HTC Re Camera Review: An Inhaler-Shaped Camera That Misses the Mark
We spend so much time behind the camera viewfinders on our smartphones that we no longer truly see our subjects or the world around us. That’s the idea behind HTC’s weird new Re Camera.
A
$199 mini camera, the oddly shaped Re is meant to keep you “in the
moment” instead of gawking at a viewfinder. How does the company
accomplish this goal? By simply removing the viewfinder from the
equation, that’s how.
That’s
right: The Re is a camera that lets you take pictures without knowing
how they’ll turn out. Keeping you in the moment while taking photos is
an intriguing idea — comedian Louis C.K. touched on a similar thought
during one of his standup acts.
Unfortunately, its price and photo quality leave much to be desired.
It looks like a periscopeThe Re certainly looks interesting. It reminds me of the one-eyed garbage monster from Star Wars. Or, you know, a submarine’s periscope. Or an inhaler.
The
2.3-ounce camera is surprisingly comfortable to hold thanks to its
unique design. It also, as my colleague Alyssa Bereznak observed,
happens to look like a detonator a James Bond villain would use to blow
up a bridge.
The
Re is extremely functional, though, as the front portion where you rest
your fingers features a sensor that detects when you’re holding the
camera and prepares it to take a picture. No more having to open and
wait for your camera app to load. Just pick up the Re and start shooting
photos.
Up
front, the Re gets a 146-degree wide-angle lens that can take either
standard or warped, fisheye-style photos. You can adjust how your photos
look in the Re smartphone app, but I’ll get to that in a second.
Because
it’s made of plastic, the Re can’t be tortured like, say, a GoPro can,
but it can withstand being submerged in up to 3 feet of water for 30
minutes without issue.
The Re is not dust- or sand-proof, though. Taking it to the beach is basically out of the question.
Using the ReOK, so it’s shaped weirdly and you can’t see what you’re taking pictures of. Here’s what it’s like to use.
It’s
a mixed bag of nuts. Taking pictures is incredibly easy thanks to the
Re’s giant shutter button, but when I looked at a lot of the pictures I
took, they were all lopsided since I wasn’t used to using a camera
without a viewfinder.
If
you really need to see what you’re taking pictures of, you can download
the Re app for Android and iOS. The app serves as both a means to view
all your pictures taken with the Re and gives you the ability to use
your phone’s screen as a viewfinder.
Just
point the Re at anything you want, and it will show up on your phone’s
screen. You can even control the camera’s shutter from your handset, so
you can take pictures from across the room.
The
app also lets you adjust camera settings including photo and video
resolution, switch between wide-angle and standard shooting modes, turn
on video stabilization, and add location data to your photos.
The
app is helpful for situations like taking group photos or, in my case,
taking pictures of an incredibly camera-shy dog. I also like that it
gives me a means to see all my pictures stored on the camera itself,
without having to download them to my computer or phone.
Photo qualityThe
Re’s 16-megapixel camera captured decently sharp pictures, as long as I
was standing still. Despite its image-stabilization software, photos
taken with the Re while I or my subject was moving were consistently
blurry.
When I stayed in one spot, though, my photos turned out relatively clear each time.
Video,
on the other hand, is always pixelated, even when taken at 1080p.
Slow-motion video, which is automatically shot at 720p, is similarly
grainy. Polaroid’s $99 Cube, which also has no viewfinder, captures lower-quality stills but cleaner video.
The
Re’s lack of a viewfinder led me to learn that I am naturally lopsided.
It seemed like every time I took a picture or video, my photos were
slanted toward one side or the other. Eventually I learned to pay more
attention to how I was holding the Re, though, and my photos started to
even out.
I’ve
got to hand it to HTC, however, for making a small camera with an
impressive battery life. I took about 150 photos and a few videos, and
this little guy’s battery was still rocking.
Should you buy it?The
Re camera is a cool concept that needs more development. Its grip
sensor is ingenious. And the way the camera interfaces with your phone
so you can see all your photos instantly is excellent.
But
most people will have a hard time adjusting to taking pictures without
knowing how they’ll come out. Do you really want to risk having your
photos turn out blurry without knowing you should retake them?
To
be honest, I really like the idea of a camera that keeps you “in the
moment” rather than making you focus on a viewfinder. But at $199, the
HTC Re is too expensive. If you’re interested in an on-the-go camera
like the Re, check out the $99 Polaroid Cube. At its current price, I’d
skip the Re.
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