If you’ve ever owned a simple point-and-shoot digital camera or a bridge camera, you’ll be familiar with ‘Intelligent Auto’, ‘Superior Auto’ or ‘Creative Assist’ – functions designed to help people get the best shots, depending on the scene or scenario. It uses algorithms built into the image signal processor of the camera to assess the shooting conditions and automatically select the best settings. This function is often designated to the ‘iA’ or ‘iA+’ position on the mode dial, and has been around for over a decade.
In 2023, the buzzword ‘AI’ is heavily used to market cameras and especially smartphones – perhaps because there’s little else to tell them apart from year to year. But what does it mean for us as potential purchasers of kit being touted for its AI-powered capabilities?
