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June 30th, 2007, 04:25 Posted By: bandit
Sony PSP Chotto Shot Go!Cam Camera
Manufacturer: Sony
Site: Buy from Goldenshop
Price: $49.99
Overview : Using the PSP camera, Chotto Shot lets you edit photos and movies by adding background music, effects, and a variety of other options. Chotto Shot requires a firmware of 2.80 or above.
CAMERA FEATURES:- Digital zoom.
- Swivels to face user or away from user.
- Mic on the side of Camera.
PHOTO FEATURES:- Night mode.
- Photos can be taken in 340x240, 480x272, 640x480 or 1280x960 resolution.
- There are 5 sound effects for when snapping a photo: the standard camera sound, a gunshot sound, some weird cartoon-like sound, a sound ressembling the uncorking of a bottle, and a sneezing sound.
- Can have a "Narrator" I guess you could say countdown how much time you have left until your automatic photo will be taken.
- "Dogwatch" feature. When set in "Dogwatch" mode you can set the camera in a desired place and when something passes it it automatically takes a photo.
VIDEO FEATURES:- Night mode.
- Option to automatically take a photo every .5, 1, 10, or 30 seconds. It then compiles these pictures into a 15 second video.
- Option to let you take 450, 90, 15, or 4 pictures whenever you want no time limit then it compiles them into a 15 second video.
SLIDESHOW FEATURES:- Has a calander.
- 3 backround music's. Able to listen to while viewing photos or videos in slideshow.
- 4 special ways to go from pic-to-pic / movie-to-movie such as fade out or fade out and spin. No special way is also an option.
- 4 different times in which the photo's switch. 5, 15 seconds or 1, 10 minutes. No time is also an option.
- Option to display date when photo was taken.
Quality/Usability : This review is based off of the Japanese Chotto Shot. Sony has the European version in Europe. Those who have imported the Chotto Shot and does not speak Japanese fluently can go to http://www.yourpsp.com/goedit (I believe has other European languages as well) or see update below to download the English software (79MB). (You will be asked to register and enter PSP model number and serial number before downloading software)
The PSP Chotto Shot is one of Sony's USB peripheral device for the PSP. Their other peripheral was the Sony PSP-290 GPS Receiver. The Chotto Shot is a 1.3 mega pixels portable digital camera that was originally released in Japan and is now available in Europe under the name of Go! Edit. There is no current plans or date to release this camera in North America. By inserting the camera at the top of the PSP, you can take pictures and videos in no time. The Chotto Shot also includes a UMD software known as EDIT. The software is in Japanese. Go!Cam in Europe is in English.
With the PSP turned on, under the PHOTO XMB, you will see an option for Camera. Without the camera attached, you will be given an error message asking you to connect the camera. With the Chotto Shot attached, you can now use it. Upon selecting the Camera menu, the Chotto Shot will automatically turn on. There is a red LED next to the camera that will flash to let you know that it is on. There is no flash so you will need to be in a well lit area. You can use the Chotto Shot either with or without the EDIT UMD in the PSP. If you have the EDIT UMD in the PSP, you are given more choices and flexibility when using the camera such as timer, countdown, etc., as well as the annoying character helper on every screen but luckily you are able to turn it off. Without the UMD, you are only given the basic features.
Considering the Chotto Shot is only 1.3MP, it is on par with those of camera cell phones. Pictures are grainy when in a low light area but with a well lit place, the pictures are pretty good. You can take pictures in 320x240, 480x272, 640x480 and 1280x960. Again, quality of pictures are dependent on how well lit the subject and area is. You are able to zoom x2.0.
In Movie mode, you can record videos in 320x240 (15fps), 320x240 (30fps), 480x272 (15fps) and 480x272 (30fps). You are able to zoom x1.4. You can record as long as you want depending on the size of your memory card and how much free space is available. The bigger the card and more space you have, the longer you can record. With the announcement of the new line of Pro Duo Memory Sticks (Pro-HG): 8GB (late 2007) 16GB (2008) and 32GB (2009), the sky is the limit! That is if the PSP's firmware allows such a big card to be read and written to.
