Where's the beef!

  8. MANY reporters dead via shoulder mounted videocams by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    At least 4 or 5 cameramen in recent years in middle eastern police actions (wars) have been shot due to large shoulder stabilized videocams looking threatening.

    And the army always gets off, even if caught with witnesses

    http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/08/2008813164823716764.html

    Better would be to start hiding propelled grenade launchers in videocameras to even the score.

  9. Why? by powerlord · · Score: 1

    Why oh why would a photographer (excuse me, "Photo-Journalist"), want to be holding ANYTHING that looks remotely like a weapon, especially when in a War Zone?

    --
    This space for rent. All reasonable inquiries will be entertained at proprietors discretion.
    1. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesn't look like a weapon to me. It looks like a camera with a boat paddle attached to it. If a photographer were taking a picture of you, all that you'd notice would be the camera on the bipod.

    2. Re:Why? by Pinckney · · Score: 1

      It doesn't look like a weapon to me. It looks like a camera with a boat paddle attached to it. If a photographer were taking a picture of you, all that you'd notice would be the camera on the bipod.

      It probably won't be mistaken for a rifle, but it could easily be mistaken for a poorly conceived improvised grenade launcher. It has the same general form as several non-improvised models, including the China Lake NATIC, M79, and HK69.

  10. Award time by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 4, Funny

    Nikon D200

    The "D" stands for "Darwin"

  11. Please shoot me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What a great way to get yourself shot, and I'm not talking about the "mug" variety.

  12. It's cute but, useless.... by Itninja · · Score: 1

    Would not something like this or this be far more practical? Now if this camera actually looked like a gun that would be something.

    --
    I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
    1. Re:It's cute but, useless.... by Niris · · Score: 1

      *looks at the watch*
      I've just found the next thing I'm going to have buyers remorse over.

    2. Re:It's cute but, useless.... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      For values of "practical" that don't include needing more than crap resolution and horrible optics, sure(and there are many such values, cheap and horrible aren't what they used to be). Once you get beyond the ones who just buy DSLRs for the e-peen, though, you get to the people who actually need the performance. They are unlikely to find those satisfying.

  13. In Soviet Russia... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...the photos shoot you! ;-)

  14. shot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What do you get when you mount a Nikon D200 with a standard rifle stock?

  15. Not a new idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Popular Mechanics in the 60's had an article on how to build this kind of stock for your SLR (film) camera. It was considered a better way to get action and wildlife shots using a telephoto

    1. Re:Not a new idea by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      IIRC there was a front squeeze grip for focusing (this was well before autofocus caught on) and the rear one with the trigger operated the shutter.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  16. assasination by maillemaker · · Score: 1

    I have long wondered why more public officials are not assassinated using a pistol mounted in a video camera.

    --
    A work that expires before its copyright never enters the public domain and thus enjoys eternal copyright protection.
    1. Re:assasination by SupremoMan · · Score: 1

      Because the other means are a lot more effective. Like let's say blowing up the city block.

    2. Re:assasination by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty certain I've seen a film where that was the plot. Fucked if I can remember what it was called, and I sure can't be arsed to look it up. Sorry.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    3. Re:assasination by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually it's generally a shaped charge in the camera. AQ has been doing that for quite a while. It gives them double benefit. It makes their targets suspicious of the media and gives them an in on their targets.

    4. Re:assasination by Duradin · · Score: 1

      Pistols have a short effective range and, oddballs aside, aren't powerful enough to guarantee a kill in one shot.

    5. Re:assasination by etnoy · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty certain I've seen a film where that was the plot. Fucked if I can remember what it was called, and I sure can't be arsed to look it up. Sorry.

      From the top of my head I remember seeing this in a Tintin story, though it seemed more of an automatic rifle hidden in a large-format camera.

      --
      Quantum hacker.
    6. Re:assasination by ptbarnett · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty certain I've seen a film where that was the plot.

      Federal agents used a video camera to sneak a weapon into a hostage situation in True Lies.

    7. Re:assasination by James_Duncan8181 · · Score: 1

      I have long wondered why more public officials are not assassinated using a pistol mounted in a video camera.

      The Taliban did it by filling camera batteries full of explosives for a targeted assassination: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/DI12Ag02.html

      --
      "To any truly impartial person, it would be obvious that I am right."
    8. Re:assasination by Darth+Hubris · · Score: 1

      It was a Fantasy Island episode. A hunter wants to stalk the most dangerous prey, so Mr. Rourke has him use a camera gun to take pictures of a dictator to prove he could shot him. Mind you, it was about 30 years ago, but I remember the camera gun to this day.

