Gavin Free first pointed a high-speed camera at a shutter in 2015, using a Phantom Flex and a cropped square to reach 10,000 frames a second on a Canon EOS 7D. In September 2026 he brought the same battered 7D back, now with a Phantom TMX 7510 that holds full resolution at 80,000 frames a second, and the extra speed showed details the older clip never caught.
Burl of Burls Art wondered how far you could strip a guitar before it stopped being one. He pulled the neck off, then placed the remains on tensioned aviation cable and attempted to play the creation. The experiment began as a side question when he was working on another project in his newly constructed garage. He kept going until he was left with only the Telecaster’s hardware, six strings, and a row of metal bars.
Diorama111, a DIY maker from Japan, has spent many hours squeezing motors, lights, and controllers into models that no larger than a matchbox. His latest project is a 1/48 model narrow-gauge battery locomotive on 9 mm track that has its own power, lighting, and enough onboard electronics to perform a short shuttle without the need for a remote.
Xiaomi opened sales of the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max in China today, pairing Qualcomm’s new 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chips with two 200-megapixel Leica cameras, a second OLED on the back, and a hardware privacy layer on the front glass. Base 12GB plus 256GB units start at 5,999 yuan for the 18 Pro and 6,999 yuan for the 18 Pro Max, about $895 and $1,045. Steps up through 16GB plus 1TB land at 8,999 ($1,343) and 9,999 ($1,492) yuan. A transparent special edition sits higher. A global run is promised later this year after last year’s 17 Pro pair stayed in China.
Matty Benedetto of Unnecessary Inventions just found a new way to turn a quiet night with a cold can into something that stares back at you. Out of his Burlington, Vermont studio he just finished invention number 469, a little digital pet he calls the Buzz Buddy that perches on top of any standard beer can and matches you drink for drink. The unit is a compact, egg-shaped screen housing with a pixel character already seated at a tiny desk, waiting. Once you crack the tab the figure stays put until the first tilt.