I recently stumbled upon an inexpensive (currently $65 US) little digital camera called the "Camp Snap". (campsnapphoto.com)
It's an all plastic, 8MP digital camera with no screen. No adjustments. No focusing. LED flash. Basically a digital version of a drugstore disposable film camera. (Or a "digital Holga")
Lens is @42mm (35mm equivalent), f3.2. Shutter speed 1/33 sec - 1/800 sec. Auto ISO 100-800. These are rough guesstimates gleaned from online reviews. The Camp Snap web site has very little info.
The camera comes with a 4GB Micro SD card that holds @2,000 images. Battery is internal and charged via USB-C. (Cable included) A single charge is good for @400 images. Images are saved as JPEG only.
There are 3 different film styles available: Standard, Vintage Film and Black and White. You can only load one sim at a time, and you do it by plugging the camera into your computer and dragging the desired .BIN file (available on the Camera Snap web site) into the root directory of the SD card, then booting the camera while holding the shutter button for @ 2-3 sec.
While researching this camera, I was intrigued by the SOOC black and white simulations. They really look like B&W film! Great tones. Occasional blown highlights, but very much like a fine grained B&W film.
I took it out today in Brooklyn for a test run. These are all SOOC except that I added a little grain in Lightroom. The 8 MP JPEGS are a little "crunchy", but adding +25 of "grain" smoothed things out and really brought out the filmic look of the Camp Snap files.
I'll go out again with the Standard and Vintage Film sims, but for now these are just the B&W sim. (+ a little grain)
I neglected to talk about the shooting experience.
The camera weighs nearly nothing. Feels like an empty plastic shell. Drop it in a pocket and you won't even know it's there except for the bulge. (It's similar in size to a Ricoh GR)
The shutter button is the most un-responsive in the history of shutters. The latest model (103B) is supposed to have improved things, but there's still a good 1/2 second delay from mashing the super click-y shutter button and the (artificial) shutter sound, so you have to hold the camera steady for a second after snapping, especially in low light. The shutter sounds like the plastic snick of a Holga camera. You can adjust the volume or turn it off if it's annoying. I left it on at the lowest setting because of the shutter delay. I needed some indication for when the photo was actually taken.
The "finder" is like looking through the bottom of a water glass, and any stray light causes major glare. The direct opposite of a crisp Leica finder! Framing does seem to be accurate though. My images are pretty much the way I remember framing them.
I didn't test the flash much, but I took a few shots around my office and it seems to do the job. You can set it to off, on or auto.
Unfortunately, it is not weather resistant. It would be a GREAT ski or beach camera. I will probably take it along on my next trip anyway. As RustyBug said, it's not gonna break the bank if it gets ruined!
All nit picks (features?) aside, I have to say, it was SUPER fun to shoot with the Camp Snap! I felt like a kid again. Very liberating to NOT be able to review photos in camera. The whole experience is very much like a disposable film camera, but without the 24hr wait for developing and prints. I can't wait to go out with one of the color sims loaded!
Honestly I think I'd prefer to use my phone with the Hipstamatic app. The phone is waterproof, even smaller, has a decent lens (or lenses if you have one of those phones...I don't), and the Hipstamatic app can do a good job of emulating film and taking the digital edge off of photos. There's also RNI Flashback for film emulations of regular phone pics. It does a nice job of degrading them and even adds dust spots and the occasional errant hair or eyelash.
I took a photo with the Hipstamatic app earlier this week and posted it on Facebook; one of my friends, a longtime magazine editor and very accomplished photographer himself who shot film for most of his career, praised the "brilliant development," as he thought it was film.
If you set up one of your volume buttons as a shutter button (which I think the iPhone even does by default), it's more like shooting a real camera. No viewfinder, so you do have to hold the phone out in front of you as if it was a baby with a smelly diaper, but to me that's the only real downside.
I recently stumbled upon an inexpensive (currently $65 US) little digital camera called the "Camp Snap". (campsnapphoto.com)
It's an all plastic, 8MP digital camera with no screen. No adjustments. No focusing. LED flash. Basically a digital version of a drugstore disposable film camera. (Or a "digital Holga")
Lens is @42mm (35mm equivalent), f3.2. Shutter speed 1/33 sec - 1/800 sec. Auto ISO 100-800. These are rough guesstimates gleaned from online reviews. The Camp Snap web site has very little info.