      --
      The party's over ... the drink ... and the luck ... ran out
    9. Re:assasination by Nutria · · Score: 1

      AQ has been doing that for quite a while. It gives them double benefit. It makes their targets suspicious of the media and gives them an in on their targets.

      For example, Ahmad Shah Massoud of the Northern Alliance was assassinated with a camera bomb by two Al Qaeda operatives pretending to be (immigrated from Morocco) Belgian journalists.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    10. Re:assasination by nightranger · · Score: 0

      Thanks! I was certain it was something like this.

      --
      That means turning it over to our tame racing driver, the sig.
    11. Re:assasination by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're thinking of The Bodyguard with Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston.

  17. What I want to see... by Zaurus · · Score: 1

    What I'd like to see is the youtube video of someone pulling this out in a highschool sports game to take pictures of the game while standing right next to the local policeman...

  18. Ooooo..an assault camera by gringofrijolero · · Score: 2, Funny

    Definitely causes much more widespread destruction than a rifle. Expect a prohibition against these things at any major event, except for licensed professionals of course.

    --
    Todos mis movimientos están friamente calculados
  19. max headroom by arnodf · · Score: 1

    good old max headroom. One of his colleagues had this.

  20. Nothing new by Forthan+Red · · Score: 1

    These have been commercially available for decades. Why was this even posted? Slow news day?

    1. Re:Nothing new by hey! · · Score: 1

      I remember rifle stock style camera mounts from the late 70s for use with telephotos. This is the first time I've seen an actual rifle stock used; the ones from back then were made from pine and had a simple cable release "trigger". This one looks nicer, and a lot heavier.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  21. in soviet russia cartoon rifles photograph you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://koldunov.ru/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/02_.gif

  22. Details please by amliebsch · · Score: 1

    Does it have select fire to switch between semi-automatic, full auto, or three round burst? What is the firing rate? Can it be field-stripped with a minimum of tools?

    --
    If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
    1. Re:Details please by rcw-home · · Score: 1

      Does it have select fire to switch between semi-automatic, full auto, or three round burst?

      It's not just field-strippable, it's field-scriptable.

  23. Old concept by dmesg0 · · Score: 2, Informative

    These things were mass-produced in Russia (and probably elsewhere) until very recently. Look here for an example.

  24. Old idea by vondo · · Score: 1

    This isn't exactly a revolutionary idea (no pun intended)

    http://www.bushhawk.com/

    of course, being designed for the purpose this will probably work better.

  25. When assault cameras are outlawed... by vanyel · · Score: 1

    ...probably don't need to finish it...

    1. Re:When assault cameras are outlawed... by mdmkolbe · · Score: 1

      ... only cameras will assault?

  26. what else can we mount on gun handles? by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

    cell phone? look like your contemplating suicide all the time

    laser pointer? really give your presentation that extra POW

    pencil or pen? is it really mightier than the sword now?

    the point is, there's many things you could put a gun handle on, and announce to the world "i lack the social skills to understand what makes people uncomfortable around me or i am an antisocial loner is actively trying to chase people away from me"

    all at the same time making yourself 100x more vulnerable to getting shot by the police!

    stupidest. most. useless. mod. ever.

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:what else can we mount on gun handles? by Unending · · Score: 2, Informative

      I've never understood your antigun bigotry anyway, but in this case your just being silly.
      People have been using stocks on cameras for somewhere around a century now, they aren't useless they are actually quite useful.
      One area where they shine is if you are trying to do any sort of photography where you need to be able to take a steady shot of a subject that only holds still for a moment.

  27. You're thinking about this all backwards by xant · · Score: 5, Funny

    Taking pictures is illegal now and helps the terrorists. But we still have our second amendment rights. This cleverly conceals the dangerous camera as a harmless rifle.

    --
    It's rare that you're presented with a knob whose only two positions are Make History and Flee Your Glorious Destiny.
  28. Best use for an SKS stock yet... by fotbr · · Score: 1

    Although the combination of the SKS stock and the AR15 handgrip is odd, and wouldn't have been my first choice.

    Of course, I'm not a particular fan of the SKS in general. Mine was accurate enough for power-plinking, but the stock just sucked.

    1. Re:Best use for an SKS stock yet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's actually an old Vz. 24 Mauser stock.

    2. Re:Best use for an SKS stock yet... by Cyrano4747 · · Score: 1

      Although the combination of the SKS stock and the AR15 handgrip is odd, and wouldn't have been my first choice.

