Why can’t digital cameras simply be digital cameras? Why do they have to try and be “film” cameras? I wish digital cameras would stop trying to be a “film” camera, and simply play to their strengths…
There’s a relatively recent trend of digital cameras, trying to be screen-free ‘film cameras‘. And for the most part, I can see the appeal, particularly with the simpler models like the CampSnap, that anyone can pick up and use, as it’s so simple. Yet when they try and start adding film simulation features and advanced controls and options (that have to be selected over an app), I begin to lose interest. When I’m shooting with a digital camera, I don’t want to have to wait to “process” the images, and I’d much rather change settings on a screen if needed.
This is where, I think, budget toy cameras can fill the gap, and actually play to the strengths of digital photography. If you’ve seen the Kodak Charmera already you might know where I’m going with this…
Digital cameras that are trying to be “film cameras” seem to be following in the same footsteps of DSLRs that were themselves digital versions of film cameras, encumbered (and weighed down) by the old fashioned mechanisms and size of film cameras, but even bigger… this was never a good thing, sensibly replaced by mirrorless cameras, so I’m not sure how it is going to be a good thing now.
The same goes for early digital compacts, they were mostly “camera” shaped, but digital allows for all kinds of creativity when it comes to design and size. Early digital cameras also used to experiment with this, see the Nikon Coolpix 2500, the Pentax Optio X, Sony Cyber-shot U20/U30, and others…
Now that there’s a drought of new compact cameras, and we’re in a risk-averse climate (?) we’re now left with creativity coming from Kickstarters (sic) and brands we’ve previously never heard of.
Long story short, in my opinion these new toy cameras are actually worth looking at. Whilst the Kodak Charmera may be absolutely awful (as our review shows), that doesn’t mean that others are also terrible, although the chances are probably quite high.
To find out, I tried some Kodak Charmera alternatives (and copies?) and found that with low prices (between £4 and £20 online) it was worth the risk. I tried four toy cameras including the Thumb Camera G6 (looks great, is awful), the PocketSnap Keychain Camera (looks so cute, but also awful), a generic “Retro 720p camera S142” (looks cute, is awful), and a Life Camera S168, and found I actually kind of liked one of them.
Whilst the Thumb Camera (G6) produces images that are clearly interpolated from a much lower resolution (ditto PocketSnap), the Life Camera gives you 2MP images, that look like they might actually be 2MP images without interpolation. Colours are reasonable, certainly better than the the other keyring/keychain cameras here, as you’ll see below.
This honesty about the resolution and images, gives me much more satisfaction than a fake 12MP ever could…
And with such a small camera design – these things are TINY – just think of the possibilities, Minox could bring back spy cameras, Olympus could finally release the wood-camera, Canon could bring back tiny Digital IXUS cameras, Sony could start making the Cyber-shot U series (in multiple colours), and Pentax could bring back a new Optio X.
More on the little Toy Keychain cameras…
Here’s a quick gallery of the same shot taken with all four keyring / keychain toy cameras:
The Life Camera S168 gives the best results with clear detail and reasonable colour, and can also be used as a webcam if you want. The Thumb Camera G6 follows with relatively reasonable detail (but not good), and average colour. The PocketSnap gives poor detail with blurred corners and poor colour, and the 720P camera gives a blurry image with a tight field of view, as well as average colour.
The tiny screens on the back aren’t particularly easy to see in bright conditions, but it’s still better than nothing, and each camera is easy to use, although you might struggle to set the date and time. So perhaps if you just want a cheap camera to have some fun with, maybe a “Life Camera” could be worth looking at.
Related reading
- Vintage digital cameras you should actually buy
- This cute retro toy camera is better than a Charmera, and on sale
- The Worst Digital Cameras Ever Released
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