The camera comes with a 4GB Micro SD card that holds @2,000 images. Battery is internal and charged via USB-C. (Cable included) A single charge is good for @400 images. Images are saved as JPEG only.
There are 3 different film styles available: Standard, Vintage Film and Black and White. You can only load one sim at a time, and you do it by plugging the camera into your computer and dragging the desired .BIN file (available on the Camera Snap web site) into the root directory of the SD card, then booting the camera while holding the shutter button for @ 2-3 sec.
While researching this camera, I was intrigued by the SOOC black and white simulations. They really look like B&W film! Great tones. Occasional blown highlights, but very much like a fine grained B&W film.
I took it out today in Brooklyn for a test run. These are all SOOC except that I added a little grain in Lightroom. The 8 MP JPEGS are a little "crunchy", but adding +25 of "grain" smoothed things out and really brought out the filmic look of the Camp Snap files.
I'll go out again with the Standard and Vintage Film sims, but for now these are just the B&W sim. (+ a little grain)
I recently stumbled upon an inexpensive (currently $65 US) little digital camera called the "Camp Snap". (campsnapphoto.com)
It's an all plastic, 8MP digital camera with no screen. No adjustments. No focusing. LED flash. Basically a digital version of a drugstore disposable film camera. (Or a "digital Holga")
Hey now easy on the Holga comparison! W/ my Holga GCFN 120 I can focus, I have two apertures, and two shutter speeds. As well as a flash with coloured filter options by turning a dial.
Activatedfx wrote:
Hey Huss! I was waiting for you to spy this post!
Yes, the CS offices are in your ‘hood!
I feel your wallet getting lighter as I write this! Haha
I was this close (picture me holding two fingers really close together) to getting one, but I stopped off at Paul’s Photo in Torrance to drop off film. They happened to have a near perfect boxed Minolta Autopak 450E for $20 so I got that instead..
Today: The Brooklyn Bridge using the Camp Snap "Vintage Film" simulation.
SOOC except for adding a tiny bit of grain to dilute the "crunch" of the 8MP sensor. I'm amazed by the sharpness of the plastic lens. I made NO adjustments other than adding +25 grain in LR.
Nice! So the vintage sim basically adds a sepia/warm tone.
Can you try the regular colour sim?
A clothing/gift shop down the street from me is selling these. The owner says he sells about one a day. It is a very cute, super light weight camera. Feels like a plastic disposable but in a good way if that makes sense.
They have the latest version, in black, dark blue, pink and yellow. He’s meant to get some more colours in tomorrow. I am genuinely tempted because how many digital cameras don’t have a screen? This for $65, then a Leica for $8000?
Yep. The vintage film sim is warmer and a little greenish. More of a Fuji film tone IMO.
I plan to try the standard film sim this weekend. It's been a grey and rainy week here, but this weekend should be nice.
I have the yellow one. Figured I'd go bold instead of stealthy!
Desmolicious wrote:
Nice! So the vintage sim basically adds a sepia/warm tone.
Can you try the regular colour sim?
A clothing/gift shop down the street from me is selling these. The owner says he sells about one a day. It is a very cute, super light weight camera. Feels like a plastic disposable but in a good way if that makes sense.
They have the latest version, in black, dark blue, pink and yellow. He’s meant to get some more colours in tomorrow. I am genuinely tempted because how many digital cameras don’t have a screen? This for $65, then a Leica for $8000?
Activatedfx wrote:
The shutter button is the most un-responsive in the history of shutters. The latest model (103B) is supposed to have improved things, but there's still a good 1/2 second delay from mashing the super click-y shutter button and the (artificial) shutter sound, so you have to hold the camera steady for a second after snapping, especially in low light.
I have been thinking about buying one for a trip to Asia next year. Looks like I missed the boat on the original 103 model with the least shutter button lag.
I *suspect* Urban Outfitters' limited editions (bowties and leopard) might be 103, not 103B. Going to the local UO to check them out probably on Monday since it seems like it might have the LE in stock.
I want to be on board with the idea of this camera, but the output just isn't there for the long term investment of carrying it in lieu of something else that will output more pleasing images (literally any film P&S).
RoamingScott wrote:
I want to be on board with the idea of this camera, but the output just isn't there for the long term investment of carrying it in lieu of something else that will output more pleasing images (literally any film P&S).
The output may not be as good as your T4, but from what has been posted it seems much better than many p&s cameras, and it is tiny and only $65.