      I'm friends with the guy who put that together, and it's not an SKS stock. It's the rear half of a Czech Vz24 stock that he had left over after I had him cut the fore-end off to provide me with raw materials for a K98k stock restoration project I was working on.

    3. Re:Best use for an SKS stock yet... by fotbr · · Score: 1

      I stand corrected.

  29. Re:MANY reporters dead via shoulder mounted videoc by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Could be!
    How about being shot to death by local police because they think it's a weapon? , Very possible in a big left wing liberal kook controlled city .

  30. Needs a Frickin' Laser! by kimgkimg · · Score: 1

    So you can shoot from the hip or rapid fire without having to aim first. (You can photoshop out the red dot later...)

  31. Pictures from that set. by Ecuador · · Score: 1

    I've got one of those Zenit's with the 300mm Helios lens and sniper mount. Here is an example shot of the Orion Nebula and here is comet Hale-Bopp. Both were made in a light-polluted city (Athens), shot through a cheap lens and scanned with a crappy scanner, so don't expect quality.

    --
    Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
  32. 20 Minutes Into the Future by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

    Max Headroom did it. Season 1, episode 5: "War" had new staff reporter Janie Crane using an RR-7 camera gun. Camera lens was plugged into an interface at the end of the barrel, used for long-distance surveillance.

    --
    Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  33. ahh right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Looks like a great way to get shot.

  34. "What do you get?" by kulakovich · · Score: 3, Funny

    "What do you get when you mount a Nikon D200 with a standard rifle stock?"

    Shot.

    kulakovich

  35. Re:MANY reporters dead via shoulder mounted videoc by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The soldier or soldiers in question generally aren't prosecuted for it because it's insanely easy to mistake a shoulder mounted cam for an anti tank weapon. That link is labeled wrong, but those are good pictures taken in excellent lighting conditions.

  36. Offtopic, but ... by PPH · · Score: 1

    ... some years ago, I was talking to one of those New York model types. She kept referring to 'head shots'. So I told her that the odds were better aiming for the center of mass.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
    1. Re:Offtopic, but ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... some years ago, I was talking to one of those New York model types. She kept referring to 'head shots'. So I told her that the odds were better aiming for the center of mass.

      Well given the extreme "heroin-chic" thinness that seems to be the preference in models these days, going for a headshot *is* aiming for the center of mass.

  37. BFD... by Deadstick · · Score: 1

    ...I have one of those that I ordered from one of the New York camera dealers thirty-odd years ago. It's a nice way of holding a long lens steady. Unfortunately, these days it tends to scream "I'M A TERRORIST!!!", so I haven't used it in quite a while.

    rj

  38. That by BeanThere · · Score: 0, Redundant

    has to be the stupidest thing I've ever seen.

  39. More likely to go the other way by DG · · Score: 1

    All our main battle rifles have optical scopes on them, and many other nations are using optics or red-dots like the Aimpoint sights.

    It is only a matter of time before someone integrates a cheap digital camera into those scopes that takes a picture every time the weapon is fired.

    DG

    --
    Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
    1. Re:More likely to go the other way by lwsimon · · Score: 1

      Make it a video camera, and it would be an excellent teaching aid for long-range shooting or competitive events like IPSC or IDPA.

      Put one in a casing for a laser, or better yet, in the guide rod on a 1911, and you might have a valuable tool to be used in your defense in the case of a self-defense shooting....

      --
      Learn about Photography Basics.
    2. Re:More likely to go the other way by ksheff · · Score: 1

      They've been around for a while

      http://www.elcansportingoptics.com/

      --
      the good ground has been paved over by suicidal maniacs
  40. Leica did this loooong ago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  41. Camera stock and rifle barrel by Boawk · · Score: 1

    I've mounted the business end of a rifle to the body of my Nikon. It's pretty hard to hold and the recoil bruises my face where I look in the eyepiece but I'm the only one on my block with one!

  42. If I had a nickel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If I had a nickle everytime I've snuck into the house of someone who's owned one of one of these and masturbated on it...

  43. Surely a finalist.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... in the competition mentioned in the preceding article. This one has access to guns, so Google, I'd hurry.

  44. bushhawk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've used one of these for years. I find it more stable than a monopod and a lot easier to handle.

    http://www.bushhawk.com/

    I can easily use it with a Canon 500m F4 lense.

  45. You can buy this already... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  46. Well I love the idea by pinkushun · · Score: 1

    You can capture some killer action photos with it!

