Are you thinking of proposing to your schnookums soon? If you are, you're probably looking into clever and artistic ways to capture the big moment, too — in which case, I've got a suggestion for you: Ring Cam, an engagement ring box with a camera built right into it. I'm not kidding. This is a thing that actually exists, and what's more, it's not nearly as hokey as you're probably thinking it is.
So many things can go wrong when you try to catch a proposal in some sort of lasting way for posterity: You press the wrong button when trying to turn the camera on, so it doesn't actually record; you do manage to get the camera working, but the big moment accidentally happens off screen; you run out of battery power; you manage to record the whole thing, but your partner turns you down and the video ultimately ends up on YouTube; and so on. Ring Cam can't, unfortunately, help you with that last one — but it might do something to alleviate the others.
The idea is simple, yet effective: Take the one thing you know will be front and center at most Western proposals and stick the camera on it. It will always be facing the person who's being asked, ensuring that you capture the exact moment s/he sees the bling hiding inside; furthermore, there's only one button you have to worry about — the one on the top. Easy-peasy, right?
Not only that, but you don't have to buy the thing, either (since, hopefully, you'll only end up using it once). For $100, you can rent it for three weeks. All you need to do is specify your delivery date, and the company will make sure it arrives where you need it, when you need — and if you're having any trouble figuring out how it works, you can call or text them at any time. It uses a wide angle lens to prevent shaky-cam problems and records both sound and audio in high-def. To watch your footage, just plug it into your computer via the USB port and provided cables and you'll be able to access the files right from the box itself.
Not sure how well it'll work? Maybe Ring Cam's promo video will convince you. It features 10 proposals in just over a minute, and all of them are as magical as you're probably hoping your own will be:
Although I'm not going to lie: My first thought after watching that video was, “This must be what the world looks like to the One Ring.”
That aside, though, it's actually a pretty ingenious idea. If you're feeling really fancy, you can even shell out some extra cash for one of two additional perks: A Proposal Package, which also grants you the use of a videographer to clean up and edit your footage; or a Photography Package, which also includes an actual photographer to take even more covert photos of your proposal.
I wonder, though… could it also be useful in these other situations?
1. You're on a spy mission that requires a fake proposal.
Or you just want your actual proposal to have a little James Bond flair.
2. You need something cheaper than a GoPro for your next big adventure.
$30 can make a big difference. Just, y'know… don't lose the Ring Cam. Or try to shoot with it underwater. It is a rental, after all. You're going to have to return it eventually — and in the same condition in which it was when you first got your grubby little hands on it.
3. You're planning a mean-spirited trick on someone and want to be able to humiliate them with a video of it over and over and over again.
Don't do this. It's mean.
4. You're shooting a found-footage horror movie on the cheap.
Too bad you can't call it The Ring, though. Been there. Done that. Got my life sucked out by a ghost.
5. You forgot to plug in your dash cam.
I'm not totally sure why it would be more likely for you to have an engagement ring box equipped with a camera in your pocket than it would for you to have an actual dash cam in your car… but it could happen, right?
6. You need to give your Amazing Proposal Robot its finishing touch.
Why propose yourself when you could get a robot to do it for you?
7. You've decided to create a Lord of the Rings fan film retelling the story from the point of view of the One Ring.
OK, yes, I know I already made this joke — but I wasn't really kidding. If ever there were an appropriate moment to break out a ring's eye point of view camera, this would be it.
Find out more about Ring Cam at its official website. Good luck!
Images: timparkinson/Flickr; Giphy (8)