The Chotto Shot allows you tinker with the Shutter Sound as it offers you 5 different sounds and the folder number just like on a digital camera. Like camera cellphones, you have to ability to ZOOM -/+. Image quality for both camera and movie is FINE and STANDARD. You are also able to play around with the WHITE BALANCE and EXPOSURE ADJUSTMENT. Under the PHOTO mode, you are given an extra option, EFFECT which lets you play around with some effects such as SKETCH, TOY CAMERA, DISTORTION, etc.
Pressing the R trigger allows you to record movies or snap photos depending on the mode you are currently on. If you have taken any pictures or videos, pressing the L trigger will let you review your images and videos that you have taken. Pressing SELECT will swap between PHOTO and MOVIE mode.
With the EDIT UMD inserted into the PSP, you are given a few extra options. Here is a translation (taken from English Go!Cam):
MAIN MENU
VIDEO
--------
[ ] for replay of last video. R to record. X to stop.
The option list:
SAVE
CANCEL
PREVIEW/REPLAY
CONTINUE/RESUME
SELECT for option menu
Row 1:
1. Intermittent photo - 0.5 1.0 10 30 OFF - Takes pictures at set intervals
2. Time-lapse photo - 450 90 15 4 OFF - Each shot combined into video
3. High Sensitivity - Night mode
Row 2:
1. Show help
2. Show robot
3. Show date
PHOTO
--------
SELECT for Option Menu
Row 1:
1. Frame - TRIANGLE to activate
2. Watchdog - There 3 different type of dogs, and it watches differently. When activated, it requires different things to take picture
Lazy Dog: Detects Sharp, loud wacking sound, any short and sharp sound, and take a picture (A painful dog sound will be heard - like being wacked)
Old Dog: Detects fast motion, and takes a picture (A growling angry dog will be heard - as if the dog is biting something angrily, and swinging it here and there)
Good Dog: Detects any movement that moves, and takes a picture. Very sensitive to motion. (A bark - like a normal watch dog)
3. Timer
4. Timer Sound
5. High Sensitivity - Night mode
Row 2:
1. Sound FX
2. Show Help
3. Show Robot (helper)
4. Show Date
5. Picture resolution
ALBUM
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TABS - ALL, GROUP, VIDEO, PHOTO
SELECT for Option Menu
1. Show help
2. Show robot
3. Repeat
4. Play bar
TEMPLATE
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Choose video
Option
1. Template select (with confirmation)
a. Pixelated sound and video
b. LIVE NEWs footage (war zone)
c. MAMBO!
d. Surreal photo?
e. Reversal World
f. Japanese EDIT
g. Thunder & lightning storm
h. Cloud hell
i. TV Sitcom
j. Weird metal/goth
2. Preview
3. Save (save new file or overwrite)
SELECT for option menu
1. Top status bar (tooltips) toggle
2. Toggle helper
3. Loop video toggle
4. Timeline toggle
Conclusion : Overall, the Sony PSP Chotto-Shot Camera is a nice peripheral but will never replace a real digital camera. To get the best quality from the camera, you'll need to be in a well lit area or outside in the daylight. This is for fun, giggles and playing around with. Unfortunately, if you dont live in Japan, you'll have to import this. No release date or official announcement of any release outside of Japan. I personally prefer just inserting the Chotto Shot onto the PSP and snapping pictures. Hardly did I have the need to use the EDIT UMD and its special features such as timer and what not. If you dont know Japanese it will take some trial and error to understand what menu and button on the EDIT UMD does (luckily I provided a translation above).
*UPDATE*
Those interested in getting the Go!Cam English version can get it by following these steps:
1. Download the program zip file. (79MB)
2. Extract the contents of the zip file.
3. Connect your PSP to your computer using a USB cable.
4. Go to the PSP/GAME folder.
5. Copy UCES90027 folder into the GAME directory.
(File provided by PSPFanboy.com)
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