New Startup Designs First Portrait iPhone Camera

LAS VEGAS, NV–(Marketwired – Jan 7, 2014) – Picture it: What if an iPhone could take DSLR-quality portraits? What if transferring memory cards, connecting cables and waiting for friends to upload pictures to social media were things of the past? These questions were posed by the innovators at hardware startup aKu. The result? The ladibird camera — a hardware device that takes all of the essential optics and electronics of a professional DSLR camera and merges them into a phone casing for the iPhone. aKu will be previewing the ladibird camera at the 2014 International CES.

With the mobile art movement in full swing, everybody is a photographer — and images created and shared through cell phones are transforming the photography world. A photographer, a camera engineer and a TV reporter/producer had a collective vision — to transform that everyday, ubiquitous device — the smartphone — into a high tech, portraiture camera that could produce artistic, beautiful results.

Not only is aKu’s new ladibird camera lighter, less bulky and less complex than a DSLR, it also enables instant shoot and share through social networks, chat apps, to the cloud, or email. The ladibird’s image sensor is 7.5x larger than the average smartphone sensor — and 4x larger than a compact sensor. This extra large size lets it absorb more light into any photograph.

The ladibird camera is currently in early stage development with a prototype for the iPhone 5 — aKu has completed one successful round of Indiegogo funding, and is currently conducting its second round, which will go towards mass production of the camera. 

“We view the ladibird camera as much more than just a product,” notes aKu’s Adam Latip. “It really represents an entire ecosystem for photography enthusiasts — from high quality portraiture at your fingertips to sharing on social media, the ladibird does it all.”

Previews of the ladibird camera can be seen at CES 2014 — aKu is a part of Suite Innovation, a collection of innovative tech startups. Suite Innovation is located at suite #821, tower 1 — on the 8th floor at the MGM Signature.

For more information on the ladibird camera, visit www.ladibird.com or the ladibird Facebook page. Get all of the latest on Suite Innovation at www.facebook.com/SuiteInnovation.

About aKu
Located in the National University of Singapore, aKu is a hardware startup focused on building the future of cameras. aKu are makers of the ladibird — a camera that brings all of the essential optics and electronics of a professional DSLR camera and merges them into a phone casing for the iPhone. Lighter, less bulky and less complex than a DSLR, ladibird also enables instant shoot and share. www.ladibird.com