Scanning ahead...

In 2020, Jon Devo looked into his crystal ball and, with the Caira, his vision is now a reality

- Jon Devon

It's not often I'm blown away by a piece of camera technology.

It's also not often I get to see something that I imagined - and wrote about in this column - become a reality. Back in 2020, I outlined the exciting potential of building a camera around a smartphone interface and a computer processor. I wanted to explore the idea of what could be possible if any of the legacy camera companies fully embraced the potential of marrying their years of imaging technology and camera-building know-how with modern computing power and smartphone functionality. Unfortunately, none of the big brands have shown any signs of moving in that direction. However, a lesser-known British company by the name of Camera Intelligence has brought something to market that could be a sign of exciting things to come. The company's latest product, the Caira, is the world's first computational artificial intelligence camera. The Caira blends familiar camera hardware with smartphone and AI technology by pairing a small computer with its Micro Four Thirds sensor and interchangeable lens mount.