Ultimate spyware

Sony launches world’s first digital binoculars with HD and 3D

Ultimate spyware

When Captain Nemo strides on to the big screen in David Fincher’s upcoming remake of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea in 2013, we hope he’ll have a pair of Sony DEV-5s slung around his neck. The world’s first digital binoculars are not only capable of recording in HD, but also 3D.

The exterior, finished in a rather fetching ‘secret service black’, houses an HDMI connection so that footage can be reviewed on an HDTV, and a battery indicator — expect around three hours’ worth of recording in 2D. λBuilt-in GPS means the operator (one does not merely ‘use’ a device such as this) can Geotag every video and photo with the precise location where they were captured.

The binoculars have dual 10x optical and digital zoom lenses, giving you a total of 20x magnification. Although when recording video in 3D that’s reduced to 5.4x — but we’re sure you’ll somehow cope.

Add in zoom, autofocus and SteadyShot, and you have all the refinements an inhumane scientific genius, hellbent on hunting down innocent craft and inflicting seaweed cigars on the world, could want. They’re available from November. OK, you could use them for birdwatching, but seriously, what a waste…

£2,000; sony.co.uk

Marc Chacksfield
Content Director

As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.