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Ipevo's Designey-from-the-'90s Desktop Document Cameras

Also: Why has no one combined one of these with a desk lamp?

By Rain Noe - July 1, 2022

in Tech

I've still got a bulky desktop scanner that I occasionally break out. Most of the time it does nothing, and it takes up one of only three drawers I have in my desk, which is not ideal.

A good alternative might be this DO-CAM document camera by manufacturer Ipevo, which folds flat, down to the size of a pencil case.

I'm digging the designey-from-the-'90s aesthetic; this looks like it would've been featured in I.D. or Metropolis magazine.

They also make these still-small, but non-portable V4K variants:

And they offer this wireless VZ-X version, which has a battery life of 9-12 hours. The design is not as elegant, but it does have a small footprint and could live on the desk. I think for occasional use it would still be more convenient than pulling out the scanner.

The thing I'm wondering is: Why hasn't anyone combined one of these with a desk lamp? If it's going to live on your desk anyway, it might as well do double-duty, and the components all seem small enough that they'd both fit into a single object.

I smell a Kickstarter.

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Alan Nomoto

3 years ago

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I don’t want a LIDAR sensing, step motor actuated “value added” appliance that takes a sledgehammer to a problem that might save me from human intervention. My take is that Mr. Noe wants a device that simplifies his life. Not some elaborate concoction that requires 2 days to register, get help to activate via chat & breaks the day the warrantee expires. A simple treasure you find in a second hand store 20 years from now.

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- Dee An
  
  Alan Nomoto
  
  3 years ago
  
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  Mr Noe has expressed a desire for two functions - scanner and lamp - that are only superficially related (er, they both might sit on an articulated stand on a desk. But not optimally in the same position. And using a laptop to power a desk lamp is just daft. Oh, you want the user to unplug from the computer and into a power supply instead? Wait, you want two cables from the device, one for power and one for data? Urgh ). My take is that he is pressed for time.
  He is as capable as you or I are of realising that a combination lamp / scanner is suboptimal - he just needs to think about it a bit more. Running through the implications of a decision can take time
  
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Dee An

3 years ago

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It is not a given that the angle and position of a desk light would be the same as the angle and position into which a user would place a document scanner.
Combining the two devices would mean the user would likely have to readjust the head of the device before and after scanning.
Also, good quality colour-accurate LED light sources are bulkier than efficient LED light sources because of the extra heat dissipation required. This needs to be taken into account.

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- Alan Nomoto
  
  Dee An
  
  3 years ago
  
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  “…would mean the user would likely have to readjust the head of the device before and after scanning.”
  
  I think we are capable of this.
  
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  - Dee An
    
    Alan Nomoto
    
    3 years ago
    
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    That's a curious attitude.
    Yes we are *capable* of readjusting our desk lamps, but why should we bother? Why would someone choose to buy a product that created more work for them? They wouldn't.
    A designer should be focused on making a user's life easier or better, and not create products that introduce extra faff.
    Making excuses for poor product concepts such as "Well, it doesn't cause *that* much extra work for the user" leads to unsuccessful products, letting down the members of the product team and irritating real world users.
    Think of the user. Think of the user using your product every day. Think of how a small oversight in the design can get more irksome day after day.
    
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