Your precious little one is looking ultra-adorable and you’ve got the iPhone out – primed to snap the cutest pic ever! But the second that you tap the photo button, they look away. Picture failed.
If getting your baby to look straight at the camera means shaking your hands and waving your arms around like a crazy person, the Baby Focus will change all that!
Launched as a Kickstarter campaign in late August, the creative mind behind this genius product (inventor and dad Dave Canavan) notes that the detachable device helps parents to keep baby’s focus long enough to take a few photos with a mobile phone camera. The removable spinning rattle fits snuggly on just about every make and model of cell that you could have. This includes the iPhone 4 through 6+, the Samsung S3, S4, S5, S6 and S6 Edge, the Windows range and the HTC range.’
The Baby Focus initial run will comprise of 5 different coloured rattles, colours subject to availability:
- Pretty in Pink
- Brilliant Blue
- Black Magic
- Verve Orange
- Purple Haze
So, now you’re wondering how this little gadget really works and why you need one. After all, you already have about a zillion baby rattles hanging around your home. Why not pick one up and toss it around to amuse your baby? The easy answer is because holding the rattle right in front of the camera’s lens and snapping a picture that is free from some sort of odd-looking shaky effect isn’t really possible – unless you happen to be extra graceful and have mastered all things that require extreme dexterity.
The Baby Focus adjusts to fit around the backside of your phone (i.e., the part that doesn’t have a potentially cracking screen), just under the camera’s eye. It’s ‘arms’ have protective grabbers that help it stay put all while keeping the sides of your phone safe from scratches and chips. After attaching to your phone, all you need to do is spin the rattle. Your baby’s eye is immediately drawn to the rattle, as well as the camera.
The result?
It looks like he’s staring right into the lens (but, he’s really just checking out those tiny spinning beads) so instead of snapping your fingers, making silly noises and otherwise acting like a playful clown to get your baby’s attention, all you need to do is set the rattle spinning. Not only does this keep you from looking somewhat silly (especially in very public places) as you photograph your child, but it also helps you to avoid taking picture after picture after picture to get one shot that works.
But before you run out to the closest store that sells baby gear, keep in mind that this product is still not yet available to the public.
So, why bother telling you about a totally helpful items that you can’t actually buy?
Well, technically you can get one – you just can’t ‘buy’ it yet. Unless you’ve got a big-name baby backer behind you, putting something new into production costs more than the average mum and dad have stashed away.
That’s where Canavan’s Kickstarter campaign comes into play.
They’ve set a goal to raise $60,000 AUD by September 21, 2015. If that seems like a lot for a teeny little camera rattle, it really isn’t. The campaign will fund tooling, production, packaging and marketing. Donating to it won’t just give you that warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you help someone out. It also gets you the product itself (for any donation of $20 or more).
That said, it’s an all or nothing campaign. What does that mean? Exactly as it sounds. If the campaign doesn’t raise the full amount, the production can’t go into place. In other words, you (and rest of the parenting world) will miss out on this smart invention.
If you happen to have a toddler or older child who isn’t exactly dazzled by the sights and sounds of a spinning ball-filled wheel, you can still use the Baby Focus. That is, if you also happen to be a pet parent. Not only does your tiny tyke respond to the whirling colours, but Fido and Fluffy will too. Spin the rattle and your pup looks up, letting you get the perfect pooch picture to post on Facebook, Instagram or wherever.
If you’re really into taking frame after frame, waiting for your distracted little guy or girl to finally look at the lens , then go ahead with your plain old boring camera. But, if you want an easy hands-free distraction, this gizmo might just do the trick.
Just remember though, without full funding through Kickstarter you won’t get the chance to try!
To celebrate such a cool and clever invention, we’ve got 10 of the Baby Focus up for grabs!
so get your entries in below and be sure to spread the word to your friends and family. After all, no Kickstarter target reached, no Baby Focus!