  47. A hobby to do daily! by freaker_TuC · · Score: 1

    but, what's wrong with this? I do this any day when it's cold enough...

    --
    --- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
  48. Perfect design for... by catdevnull · · Score: 1

    This is the perfect design to get you an instant cavity search.

    --

    I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...
  49. In a few sentences by Lord+Lode · · Score: 1

    Could someone explain, in a few sentences, what exactly is the advantage of this over a regular camera, why/where would you use it and what do you expect to achieve with it there that you can't normally with a camera? Thanks!

    1. Re:In a few sentences by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 1

      It's about stabilization - keeping the camera steady when taking a picture with a long lens to reduce motion blur.

      It's not as steady as a tripod or monopod but gives a lot more flexibility/aimability.

      Rifle stocks were designed in the first place for the same purpose - resting the rifle against the shoulder increases stability, making aim more accurate.

      --
      retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
  50. Should have used.... by hcdejong · · Score: 3, Funny

    a Canon instead.

  51. It's not a new idea... by _Shad0w_ · · Score: 1

    Combining cameras with a gun stock is nothing new; various manufacturers make something which either looks like a gun stock or basically is one. They're quite popular for wildlife photography because they make it easier to track and shoot at the same time.

    The KGB used something similar for covert photography in the 1930 and 40s, iirc. Come to think of it I've seen pictures of, I think, US troops using something similar.

    --

    Yeah, I had a sig once; I got bored of it.

  52. Ahhh by argStyopa · · Score: 1

    ...if I was a photographer in a war zone, I think the LAST thing I'd like is something that makes it look like my camera is a gun?

    Wow. Worst. Invention. Ever.

    --
    -Styopa
  53. Not in the UK you won't!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well OK you can but there is a strong chance of being shot by our less than mentally well-endowed armed Police cops!

  54. yeah right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    walk around YOUR neighborhood with an SLR camera all by itself for an hour, taking pictures - the level of paranoia pretty much ensures you'll meet and greet at least two of your neighbors, and the suspicion on their faces will be a sight to behold and you will likely talk to at least one policeman, and be asked to show ID - which means you just got entered into a field card database. Adding a rifle stock is just stupid.

  55. Reagan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I built an almost identical rig with an old Canon camera back in the 80's. I took it to a Reagan speech to take a picture of him. (Yes, this was not smart...) and the secret service pounced on me like white on rice.

  56. Urban crap again by thethibs · · Score: 1

    The responses to this post make a couple of things clear:

    • The posters don't get out of the city much.
    • They don't know anything about shooting.
    • They don't know anything about photography.

    This setup is used by wildlife photographers. A couple of seconds and a friend with a three-digit IQ is all you need to figure out why.

    --
    I'm a Programmer. That's one level above Software Engineer and one level below Engineer.
  57. Like a Spy stuff! by Markwiki · · Score: 1

    This guy who invent the stuff, maybe a s-p-y. Not so fresh, I knew some photographer made something like that. Fun.

  58. Frustrating! by MKBR · · Score: 1

    everytime you're ready to take a picture: "Ahh.. lighting is perfect.. KLicKBANG! Dammit shot it again!

  59. Vegitarian Hunting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's a nice idea to enjoy the sport of hunting, walking, stealth, stalking etc. without having to put your hands bloody.

  60. Re:MANY reporters dead via shoulder mounted videoc by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Army gets off for shooting at people who look like they might be shooting at them?

    Yes, they should definitely take longer to determine if it's a camera or a rocket. After all, what's a few dead soldiers if it allows al Jazeera to get another PR shot?

  61. my antigun bigotry by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

    stems from the daily body count of urban dwellers due to rural dwellers insistence on carrying around firearms. were it possible to have different gun laws for the urban dweller versus the rural dweller, i'd support the avergae rural hick's desire to have guns. which i understand: the police are far away. but as it is, right now, urban dwellers suffer for the sake of what rural dwellers want. yet we outnumber you. so i think it is time, in proper democratic fashion, that we reverse this equation and rural dwellers begin suffer for the sake of what urban dwellers want

    yes, in my world, there will be rural dwellers who will be the mortal victims of a crime because they were denied access to a firearm. this is in opposition to the orders of magnitude more urban dwellers who are mortal victims of morons running around with guns in today's world. therefore, my world is superior to the present status quo

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:my antigun bigotry by ion.simon.c · · Score: 1

      Um...
      a) I don't see how your reply addresses the PP's point. Did you read what he had to say?

