While many photographers feel like their camera is an extension of themselves, Iris, the new concept camera from Mimi Zou, is exactly that. All of the functionality of this camera is controlled by the photographer’s eye.
The human eye can do amazing things but this biometrics-enabled camera really harnesses the basic functions of the eye to manipulate the workings of the camera. Looking becomes focusing, narrowing or widening the eyes controls zoom, and blinking snaps the photo.
Part of the beauty of Iris is in it’s simplicity: Functionality seems no more complex than it needs to be. The photographer in me is excited by the possibility of capturing things as I see them. Part of what was so awesome about Canon’s eye-controlled focusing (which they’ve unfortunately stopped featuring) was the ability to capture fast-paced events as you were looking at them.
Zou’s video hints at the possibility of social integration into the camera. She makes the usage of the camera look completely intuitive. This isn’t only a camera for the photography geeks out there (although it’s definitely something they’d be into), but something that can be used by anyone with a little practice, to capture the world as they see it.
While this is just a concept camera, it is definitely an exciting one. Technology, at its best, is really just an extension of ourselves and our lives. With the enticing new developments related to Google Glass, it's clear that people are interested by and engaged with technology that tries to operate seamlessly with our own senses. Iris really embodies that aesthetic with its simple connection of human vision and photography.
Would you like to take a picture with a blink of an eye? Does this seem too good to be true? Tell us your reaction to Iris in the comments below or tweet it to us.