The first mirrorless camera with on-board AI and generative photo editing is now available for pre-order at Kickstareter – but Caira is a mirrorless camera that wasn’t built with photographers in mind. Caira is an AI-powered camera that allows users to use voice control and generative editing right inside the camera.
Caira, a camera created by the same minds behind the Alice Camera, isn’t just unusual in that it's centered on AI. The upcoming mirrorless camera doesn’t have a screen but instead connects to an iPhone with MagSafe and an iOS app. While Caira supplies the Micro Four Thirds sensor and lens mount, the phone and app supply the user interface and screen.
There’s a reason that Caira seems so unusual compared to most mirrorless cameras – the company isn’t making cameras for photographers. “Caira is designed for creators, travelers, and marketing professionals who demand the quality of a mirrorless camera but with the simplicity of a smartphone,” says its creator, Camera Intelligence.
Caira is designed to negate some of photography’s learning curve by using onboard AI that allows users to talk to the camera using natural language. Users can, for example, ask for a vertical Instagram resolution without knowing terms like aspect ratios.
That learning curve extends to what’s beyond the camera as well, with Caira designed to shoot, edit, and send straight to the smartphone, no memory cards required. The Caira’s list of LLM tasks also includes editing. In one demo, Camera Intelligence hints that you could ask the camera to “make it look like analog film” instead of learning photo editing software.
Caira’s AI, however, also extends to photo editing, including generative AI edits using Nano Banana. Users can edit photos in the camera with natural language prompts. Camera Intelligence offers examples like changing the color of someone’s blazer or making a photo taken during the daytime look like it was shot at night.
"We’ve spoken to hundreds of solo creators, travelers, and marketers who have upgraded from their smartphone to their first mirrorless camera. They're overwhelmed and frustrated by complex camera buttons and the tedious post-processing editing workflows that come with high-quality content creation," CEO and Co-Founder Vishal Kumar said. "These people want more than just great image quality – they need flexibility, connectivity, quick and fun editing features that match the pace of their imagination. Caira's integrated AI engine flattens the learning curve and actively assists them from capture to share."
Camera Intelligence has previously teased that Caira was coming, but now the AI-powered camera has launched for pre-orders on Kickstarter. The camera without a lens is expected to retail for $995 (about £578 / AU$1,523 / CA$1,399), but the first 100 backers get 30 percent off, followed by a 20 percent discount for the remainder of the crowdfunding, which is scheduled to end on November 30.
Using the Nano Banana feature will require a subscription to Caira Pro, which is $7 a month (about £5.33 / AU$10.70 / CA$9.84).
Camera Intelligence says it's working with “a trusted manufacturer with proven experience in camera production,” but doesn’t specify the name of that manufacturer. The company says that they’ve already completed 50 pre-production samples and 500 circuit boards and expects final manufacturing to begin once the Kickstarter ends. That would put delivery around mid-January 2026 through February, the company says.
Pre-orders are live through November 30 on Kickstarter.
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