Though some cameras have flip-out monitors for taking selfies, compact shooters probably don’t. Such is the case with the Powerflex X8 from Rollei, but you can still easily snap a selfie thanks to a teeny second lens above the rear screen.
The Dual Lens camera is the brainchild of German optics veteran Rollei, and features an 8x optical zoom lens to the front that feeds light to a 1/2.8-inch-type CMOS imaging sensor plus a 3.37-mm selfie lens matched to a 1/3.06-inch-type sensor.
The idea here is simple enough. Instead of turning the camera around so that the main lens is facing you and then guessing where you might be in the frame, you can just switch to using the selfie mode and set up your shot using the 3.6-inch touchscreen.
Rollei
We can’t find any details about the resolution you can expect from selfies, but the description does promise convenience without loss of quality so that suggests it matches the main module’s 64-megapixel capture chops for stills. The camera system is also reckoned capable of 5K video at 25 frames per second or 4K at 30 frames per second – but again, we’re unsure if this holds true for the selfie lens.
For what it’s worth, a number of today’s smartphones can easily exceed those maximum resolutions but at least you’ll have the equivalent of 38-310mm optical zoom with a variable F1.8-F2.6 aperture to boast about. The Powerflex X8 Dual Lens also comes with “numerous integrated photo and video modes” for “impressive results in every situation.”
Rollei
The camera measures 126 x 84 x 73 mm (4.9 x 3.3 x 2.8 in) and weighs in at 383 g (13.5 oz) minus the 1,350-mAh battery. It’s on sale now in Europe for €299 (which converts to US$350 – though we’ve no word on international availability).
Product page: Powerflex X8 Dual Lens