[rwp-review id=”0″]
Periscope. Pipe fixture. Asthma Inhaler. These are just some of the things that people shout out when they first look at the RE – HTC’s newest venture into camera technology.
With a 16-megapixel sensor with an ultra-wide angle lens (146 degrees), it captures 1080p videos (30 fps), plus selfies and pictures. The RE can also take a slow-motion 720p video at 120 fps, which makes for some interesting timelapse shots. It comes pre-loaded with an 8BG memory card, and can take up to 128Gb of extended memory. At the bottom is a standard tripod mount, in case you need that.
The first thing one notices is the size and weight – Standing at less than 10cm and weighing only 66.5 grams, the RE is a fun little gadget the can sit easily in your pocket. It has no physical on-off button – the device wakes up when it is picked up or held in a hand.
It’s an interesting build, with just two buttons on it. There’s one at the bend, which works as a shutter button – quick press for a photo, and long press for video recording. The small button in front switches modes between regular shooting, and slo-mo.
There is a RE app expected to release pretty soon, for both Android and iOS. The app will allow for the user to view that the camera sees on their phone screen, and better adjust focus and direction. At the moment, it’s kind of like shooting on the blind – sometimes, you don’t even know if the slo-mo function has been activated or not.
At times, the device seems a bit too light – I was scared that when I left it on the ledge of my balcony when shooting the timelapse that the wind would blow it away. Thankfully, it didn’t.
Priced online at $199, we’re yet to find out how that will translate locally. At the moment, even the availability of this device is a mystery. However, we’re assured it’s coming.
And, at the risk of sounding like an Apple keynote speech, oh, there’s one more thing.
It’s waterproof.
HTC RE Photo gallery
UPDATE: Here’s a look at HTC RE Camera App on Android.
