WIRED picked up a Relonch 291 camera from the company's COO Yuriy Motin at McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, ahead of January's CES 2017. It has no screen, no flash, no SD card and no adjustable settings: you just half-press the shutter button to focus. A 4G connection automatically transfers photos to the Relonch server, where an algorithm edits what it deems to be the best images, then discards the rest. These photos are transferred to the Relonch app for perusal, but not until the following morning. Any images you want to keep will set you back around $1 (78p) each, but there's a twist: the camera's free.
Relonch is, in effect, attempting to recreate a bygone era of photography without you needing to learn a new skill. The company's AI handles all that. It's both an antidote to the instant gratification offered by smartphones and an alternative for "all those people who invested in an expensive DSLR, but never learned how to use them", Motin explains.
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But does it work? It took time to adjust to having no controls - zoom was especially missed - or preview screen. A notification from the Relonch app told us when our photos were ready. Watermarked versions appear and you can choose the best shots to buy and download. Sadly, our photos were decidedly average. At times it was puzzling to ascertain why certain shots - a blurred casino restaurant and an accidental snap of the sidewalk - had made it through the algorithm. However, the AI-edited images did have well-defined colours and solid lighting. The viewfinder showed an aperture of f/2.0, so you'd expect plenty of light, but it also explains why portraits impressed more than landscape shots.
Blending the style of an Instagram filter with the power of a DSLR is an interesting concept. Relonch can help reconnect you with the joy of taking pictures and make them look better, but when it comes to creating great shots, it doesn't improve on the power of a good eye. 7/10 £free (in-app purchases)
****: How we tested WIRED used the Relonch camera around Las Vegas, taking portraits, action shots and still-life pictures in various lighting conditions. We then added marks for the app's AI judgement.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
