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Caira camera: one-minute reviewTechRadar AI Week 2025

(Image credit: Future)

This article is part of TechRadar's AI Week 2025. Covering the basics of artificial intelligence, we'll show you how to get the most from the likes of ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude, alongside in-depth features, news, and the main talking points in the world of AI.

The Caira snaps onto your iPhone using MagSafe, turns your phone into the control hub, and sets out to merge mirrorless camera-quality with smartphone ease.

The hardware is the real deal: a Micro Four Thirds mount and (Sony) sensor, a CNC’d aluminium chassis. It accepts proper lenses from Panasonic, Olympus, Sigma, and Leica - so this isn’t a toy pretending to be a camera. Its in a similar mold to the open source Alice Camera – a previous project from the makers of Caira.

Inside, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip and Google’s Edge TPU AI processor run three flagship tricks: voice control, smart styles and generative editing.

With voice control you can say “take a photo” and Caira actually does. Smart Styles are six tasteful AI-trained color profiles that make your footage look deliberate. Generative Editing – the headline feature – uses natural language prompts to restyle photos instantly, no laptop required.

(Image credit: Rashid Ahmad)

Yes, the real party trick is Google’s ‘Nano Banana’ generative AI – which sounds like a smoothie but is actually a powerful on-device editor. You can tell the camera to “turn this daylight shot into night” or “make my blazer burgundy,” and it’ll do it in seconds. It’s astonishing. It’s the first time I’ve seen Lightroom sulk because it’s now redundant.

The result is a camera designed to skip the “import - edit - export - scream” routine. Some will say that skipping that part also skips the soul of photography. I’m not one of them. I’m in favor of anything that lets you spend more time shooting and less time staring at a progress bar – I’ll leave the hand-wringing to other creators.

But before you start packing your MacBook away forever, that magical AI is only available if you pay $7 a month for the ‘Caira Pro’ plan (about £6 / AU$11). Because nothing screams modern camera like a monthly sub.

However, for every tinfoil hat wearing critic out there screaming for the days of old and terrified of AI, go back to shooting on film and paying $35 a month for every roll you develop. My Lightroom subscription costs a lot more than Caira Pro, and I will use it a lot less.

Caira camera: price and availability

• Priced at $995 (£760 / AU$1,500 approx)
• Available to early crowdfunding backers for $695 (£529 / AU$1,070 approx)
• First deliveries expected from January 2026

(Image credit: Rashid Ahmad)

Caira is available through Camera Intelligence's Kickstarter campaign, which runs from November 4 to November 30. As always, back crowdfunding campaigns at your own risk!

The campaign lists the camera (body only) price for $995 (around £760 / AU$1,500), while optimistic Super Early Bird backers can bag one for $695 (about £529 / AU$1,070).

According to its makers, the Caira delivery window is January to February 2026, (assuming no global crises intervene).

To get the most out of Caira's AI skills, you'll want the Caira pro subscription, which costs $7 per month. Backers get six months free, nine if funding hits its goals.

Caira camera specsCaira camera specs

Sensor:

11MP Micro Four Thirds, quad-bayer HDR and dual ISO

Mount:

Micro Four Thirds

Processor:

Qualcomm Snapdragon with 8 - core CPU, GPU, DSP

AI Chip:

Google Edge TPU

Video:

4K 30fps & 1080p 60fps

Battery:

5,000 mAh

Storage:

Internal 64GB + SSD External storage via USB-C, straight onto Apple photos

Connectivity:

iPhone MagSafe connector, WiFi

Dimensions:

112.5mm (W) x 85mm (H) x 21.5mm (D). Handle depth is 42.5mm

Weight:

10.2oz / 290g (w/out lens)

Caira camera: Design

• No screen – you MagSafe your iPhone instead
• Premium CNC-milled aluminum body
• 64GB internal memory

Caira alongside the Alice Camera, designed by the same makers (Image credit: Rashid Ahmad)

Imagine if Leica built a GoPro after a long lunch - that’s the Caira. There's Sigma BF vibes, too. A sleek, screen-less slab of CNC-milled metal that looks premium and feels it too.

The design strips away almost all buttons, because the company says creators are “overwhelmed by controls.” Fair. Now you’ll be overwhelmed by menus instead.

