subject: Image is Everything - The Beauty of Tusker Trail's KiliCam [print this page] It's a workhorse and a work of art that never quits. It has been churning out pictures non-stop since September 23, 2005. It provides a wireless feed to the web that refreshes every five minutes. And the best part is that it is pointed directly at one of the greatest treasures the world has to offer - Mt. Kilimanjaro. This is most probably the largest collection of photographs of Kilimanjaro.
Mounted on a tower in Moshi at the foot of Kilimanjaro, running twenty-four/seven, 365 day per year, rain or shine, the abilities of Tusker Trail's (www.tusker.com) KiliCam (www.kilicam.com) are nothing short of awesome. The Kilicam website receives around 30,000 visits per month, and it has provided hundreds of thousands of Internet surfers a window into the natural beauty of Tanzania. Just as importantly, it has logged nearly 100,000 photos of Kilimanjaro over three and a half years and provided important documentation of the mountain, especially its rapidly receding glaciers.
Today, webcams play an important role in many different fields including science, security, and entertainment. We've certainly come a long way from their humble beginnings.
The CoffeeCam
Way back in 1991, the first webcam was born at Cambridge University. Its subject matter was uninteresting to say the least; it was pointed at a coffee pot in the computer science department.
As with many new inventions and innovations for the web, the use of webcams and webcam chat didn't really get rolling until the pornography industry got a hold of the technology. The "artists" of the adult world required live images and financed the creation of software that could do this without requiring browser plugins. This led to streaming webcam technology and produced instant hits like the "JenniCam", which provided constant observations of the life of its namesake, and "Justin TV", which offers continuous video and audio from a mobile camera mounted on the head of entertainment personality, Justin Kan. More recently, computer hardware manufacturers like Apple are building webcams into laptop and desktop screens.
While consumer webcam technology has come a long way in the last few years, so have industrial-strength, high-resolution cameras, like the one Tusker uses for the KiliCam.
Mobotix is Mo' Better
There is no doubt that the leading pioneer in network camera technology and high-resolution video systems is the German company Mobotix AG. It is precisely for that reason that Tusker's own Eddie Frank uses a Mobotix M12, dual lens, day/night camera for the KilCam.
Mobotix cameras offer around 30 percent more detail than many inferior models, due to the high number of megapixels. As a result, larger image areas are possible, offering up to a 360-degree panorama. The high-resolution images can be effectively stored on a single PC, and the images are processed in the camera itself, so they do not have to be constantly transferred for analysis. Furthermore, Mobotix cameras are robust and low-maintenance. They do not require any lens or positioning monitors and they have no moving parts. They can endure extreme temperatures, from -22 degrees to +140 degrees Fahrenheit, and since there is no hard disk for recording, there are no parts that can wear out the video system.
The seamless functioning of the camera allows users to access images uninterrupted, at any time of the day or night. All you have to is point and click.
Point and Click
When it comes to Tusker's KiliCam, it's all about the beautiful images. The highest mountain in Africa and the tallest free standing mountain in the world gets nothing short of its due respect through the eye of the KiliCam. While the images offer unique and breathtaking views year-round, now is a particularly great time to observe Kilimanjaro. March through May is often when the heaviest snowfalls occur and checking out the mountain during this window of time can be very rewarding.
For a one-of-a-kind look into the soul of Mt. Kilimanjaro, point and click your way to www.kilicam.com. And while you're on the site, you'll see a video produced by Tusker's own Eddie Frank. Only 2:17 minutes long, Eddie used 759 pictures, which he choreographed to a moving soundtrack to create a video called "Requiem for a Glacier."
Tusker Trail & Safari Co., All Rights Reserved
Image is Everything - The Beauty of Tusker Trail's KiliCam
