Tiny1: The World's Smallest Astronomy Camera

Tue Jun 28 '16 Announcement
almost 10 years ago – Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 05:00:10 AM

Update: New Melbourne Footage, Manufacturing

Hello everyone!

Thanks for the support the past 3 weeks. It has been amazing. We want to show you our latest footage taken from Melbourne of the Milky Way, with the rise of the full moon in the same shot.

Our CTO visited Melbourne shortly before the campaign started and captured this wonderful footage. He drove 2 hours from Melbourne city centre south, to Flinders in Victoria to capture this sight. The Moon is significantly brighter than the Milky Way, which caused the camera to overexpose. Impressively, the camera could still resolve part of the Milky Way when we re-set the camera to expose properly for the Moon.

 
Timelapse captured by Tiny1 Prototype

Manufacturing updates

It’s week 3 into the campaign. We received our new and revised circuit board for assembly. In another month or two, we will be moving away from our bench setup and have a Tiny1 that can be used in a field testing setup. We have time for another cycle of testing before we manufacture the super early bird batch. Stay tuned for more updates.


PCB Major revision 2. Single board design for greater reliability.

Here are some images we took when we did factory visits in Singapore. Manufacturing, assembly and testing facilities are lined up, ready to go at the end of the campaign. Do let your friends and family know about us. TinyMOS community grows stronger with every additional user.

Assembly houses


Test chambers



Precision CNC machines


Color swatches for aluminium anodizing
 

Best regards,
Grey Tan
On behalf of TinyMOS Team

Thu Jun 16 '16 Announcement
almost 10 years ago – Thu, Jun 16, 2016 at 07:17:25 AM

Update: Lens adapters

​Hi all!

Thank you for the outpouring of suggestions on how to improve on the Tiny1 eco-system. One of the most commonly requested accessory was lens adapters. Currently we are already supporting Canon EF mount, Nikon F mount and telescope’s 1.25” mount.

Here’s the results of our research.

1) Telescope T mount – Supported!

Telescope T mount can be supported and will be supported via the Canon EF mount and Nikon F mount converter. The 2 adapter approach comes from researching the optics.

We discovered that a T mount to CS mount conversion is not very suitable, as the lens registration distance would most likely be off.

The good news is, by supporting the T mount via the EF and F mount adapters, users can also look at attaching the T mount optics to their own Canon/Nikon DSLRs. We’ll add that option in the post campaign survey. You can let us know in the comments section as well so we get an idea.

2) Sony E mount – To be confirmed
Due to rear flange distance constraints and the depth of the E mount itself, it is exceedingly difficult to provide adapters for it with our current prototyping capabilities. It is physically possible but technically difficult to implement. We are not supporting the Sony E mount adapter on Indiegogo, until we are able to test it with production grade machines.

3) Micro 4/3 mount – To be confirmed

We were very excited to test out adapters for the Micro 4/3 mount. The small optics means making many high quality, portable optics available for you. Mechanically, supporting the Micro 4/3 lenses was simple and straightforward. However, we met some problems supporting it due to the electronic focusing mechanism. The lens requires a controller and power to focus the lens. We are looking into supporting it as it would be a great match with the Tiny1 system. More updates to come on this.

4) Other Mounts
Other mounts such as Leica mount and other legacy mounts are most likely supported. We will support them as the Tiny1 gets delivered. Do note your interest when we send the backer survey too!

Summary:
Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate it, let the comments come in, and let us know how we can do better

Best,

Grey
On behalf of TinyMOS Team

Mon Jun 13 '16 Announcement
almost 10 years ago – Mon, Jun 13, 2016 at 10:22:30 AM

Day 7 update: 250K backed!

It has been a wonderful journey on Indiegogo so far. We have shot past our 250K goal within the first week!

The Tiny1 application and camera will get the Northern Light notification functionality, to let you know the local conditions for Northern Light viewing, so you don’t have to spend cold nights hoping to view the Northern Lights.

Here’s an update on our development:

1) The Tiny1 enclosure has been updated with ports for WiFi and GPS signal transmission

2) New design consolidates 3 separate electronic modules into a single board, to improve durability and reliability of the camera

Here’s a sneak peak of it!

Generation 2 aluminium bodies

Did you notice a black anodized version?

Layout of the Tiny1 system. From the left: Mini Tripod, 100mm F2, 4mm F1.2 kit lens, touch screen module, black anodized edition, assorted shutter buttons, battery, version 1 motherboard.

