Sony demos hand-cranked digital camera

Sony today took its time at the Eco Products expo in Japan to reveal a digital camera concept that it hopes will spur environmentally-friendly electronics in the near future. The Odo camera would switch from the batteries of most cameras to a unique design that relies solely on human power" spinning a wheel on top of the main body for about 15 seconds charges the device until it can take a photo. The device includes LED indicators to indicate when it can take its shot but has no display of its own to save power. Photos are instead seen by docking the Odo into a flowerpot-like USB cradle.

The device includes practical equipment such as a 3-megapixel sensor and a self-portrait timer mode and would work well as a beginning camera for children, Sony says. The company has no immediate plans for production but believes it will translate the technology into a finished product sometime in the near future. [via Impress]