[Wasp]

Now this looks interesting. The Alice is a micro four thirds camera without a screen and what seems to be minimal processing power. You clip your phone on the back to adjust settings, preview and review images. Al and the computational power of your phone for post-processing means a new dawn in photography. Apparently.




They are developing and crowdfunding it at the moment. I like the idea and wish them well. The Samsung Galaxy NX was years ahead of its time. We just didn't realize it at the time. If this takes off the more traditional camera manufacturers will have to catch up. The Leica M-D (Typ 262) digital rangefinder doesn't have a rear screen either, but it will work on its own without a phone. It is not clear to me if the Alice can go it alone. Looking at the lack of controls on the body, probably not.

This is something that Ricoh could look into. A low(ish) budget mirrorless full frame K mount body that hooks up to a smartphone, perhaps? That would be a unique selling point. Any sort of marketable USP is rather lacking in the Pentax lineup at the moment. Things like the ability to track the stars for long exposures is nice to have but the market for that sort of thing is tiny not very large.

MFT ?Alice? concept camera promises smartphone AI with interchangeable lenses: Digital Photography Review

[BigMackCam]

A very interesting idea... It could be rather decent. I can't help but wonder about the ergonomics and battery life - but there's no sense pouring cold water on the concept before it's released.If and when it reaches the market, I'll be interested to read the reviews...

[Fogel70]

I just can't imagine handling a device like this. The ergonomics looks to be a nightmare.

I doubt the removal of the rear screen and buttons save much cost compared to designing the camera to be handled with a smartphone.
With an expected price of approx. USD 1000 at release (body only), this concept will not be a cheap MFT camera.

The only interesting device Ricoh could pair with a smartphone, IMO, would be a Theta camera.

[UncleVanya]

Sony, Olympus and Yongnuo have all created cell phone dependent camera devices in the past. All failed to have significant penetration into the market. I own an Olympus Air01, it's cute but awkward to use and lacks image stabilization.

https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/olympus-air-a01/olympus-air-a01A.HTM

[Larrymc]

Sony, Olympus and Yongnuo have all created cell phone dependent camera devices in the past. All failed to have significant penetration into the market. I own an Olympus Air01, it's cute but awkward to use and lacks image stabilization.
[Url]
https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/olympus-air-a01/olympus-air-a01A.HTM

Now stop being a party pooper.

[UncleVanya]

Now stop being a party pooper.

Sorry... I really wanted to like it. The only real use is to pop a pancake wide angle on the thing and use it without the phone directly attached. You can fire the camera via a button on the device or use the cell in one hand and the camera in the other if you want it to be more discrete. After having used it, in wish the Panasonic lx100 lens was mounted to it. That versatile range would work better than the regular m43 lenses albeit with a reduced image circle.

This new camera does appear to have better ergonomics.

[Wasp]

I didn't know about the Olympus Air01. Just goes to show, there is nothing new under the sun. I hope the Alice crowd considered this. Perhaps they think that smartphone processing power has moved up a notch and that the time has come for the idea to take off.

Perhaps Olympus pushed the envelope too far when it came to form factor:

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Last edited by Wasp; 09-28-2020 at 07:31 AM.

[clackers]

They keep recycling this idea. Sony had one too, based on the 1" sensor, maybe DxOMark too.

They've all failed in the marketplace.

[Rondec]

Unfortunately, I think the ergonomics look bad, it will probably eat up your phone battery and will be relatively expensive compared to entry level APS-C cameras. I am always interested in new ideas, but I don't think this one looks like an improvement over any existing option.