Overview
Because privacy is overrated and everyone’s life goal is to star in a viral Internet video: Ringcams are a thing. Let’s face it, a wedding proposal is far too opportune a moment to go un-recorded, un-uploaded and unappreciated on social media. The Ringcam also works as a handy alternative to hiring an unemployed photographer to camouflage into the shrubbery whilst you pop the question, or getting down on one knee with the ring in your left and video camera on record in your right, or proposing with a GoPro strapped to your forehead (please note, she will say no if this is your method of documentation).
It’s a simple concept, really. A very ordinary looking ring box comes with a tiny camera built into the lid. All the proposer must do is simply press the record button on the side of the box and the moment will be captured forever, in high definition. Developed by five friends during an engineering project at Michigan University, the idea was to catch a completely organic response to the proposal, without any of the suspicion that may arise when the bride-to-be spots her boyfriend’s teenage sister attempting to go incognito with a raised iPhone on record pointing in their direction. And it works. The camera is well hidden and unexpected. You can watch some successful Ringcam responses here if you’re sceptical.
So if you’re after a couple of extra Facebook friends, or wanting strangers to comment on the quality of your proposal, you can grab a Ringcam from the company’s website for $250. Otherwise, you can rent the box for three weeks for just $100. Other options include a package deal, which comes with a bonafide videographer to edit your shaky footage, or you can grab a full package that includes a real live photographer to attend your proposal for even more extensive photographic evidence of your heroic deed.
The only negative aspect? I’ve pondered the logistics of the Ringcam-aided proposal quite thoroughly, and I’ve come up with a single, yet fatal, downside that might make you question the click you just used to add the Ringcam to your virtual shopping cart. I’m thinking angles here. Camera angles. Open your phone’s front camera right now and hold it at the same height as a proposer down on one knee. Call me crazy but I think I’d rather Facebook animosity than have all those chins circling the inter web.