A whole set of Tiny1 with accessories will easily fit in your exploration day bag.

The journey has been amazing. Don’t let it stop here. Let’s spread the word and bring more into the TinyMOS family on Indiegogo, that way we can keep giving you the latest innovations in astronomy imaging.

Don’t forget to check update #3 our referral program where you can earn accessories to bring on your astronomy imaging trip and even a Tiny1 astronomy camera!

S T R E T C H  G O A L - 350,000USD

We are now announcing the new stretch goal for 350,000 USD - Color options!

At 350K, you will have a choice of Silver, Black and another color decided by polling. We will provide a link to the poll shortly. Stay tuned for more updates!

Thu Jun 9 '16 Announcement
almost 10 years ago – Thu, Jun 09, 2016 at 10:34:32 AM

3rd Day Update:
ALMOST 200K BACKED! REFERRAL REWARDS ANNOUNCED!

Almost 200K backed! This is amazing! We have prepared referral rewards to show our appreciation.

Here's how it works:

You love the Tiny1, so will your friends!
Be rewarded when you invite your friends to join the TinyMOS’s family of explorers!

There are exciting accessories when you refer, everything you need on your next stargazing trip; personalized engraving and even a free Tiny1. Excited? Let’s go!

TinyMOS table top tripod

Tier 1: 1 Tiny1 Camera referred

Receive a TinyMOS Table-Top Tripod when one of your friend orders the Tiny1!

Portable and stable, the Table-Top Tripod fits in the bag and is perfect for your next Tiny1 journey.

Tier 2: $1000 referred

Receive the tripod AND a travel case, to keep your Tiny1 safe on your explorations. The case features foam padding to keep your Tiny1 safe from drops on your epic journeys.

Tier 3: $2000 referred

Receive all the above AND custom name engraving on your Tiny1, beside the logo. Join the Hall of Fame on our website as an ULTRA BACKER in our office!

Tier 4: $5000 referred

Receive a free Tiny1 camera AND all the above when your referral contributions exceed $5000. Name plate upgraded to NOVA status.

Sounds good? Here’s how to start referring.

1. Simply log in to Indiegogo, or create an account by signing up here. https://www.indiegogo.com/accounts/sign_up
2. Visit the Tiny1 campaign page on Indiegogo and look beside the main video to share and copy your unique URL.
3. Copy your unique URL link circled to send to your friends.

How To Track Your Results

1. Log into your Indiegogo account.
2. Click on your user name at the top right of the page.
3. Select the “My Profile” option.
4. Click on the tab that says “Referrals” for the latest totals of referrals and contributions.
5. Count the number of funders.

Please note: Referrals are not immediately reflected on your Indiegogo profile, but will be displayed within 24 hours.

Indiegogo tracks your shares and referrals. So far 14 backers have qualified to win the exclusive Table-top tripod. Let’s keep it going!

Thank you backers for helping bring Tiny1 to reality. We can grow even bigger with your support.

Cheers,
Grey

Terms and condition:

Rewards not eligible for exchange for other items or cash

For Backers who've referred a friend to the campaign, but isn't showing on the Dashboard, please drop us a message to [email protected] and we will attend to you promptly.

Tue Jun 7 '16 Announcement
almost 10 years ago – Tue, Jun 07, 2016 at 08:15:19 AM

24th Hour Update: 
S T R E T C H  G O A L S!

Dear Backers,

Thank you for your resounding support in the past 24 hours.

You made Tiny1 possible and gave us a strong message that we are heading the right direction. This validation after 2 years of work and effort is priceless to us.

In case you weren’t able to join us for our launch party in Singapore. Here’s the video of that party.

Live through the excitement of our launch here:

Launch party 

Stretch goals:

We have a few stretch goals in mind but we want your inputs in this as well.

250K - Northern Lights alerts.

At 250K, we will build in a Northern Light alerts to the Tiny1 companion app. We all know that Northern lights is a fleeting but beautiful phenomenon. It can be affected by solar activity and more importantly, local conditions. The notification app will allow users to alert other users of a Northern Light sighting in the same region. This helps you to view the Northern lights more easily, and less cold and fruitless nights. It also means more Tiny1 users can meet each other on their expeditions.

What stretch goals do you want for the 500K mark? More colour options? Sony or Micro 4/3 lens support? Even wider angle lenses? Fisheye lenses? Let us know in the comments.