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科技在发展 可夹在衬衫上的袖珍相机

2014-02-19来源:和谐英语

I've been snapping photos of everything in front of me for the last week. If we've passed, even for a moment, I probably have a picture of your face.
过去一周我一直在抓拍出现我面前的每样东西。如果我们曾擦肩而过,哪怕就一瞬间,我也可能会有你的脸部照片。

I'm not a spy, but I've been using gear you might associate with 007. New matchbook-size cameras that clip to your tie or shirt let you capture a day's worth of encounters, then upload them to the Internet to be remembered forever.
我并非间谍,但我的装备也许会让你想到007。新式的火柴盒大小的相机可夹在领带或衬衫上,让你能够抓拍值得记录的瞬间,然后上传至互联网永久保存。

Why on Earth would anybody want to do that? After trying out two devices that recently began shipping, the $279 Narrative Clip and $399 Autographer, I think the answer for many will be why wouldn't you?
怎么会有人想干这种事?在试用了新近上市的279美元的Narrative Clip和399美元的Autographer两款设备之后,我想对很多人来说,答案是为什么不呢?

科技在发展 可夹在衬衫上的袖珍相机

Yes, I took gigabytes of boring photos of me sitting in front of a computer at work. But when I took the tiny cameras hiking or hanging out with kids, they produced Instagram-worthy shots. (I also discovered surprising uses, like when I scanned my photo log to discover where I'd misplaced my watch.)
没错,我拍了大量自己坐在电脑前工作的无聊照片。但当我徒步或和孩子们出去玩的时候,这些袖珍相机会拍出很适合分享到Instagram的快照。(我还发现了意外的妙用,比如通过检索照片记录来找出我把手表丢在了哪里。)

Wearable cameras are a potential solution to the growing annoyance of people holding their phones in front of their faces throughout birthday parties, concerts and other important moments, instead of just living them.
在生日聚会、音乐会及其他重要场合,人们总是把手机举在面前到处拍,而不懂得享受当下,这样的行为越来越令人讨厌。可穿戴相机或许是很好的解决办法。

But there's a cost to amassing so much photographic evidence. The tiny cameras made others uncomfortable when they found out they were being recorded. Some friends wouldn't hug me; gossiping colleagues kept asking, 'Is that thing on?' These devices upset a fundamental (though arguably flawed) assumption that even in public, you aren't being recorded.
但要积累足够多的照片也不是轻而易举的事。当人们发现袖珍相机正在拍摄自己时,会感到很不自在。一些朋友不再拥抱我了;八卦的同事们总是问:“那玩意儿开着吗?”这类设备颠覆了一个基本观念(虽然不一定正确):就算是在公开场合,随便拍人也是不应该的。

Makes you squirm, doesn't it? One reason I wanted to review these cameras is that this kind of technology isn't going away. 'Always on' cameras are becoming popular in home electronics like the Xbox One and a new wave of streaming video security systems. Now you can buy cameras that attach to your wrist, ear, bike helmet and eyeglasses.
让人不舒服,对吧?我之所以想对这种相机发表评论的一个原因是此类技术正方兴未艾。“无间断”摄像头正在Xbox One等家用电子设备以及新一轮流媒体视频安全系统产品中日益受到追捧。现如今,你可以买到戴在手腕和耳朵上、安装在自行车头盔和眼镜上的相机了。

The two cameras I tested are meant for everyday use. On the surface, they seem very similar: plastic clip-ons that silently take photos and store them until you upload them to a phone or computer. They arrange the photos in a contact sheet on your phone and use software to highlight the most interesting shots, or give you a sped-up video of your day.
我试用的这两款相机是为日常使用设计的。其外观大同小异,都是可夹式塑料外壳,它们默默地拍照并存储,直到你把照片上传到手机或电脑里。它们把照片储存在手机的图片索引里,还会用软件高亮最有趣的照片,或者快速播放照片,以视频的形式把你的一天呈现出来。

The Narrative is the least obtrusive. It could be easily mistaken for a tie clip. The Narrative has no buttons or screen, and just one function: It takes a photo of whatever is in front of it every 30 seconds, more than 2,000 a day, with quality comparable to the iPhone 4's camera.
Narrative很不起眼,很容易被误认为是领带夹。它没有按键和显示屏,只有一个功能:每隔30秒拍下它面前的景象。一天下来就有超过2,000张照片,其画质堪比iPhone 4的摄像头。

A sensor makes sure the photos are always upright, no matter how the clip is oriented, while a GPS chip inside notes where you are each time it takes the photo. Tap on the Narrative twice and it will snap a photo right away.
无论相机处于何种方位,它的感应器都会确保照片端正。同时,内置的GPS芯片会记录每张照片的拍摄地点。连续敲击两下,相机就会立刻抓拍一张。

The pricier Autographer is three times larger, making it flop over when I attached it to my shirt pocket. It packs a 5-megapixel camera with fisheye lens and five sensors -- including an accelerometer, compass and thermometer -- in order to take a picture when it thinks your surroundings have changed. It can use Bluetooth to transfer shots wirelessly to a phone or computer right away. All of this extra tech means the battery lasts about 10 hours, compared with the Narrative's 30.
Autographer价格较贵,比Narrative大三倍,夹在衬衫衣兜上会外翻。它配置了一个500万像素的鱼眼镜头和五个传感器──其中包括加速计、指南针和温度计──这使它能感知周遭环境变化,及时拍照。它还可通过蓝牙即时把快照无线传输到手机或电脑上。所有这些额外的技术配置意味着它的电池只能续航约10小时,而Narrative是30小时。

What are you supposed to do with all of those photos? More than 1,000 shots taken on my hike this Sunday weren't worth keeping. But 15 were delightful, unposed shots of my friends and their kids at sunset. You can't get a 7-year-old kid to look that naturally happy with a regular camera pointing in his face, but the candid camera did. I could imagine taking one of these cameras to special events or on vacation.
该怎么处理这么多照片呢?我周日徒步途中有1000多张快照都没有保留价值,但有15张非常赞,抓拍到了我朋友和他们的孩子在日落时分最自然的瞬间。让一个七岁的孩子在普通镜头前表现得如此开心大方是不可能的,但袖珍相机做到了。我想我会带个袖珍相机去特殊活动或度假的。

Judging based on price, shape and battery life, the Narrative would seem to be the better product. But after using both cameras, I realized the Autographer was superior because its design better respected my interactions with friends and strangers alike.
综合价格、外形和电池续航来看,Narrative看起来是更好的产品。然而在试用过这两款相机之后,我意识到Autographer更胜一筹,因为它的设计更好地尊重了我与朋友及陌生人之间的互动。