Camcorder Info

If you fancy yourself as a bit of an independent film-maker then you're going to need some decent kit to play with, and this next site provides all the information you need to get you up and running as a low budget production.

Camcorder Info is one of the most thorough review websites I've seen in ages. Again, the presentation is again a little magazine-like, I don't mind that so much with this kind of reference site. The main thing here is function, and navigating your way around the articles and reviews is a breeze.

There are featured reviews laid out on the front page, and clicking a link in the left-hand panel will take you to a sensibly ordered menu system to access everything else. I found the articles well written and engaging. The full kit reviews go into loads of detail, with screenshots of the tests and photographs to really help you understand the camera before you buy it.

A must-read if you're new to buying camcorders is the article under Buying A Camcorder, which gives some really useful tips about considering your budget and applications before making any decisions.

Color In Motion

What's your favourite colour? Mine is purple, which apparently makes me ambitious, artistic, aloof and arrogant. As if!

This is according to a website called Colour in Motion. I have to say I have no idea whatsoever as to the validity of this colour analysis stuff. Nowhere on the site does it say what its sources are or how they came to their conclusions, so please don't take this as serious scientific research. It's way too much fun for that, and cute too. The design and execution are a great example of Flash animation doing its thing and the content, whilst limited, is most engaging.

Once you're through the intro you can enter three sections, nicely presented as star dressing rooms that you click to enter. The first door tells you about the colours individually. Through the second are animated cartoons representing the different colours' personalities, and the third door is the interactive Lab.

The lab has three funky little games involving colour - my favourite being Project 1, which asks you to compose a still scene using all the available props and drawing tools. There's no prize, and no judgement at the end, but you can print out your scene to keep if you want.

Cool Optical Illusions

Cool Optical Illusions is basically a massive collection of visual illusions, gathered together and displayed online for all to enjoy. According to the website's creators there are over 140 in total, including all sorts of things from spirals that temporarily distort your vision, to strange many-legged elephants and donkeys that are really seals.

If you have a sturdy constitution there's a section of wallpapers for your desktop - though I have to admit I would find it quite distracting to have one of these quirky images plastered to my desktop all day. All the illusions are accessible from the left-hand menu panel - though I think the website's creators should think about categorising them into sub-headings and shrinking the menu panel down a bit as it is kind of confusing to surf. There's a basic colour blindness test nestling amongst all these illusions, and an entry explaining how the eye and brain work together to fool us. Interesting yes - but I would have found these sections much more easily had a decent menu structure been in place. The chalk drawings are excellent too, and well worth a look.

BubbleSphere

Everybody likes playing with bubbles, right? But aside from the fun of creating the biggest bubble you can before it pops in your face and makes your eyes sting, there is a far more serious side to the humble bubble.

Believe it or not, there's a lot we can learn about science and physics from observing the bubble, which makes it the ideal tool to help teach children some of the lessons they will need later in life. Bubblesphere is the home of Professor Bubbles, who has plenty of advice for anyone wanting to know more on the subject.

From revealing the formula for the perfect bubble mix, to advice and information about the best tools to use, there is certainly enough information here to get anyone on the path to great bubble creation. The science stuff is covered in the Questions section, and there's even a reasonable amount of information in the History section too. The Forum looks a little messy, so I wasn't that tempted to get in touch, but I would definitely recommend having a look through the Links & Reference sections, for a really thorough insight into the world of bubbles.