Conran reimagines photography using retro camera concept

Conran claims that one thing the company would change in the technology world is the camera, therefore it has designed a retro analogue camera concept.

Conran and Partners is a renowned architecture and interior design company, which has been founded by Sir Terence Conran. Recently, BBC interviewed the company’s Senior Product Designer, Jared Mankelow, as part of the broadcasting corporation’s “Future” series.

BBC Future exhibits Conran’s intriguing retro analogue camera concept

The answer to BBC’s question came quickly as Conran believes that the camera industry needs a significant redesign. However, in order to create an important product for the future, you must look into the past. That is exactly what Conran has done and the company has revealed an analogue shooter, instead of a digital one.

Unfortunately, it does not have a name yet, but it does look like a concept which is years away of becoming available on the market. Mankelow believes that photography needs to shift back to its analogue roots, instead of going forward with digital technology.

The form factor of the cameras needs to be different, but this concept may prove to be too unusual for most photographers’ taste. In fact, it does not seem to resemble a conventional digital camera at all.

A viewfinder and a digital lens are nowhere to be seen. The digital lens has been replaced by a hole in the middle of the design, allowing photographers to look directly through the aperture. Mankelow believes that this will give lensmen the possibility of actually seeing what is in front of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhbkxFWC2dE

Controls for most important camera settings can be found on its back

Conran’s retro analogue camera concept supports some current technologies, such as Bluetooth connectivity. The addition of Bluetooth is there so that photographers can send their images to mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets.

However, the concept does not have a display because consumers can already look at beautiful high-resolution displays on their smartphones and tablets, said Jared. It would be a pity to review their photos on smaller, low-resolution screens, added the designer.

The back of the retro camera concept provides access to the most important settings, such as aperture, ISO, and shutter speed.

Another important advantage of Conrad’s design is that the camera is very small, thus easy transportable. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that it can fit in a pocket.

Being a concept may make some people think that the camera is light-years away from becoming a reality, but it is not entirely true. Mankelow concluded that the technology is already here and that it could be easily embedded into this design.