An array of small digital cameras on display in Hong Kong in August. Photo credit: Chris Velazco/The Washington Post
They say the best camera is the one you have with you. For most, that means the cameras they have bolted onto their smartphones.
But that is not true for everyone - especially the younger crowd. To a growing number of people, the answer is actually something else: pocket-size digital cameras, not unlike the ones smartphones nearly drove extinct years ago.
In fact, these compact digital cameras (or “digicams”) seem to be having a bit of a moment. The first half of this year saw shipments of cameras with built-in lenses tiptoe over a million units, according to data from the Camera & Imaging Products Association, a trade group that counts companies such as Sony, Canon, Nikon, and Fujifilm as members. That is a drop in the bucket compared with, say, smartphone shipments in the hundreds of millions, but these kinds of cameras haven’t moved that quickly since 2021.
That’s just talking about new cameras. What those numbers fail to capture is the shifting popularity of tiny digital cameras some of us literally used (and in some cases, discarded) over a decade ago.
So what is all this digicam fuss about?
Being in the moment and vibes
Largely speaking, the pro-digicam movement’s arguments boil down to a few things:
- Being in the moment. You are less likely to be distracted while snapping a photo when the device you are using to capture it isn’t blaring notifications at you. Also, when you have a smaller screen with which to frame up your shot, you are forced to stay at least a little more connected to the scene unfolding around you.
“You can’t really see what you got in the moment, but looking back, it’s really satisfying to see how things ended up looking,” said Zuzana Neupauerova, a 24-year-old digicam enthusiast in Slovakia, in an interview.
Victor Ha, vice president of Fujifilm North America’s Electronic Imaging and Optical Devices Divisions, said the company has seen “a definitive shift” toward carrying compact point-and-shoot cameras, because they satisfy “the desire to create without the constant distractions that come with a multi-purpose digital device.”
- Physics favors dedicated cameras. Despite how sophisticated our phones have become, a quality compact camera may still have a physically larger image sensor than whatever is crammed into your phone.
On a basic level, the bigger the sensor, the more light it can capture - which means better-looking images in low light and, often, better dynamic range. (Long story short, highlights are brighter, and dark spots are darker.)
Thing is, that’s mostly true for more modern cameras. The older a digicam, the less sophisticated the image. But that’s okay, because …
- Vibes are all-important. This is the reason I hear - and empathize with - the most. Some photographers, especially younger ones, have grown disillusioned with the computational perfection that our phone cameras produce. Instead, they yearn for the grit, harsh lighting and chromatic peculiarities that come from aging camera sensors.
“I want something that’s low quality, actually, and something with really vibrant colors,” said Neupauerova, who doesn’t mind if her digicam photos turn out “slightly blurry or super grainy.” (In fact, she keeps a Minolta camera from 2003 around purely because of how grainy its photos are.)
That drive for visual imperfection and nostalgia has propped up a cottage industry for digital cameras that - often enough - are older than the people who use them.
On a recent trip to Hong Kong, I spent a day ogling every camera shop and stall I could find in the city’s gadget-heavy Sham Shui Po district. Invariably, all of the space not taken up by new-in-box camera bodies and gently used lenses was crammed full of aging digicams, many more than 15 years old.
They were priced far higher than you would expect for gadgets of that vintage. Many hovered around $100 even after all these years. Still, these things were moving fast. (It took everything I had not to bring a few home myself.)
Unsurprisingly, camera makers have noticed this shift in visual preference, and they are leaning into it.
Fujifilm, a company behind a line of virally popular cameras you will still be hard-pressed to find at sticker price, recently released a tiny digicam called the X half ($849) that is light on premium features but leans into old-school film simulations. Meanwhile, Ricoh - you might know them best from their printers - makes a line of tiny, exceptional street-shooting cameras packed with stylish and retro-inspired image presets, and it just announced a nearly $1,500 follow-up model.
What if I don’t want to buy a new (or old) camera?
If you are keen to get a feel for these kinds of retro visuals, you don’t need to pay for a camera - brand new or otherwise.
I would be willing to bet that someone you know still has a digicam languishing somewhere and that they would be more than happy to let it go. You may even have one taking up space in your junk drawer. Either way, taking these forgotten cameras out for a spin can be a great creative exercise and may help keep one more gadget from ending up in an e-waste pile.
Otherwise, I have been living with (and obsessing over) two iPhone apps that capture the thrill of throwback imagery:
- (Not Boring) Camera has become my go-to for iPhone photography; I love it for its gorgeous, grain-laden photos and its many film simulation options. Besides, any app that starts by asking you to customize its interface colors is a winner in my book.
-AgBr doesn’t let you capture images, but it does give you the chance to turn existing photos into moody monochrome images that emulate the looks of old, expired film stocks.
