Vibe Camera Shootout: Camp Snap Pro vs. Flashback One35 V2

There has been an increase in interest over the past few years in inexpensive digital cameras. Younger people are picking up Old point and shoots Because Aesthetic display As more authentic and attractive than smartphone photos. Companies are equal He releases Old technology At new prices. There are cameras like the original Camp Snap: A $70 one-button point-and-shoot camera without a screen, designed as a modern take on the disposable film camera. It’s cheap enough to send with a kid to summer camp and accessible enough for almost anyone to enjoy the lo-fi aesthetic.

I tested two charming examples of this formula: $99 Camp Snap Pro (also known as the CS-Pro), is an upgrade to the original Camp Snap and looks like it’s made entirely of plastic Fujifilm X100and Flashback One35 V2which costs $119 and looks just like a disposable camera.

Both cameras aim to give you the aesthetics and screen-free experience of a disposable film camera with the convenience of digital. One of them hits the mark.

Both the Camp Snap Pro and Flashback One35 V2 are compact and made of lightweight, inexpensive plastic. The Flashback is noticeably smaller, about the size of a disposable film camera, and fits better in my back pocket. But it is better to carry them in a jacket pocket, small bag, or purse. It doesn’t look as expensive as regular cameras. My wife and I own the original Camp Snap, and we often throw it in our diaper bag without even caring.

Neither camera is anything special when it comes to specifications (scroll to the bottom for a side-by-side comparison table). The Camp Snap Pro’s 22.5mm equivalent lens and 16MP sensor are respectively wider and higher resolution than the standard Camp Snap lens (8MP, 32mm equivalent). The Flashback V2 has a 13-megapixel sensor. Its basic smartphone-sized image sensors and small lenses provide image quality somewhere between a disposable film camera and an old phone. Unlike movies, you don’t pay money with every shot. Both feature xenon flashes suitable for brightly illuminating dark settings at close distances – A A look is required This also helps mitigate its poor low-light performance. (Camp Snap’s original LED flash is mostly useless and not attractive.)

But the biggest difference between these cameras is how they are used. The Camp Snap Pro has a dial that lets you switch between four filters; The default settings are STD (Standard), VTG1 (Vintage 1, with a warm purple tone), VTG2 (Vintage 2, with enhanced green and blue tone), and B&W (Black and White). Each preset is user customizable, allowing you to replace each setting with a custom look created in Camp Snap online Filter Builder. The original Camp Snap has a community built around it free and paid Downloadable filters, although some are not available on CS-Pro yet. The included 4GB microSD card holds more than 1,000 photos, and you can download them via a USB-C cable or microSD card reader.

Flashback also has four preset filters: Classic, Mono (black and white), Beta (reddish look), and Cine (exaggerated teal and orange aesthetic). But you can only switch between them in the app that came with the camera (iOS/iPad and Android), and you can use them as “rolls” for up to 27 shots at a time. This is intended to mimic a disposable film camera. Once you select a filter, you’re stuck with it for the entire roll, although you can download the roll early and start over. The One35 V2 pairs with a phone or tablet via Bluetooth, allowing you to check the battery level, enable the self-timer, or change your movie type. Downloading photos to your device requires either Wi-Fi or a cable. By default, the app makes you wait 24 hours to see your photos. Alternatively, images can be developed instantly by activating digital camera mode, which I enabled after just one set of shots.

It’s a nice app, but virtual photography quickly goes from charming to annoying. I experienced several occasions where my film type wasn’t right for the camera, causing rolls to appear in the wrong tones or black and white when I thought I was shooting in color. The wait to see your images, and the occasional unexpected result, is part of the magic of analogue photography, but I’ve never dropped a roll of black and white film and returned it in color or vice versa.

One35’s dedication to this piece has other drawbacks as well. After you’ve taken 27 shots, you can’t use the camera again until you offload your photos to the app or computer. This negates one of the main advantages of digital cameras, not to mention the whole point of a screenless camera. You can’t hand it to a child and let him go with it. And its reliance on a disposable camera-style advanced winder to wake it up and reset the shutter means you’re constantly missing shots. The advance dial only takes one turn to activate the camera, but about eight turns to prime the shutter. It doesn’t stay shot-ready like a proper disposable film camera, which makes little sense for something designed around spontaneity.

When asked if this issue could be circumvented, Bethany Andrews, Flashback’s external public relations representative, said: Edge“Yes, this is a known issue and we are trying to fix it now.” A firmware update will help, but it won’t solve the Flashback’s other big handling issue: Due to the placement of the lens, wrapping your hand around the camera’s large grip often results in my fingers sticking out in the shot. What’s the point of having a nice circumferential grip if you can’t use it?

In terms of image quality, the Camp Snap Pro produces a noticeably sharper and cleaner image than the Flashback. Even the standard Camp Snap camera, which I also used for comparison shots, has slightly better image quality. “Best” is of course subjective, since these cameras are all about emotions. There’s none of the technical sharpness or noise flooring we’ve become accustomed to in modern phones and full-sized cameras, but the drawbacks and aesthetic limitations are kind of the point. I even came across Users within the Flashback subreddit Preferring the image quality of the One35 V1 over the V2, because it looks worst.

I recommend the Camp Snap Pro, and I can’t say the same for the Flashback. The One35 concept is fun and endearing (and it is Transparent variables He looks surprising), but by trying to replicate the physical experience of a disposable camera, we end up preserving old flaws and adding new ones.

Camp Snap Pro focuses on the disposable auxiliary cameras that were available in the days before digital cameras and smartphones. It’s cheaper than Flashback, easier to use, more customizable, and produces higher image quality – but it’s not also High. It’s perfect for anyone who wants something a little better than a basic Camp Snap, or at least a proper flash. If you can’t stomach Flashback’s nostalgic style, there’s no comparison.

Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto/The Verge