Last but not least: viral, real, sh*t

Strapping cameras to animals to see the world through their eyes is nothing new. Video camera with night vision function on a cat: nocturnal forays. Shaky, barely recognizable - but fascinating nonetheless. GoPro on dog harness - shaky, hardly recognizable - but still fun.

In order to put the Coolpix L31 model at the center of attention, Nikon is now presenting a particularly appealing idea: "Heartography". The device, in which a camera model called L31 is "clamped", is connected to a heart rate monitor (also attached to the dog) via Bluetooth. The highlight: the camera triggers when the dog's heartbeat increases.

In other words, the human ends up with photos showing things that the dog finds exciting. That's a pretty appealing idea for dog lovers - and at least a very good idea for everyone else. No wonder the Casemovie is attracting a lot of attention online.
 

A joke in the service of virality? From a purely technical point of view, the device appears to be feasible. Even if it is not entirely clear why you have to strap such an unwieldy camera as the L31 to a dog, when every action cam today weighs and measures a fraction of the size. What really makes you wonder, however, are certain shots from the Casemovie:

Where is the camera dog - if not an Irish Wolfhound - carrying the camera here? Certainly not where Nikon would have us believe (see top picture). This shot is even more confusing:

This human reflection reinforces the suspicion that this could be a pure marketing stunt:

Nikon appeases the many suspicious viewers on YouTube with the explanation that it is a crew member who is filming the scene.

Whoever believes it... However, one could also counter that in many cases, casemovies are staged from A to Z anyway and are more or less poorly re-enacted by amateur actors. That's why the dog heart camera doesn't have to be a lie. And even if it is, the idea is appealing - and that's the main thing. (hae)

Heartography.nikon-asia.com