      ...were it possible to have different gun laws for the urban dweller versus the rural dweller...

      b) There are cities -such as the one that I'm currently living in- which make it unlawful for a civilian to discharge a weapon within city limits. Concealed carry permits may be obtained. However, if you discharge your weapon -even in self-defence- outside of a designated area (such as an indoor gun range) you will be charged and legally obligated to haul your ass in to court.
      Folks that live in rural areas typically don't operate under such restrictions.

  62. To shoot or be shot... by milette · · Score: 1

    Definitely, the best way to get yourself killed anywhere near anything protected by Americans... Shoot first - ask questions later. Let god sort 'em out.

  63. Evading simple questions still, ion.SIMIAN.c? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ion.simIAn.c - Prove what you claimed about being a professional programmer below (because all your errors from the past week now & more don't show any of us you are that is certain, lol!) & tell us more about the Gigabyte IRAM being a piece of trash (it works on Windows, but not Linux according to YOU @ least, so what is the "trash" here? Obviously the OS you use & its SATA access most likely).

    "I'm a programmer." - by ion.simon.c (1183967) on Saturday May 02, @11:17PM (#27803057)

    Really? Prove to us you are a professional programmer, ion.simIAn.c, won't you?

    After all, you CLAIMED that you are above, & demanded others do so as well, here:

    "You claim that you're a professional. Prove it" - by ion.simon.c (1183967) on Sunday May 03, @08:52PM (#27811101)

    Ok, same question you asked ME to prove & I did, via the "My Name is Ozymandias" lists below you no longer question (along w/ other proofs I gave you but when YOU are asked for the same proofs? YOU RAN!)

    See the lists below (contact the magazines, publishing houses, or software companies involved @ your discretion, if you wish)... because it truly IS a pleasure watching you stick your foot in your mouth, each time you falsely accuse myself & others here.

    So - professional technically means getting PAID to do a job, right? That's there below in the "My Name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair" list, in fact, 1st entry...

    AND

    I've answered ALL of your questions (the ones that matter, & I did so, w/ out writing out a book to do so), here -> http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1219095&cid=27806379 & here also -> http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1219095&cid=27853857

    Funniest part is? When I and others (MEK_LoveBug) asked YOU to prove YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMMER, as you claimed you were? You RAN, lmao!

    ----

    "Google failed to find any offical mention of your work with Russinovich" - by ion.simon.c (1183967) on Monday May 04, @10:57PM (#27825779)

    GOOGLE didn't fail, YOU DID (as usual, per this reply AND the list of your screwups here I enumerate below in this exchange)...

    See this -> http://www.pcmech.com/article/defragging-the-windows-page-file/ (& the comment by "SuperFluid" there)

    YOU can't even GOOGLE something right, lol...

    You're only showing yourself as what you really are: Nothing more than a "I can't do anything w/out GOOGLE" type online...

    SO, AGAIN - YOU say you're a programmer? PROVE IT!

    (So, how do you like it? After all, that's the kind of crap you've been saying to me & I provide proof below... and, you do not, & YOU have NOTHING LIKE THE LISTS I PROVIDE BELOW, to your credit)

    ----

    "I've emailed Mr. Russinovich to figure out what work that you've done with him" - by ion.simon.c (1183967) on Monday May 04, @10:57PM (#27825779)

    For Sunbelt Software (I'll save you the time there) to whom we contracted out wares we had written, thru LC Tech!

    (& also MANY years later, in 2003, when I fixed up his pagedefrag program, instructing him where it was hardcoded and how/why it could adversely affect the operations of his application if people moved their pagefile.sys location AND eventlogs (which is doable on both accounts, & he STILL has a hardcode to the latter) to another disk (he had them hardcoded to C: drive only, & it made his program fail). In the end? Well - he emailed me back thanking me in fact.

    ----

    "You're thread's not stickied on xtremepccentra

  64. No one can say you didn't tell it how it was apk by MEK_LoveBug · · Score: 1

    There isn't much doubt that you told it how it was because you quoted ion.simon.c and you did finally prove he has been trolling you already here and did lose despite his saying he got the better of you the first time he attempted a trolling of yourself. I now see why you use quoting others along with the links where it occurred because there is no doubting the words others use and your technique though bloated does seem to do the job. It is ridiculous how ion.simon.c is avoiding your questions but he only brought it on himself. Perhaps it is time to leave him be though because you have proved your point and he won't answer you or myself in regard to his stating he is a programmer. I do not think so by this time and I am certain others do not either. ion.simon.c and his running from our questions which were the same ones he asked of you only proves your point. Some people do not have any shame and I think that ion.simon.c must be such a person.