The MFT mount opens a vast lens ecosystem, from affordable pancakes to glass that costs more than your phone. And the 5,000 mAh battery means you can actually use it all day.

Best of all, there are no memory cards. You shoot, and the files appear in your iPhone’s Photos app almost instantly. It’s dangerously convenient.

Cair camera: Performance

• 11MP Four Thirds sensor with dual base ISO
• Basic video specs – 4K video up to 30fps
• Really effective Nano Banana voice control and generative edits

The Caira behaves like two products; a legitimate camera, and an unashamed AI experiment.

The camera hardware delivers – the 11MP Sony sensor combined with proper MFT glass (I used several of my Lumix lenses, including the 12-60mm f/2.8-4 lens) is an obvious leap from a smartphone, particularly in low light. Depth, sharpness, and texture all feel natural. The AI-tuned colour profile leans a little toward “Instagram - ready,” but never offensively so.

Caira's Smart Styles are surprisingly tasteful presets, that make you look more competent than you are. You can get a feel in the examples in the gallery below.

Image 1 of 3

An original photo taken with Caira (Image credit: Future / Rashid Ahmad)Image 2 of 3

Turn the dress black (Image credit: Future / Rashid Ahmad)Image 3 of 3

About 20 seconds later, the new image appears. (Image credit: Future / Rashid Ahmad)

The Caira's show piece is its AI features. Voice Control is genuinely handy when both hands are busy, or sticky with espresso, but Generative Editing is the main event.

Prompts like “make it nighttime” or “change his navy blazer to burgundy” return results in seconds – clean, convincing, a bit spooky.

Generative Editing is the feature that flattens the learning curve and streamlines the creative workflow. It’s powerful, fast, and feels like magic.

To its credit, the company has guardrails in place: no altering skin tone or facial features. I tried. It refused, nicely.

The Caira is a bold step. It’s a bet that the next generation of creators values AI-powered speed and flexibility as much as – or perhaps more than – traditional photographic purity. And based on what I’ve seen, it’s a bet they just might win.

Image 1 of 2

The original photo, using one of the more vibrant color profiles Caira has (Image credit: Future / Rashid Ahmad)Image 2 of 2

Now with the generative prompt 'turn the dress black', which returned results way quicker than an outfit change. (Image credit: Future / Rashid Ahmad)

The Caira feels like a product born out of collective exhaustion. Someone, somewhere, finally admitted that no one actually enjoys editing - they just enjoy pretending they do. It’s bold, a little absurd, and far more capable than it has any right to be.

It won’t replace your main camera, and it won’t replace your phone either - but it might just replace your willpower to open Lightroom ever again.

It’s the perfect tool for those of us who still like the idea of photography - the ritual, the gear, the illusion of artistry - but who secretly just want the photo to look brilliant the moment we take it.

And truthfully? That’s probably the entire modern photographer.

Should you buy the Caira camera?Buy it if...

You want a seamless shoot and edit experience, through your smartphone

Other cameras add way too many steps to the shoot - upload - edit - share process. Caira simplifies the whole process.

You want powerful edits in seconds, without the need for expensive editing software

Caira churns out the sorts of edits that used to take way more time with pricey software, and it does so directly on your phone.

Don't buy it if...

You want high-resolution photos

Just 11MP is pretty low by today's standards.

You're unsure about crowdfunding campaigns

To be fair, Caira's makers delivered with a previous project, the Alice Camera, but back at your own risk (or wait).

Caira accepts Micro Four Thirds lenses, like these two Lumix ones (Image credit: Rashid Ahmad)How I tested the Caira camera

• I tested Caira for two weeks
• I paired it with Lumix lenses, including the 12–60mm f/2.8-4 lens
• I connected my iPhone and made use of the various Nano Banana features

Camera Intelligence sent me one of just 50 pre-production units for a two week trial. I used it mostly to photograph things that didn’t deserve this much computing power.

It locks to the iPhone via MagSafe and connects over Wi-Fi through the Caira iOS app. Setup takes seconds, and then you’re in. I paired it with a Lumix 12–60mm f/2.8-4 – a brilliant lens that I immediately wasted on photographing coffee cups, pool balls, and other cameras.

• First reviewed November 2025

The Caira claims to fuse proper camera engineering with Google’s new ‘Nano Banana’ AI. It mostly succeeds, but also makes you wonder if you’ve just been replaced by your own camera.

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