A new toy dropped into my lap this week, the Retro Snap v2 screenless, digital camera. It’s a total potato cam. It’s a take on the popular Campsnap, also screenless, pocket digital camera. Also a total potato. The v1 of the Retro Snap had a worse sensor than the current model (which isn’t saying much) and a datetime stamp that could not be turned off that wound up turning off a lot of customers.
My version gets rid of the timestamp and has a bettter sensor, allegedly. It’s not a great sensor at all, but it’s awful in a fun, Bruce Campbell film kind of way. Highlights blow out badly, colours are off, standard and vivid modes seem to have a purple color cast, the noise is gross looking, and images fall apart in low light.
Strathmore, AB, 2025-04-22
space, Strathmore, AB, 2025-04-22
2025-04-22
My verdict so far is that it’s awesome, but not the kind of awesome that someone who drops $10K on an expensive camera body and lens system would appreciate. The viewfinder is inaccurate and not that great to use and you don’t really have any idea what the final image is going to look like.
The most vivid thing I remembered this evening was when I was a kid and I managed to find where my gran had stashed her Kodak Instamatic X15 that I was told to keep my hands off of. I wandered down main street Innisfail, Alberta, taking pictures of parked cards, store fronts, you name it. There was no doubt I was catching hell later, but I had a camera and things to point it at, and life doesn’t get better than that.
I’m still getting a feel for my new potato so I’ll have a better review later, but here’s the important bit to know about this new camera: It can make you feel like a kid again. Photography is about creating images and capturing bits of the present for the future, yes. More importantly, it’s also about how a camera can connect you to the world and also to yourself. When you find a camera that lets you walk back in the door after a shoot with happiness in your heart to the point where you don’t even care if a single photo turned out, that’s something. And then the sense of adventure when you finally review the images…
Winner winner chicken dinner.
Today’s camera was the Retro Snap v2 with the purple SnapFace. I chose purple because it matches my nurple. That’s all you need to know, Mister Nosey Pants.
