This $30 Kodak camera is selling for $200 on eBay

I tested the Kodak Charmera: a camera? a keyring? a toy? All combined, and I took it to the streets of NYC anyway.

During my last trip to Las Vegas, I stumbled (oh! what a coincidence, or not…) upon a camera store called B&C Camera. The guys over there are super friendly, and I had to exercise great mental strength not to leave with a Hasselblad X2D II. Instead, I left with a Kodak Charmera. (Yes, I know. That’s how my impulsive GAS operates at camera stores.)

The Charmera doesn’t offer much beyond what it looks like: a $30 keyring camera with keyring camera quality and a creative name. Awesome to impress your friends at the office with that charm dangling from your backpack, but terrible for actually taking decent photos.

It’s part of Kodak’s lineup of cool retro camera, in addition to the Ektar half-frame and the Snapic.

The siblings, the Ektar half frame and Snapic A1.

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For some, the Charmera is a souvenir. For others, it’s a collectible item. The boxes are sealed and voided when opened, and most sellers don’t allow returns. That’s why among all 5 different skins, there’s a mysterious transparent one that eBay scalpers have apparently taken over.

See the listing? 1 in 48. No way I’m paying $200 on this camera.

To me, it’s like Funko. You know, those collectible characters made of plastic. In this case, it has cheap electronics inside. Let’s take a look at some photos.

Here’s the whole lineup. They look pretty! The one I got is the blue one, also known as the ugliest. Of course.

All the 7 cameras, including the transparent one.

Which one is your favorite? I think mine are the red and the yellow ones.

I took the camera to the streets of NYC and shot some photos with it. The menu is simple: you can take pictures, record videos, and review your photos. In the photo-taking mode, you can choose between different overlays mimicking film and retro looks. It’s fun. For this test, I mostly used the “Kodak Filmstrip” one.

Here are some tech specs:

• Dimensions: 24.5 × 58 × 20 mm

• Lens: 35 mm (f/2.4) fixed focus

• Sensor: ¼-inch CMOS, 1.6 MP

• Material: Glossy plastic with UV-printed graphics

• Colors: 7 designs in blind-box format (including the transparent, which apparently is marketed as the secret edition)

Some photos I took with it

See the blur? That was taken in daylight. Unfortunately, due to the small size factor and an f/2.4 lens, the Charmera requires lots of light to operate at speeds that won’t blur the subject. You have to hold it still for about a second to get a non-blurred shot, which defeats the purpose of using this camera for candid street photography…

If you have 1 second to hold still, then it kinda does fine.

The thing is: if you’re showing pictures on Instagram, or at a very small size, the quality is acceptable. The lens distorts a lot, which isn’t an issue, and the size and quality… well, Meta would destroy it anyway. Thanks, Zuck.

Dynamic range is terrible, as expected. It's a freaking keychain toy camera. I'm not complaining. It's cute!

To get images out of the camera, you either have to unload the microSD card or connect via USB-C, which is my preferred method because it also charges the Charmera.

Note: this is my personal take on the Kodak Charmera. If you would like to read a technical review, click here to be redirected to CameraLab, a website that did a better job reviewing the features of the Kodak Charmera. (Damn, I love that name. I love puns.)

I must say I think it’s a nice idea to give the Charmera to children, especially teenagers who want to take photos at schools and have a (God blessed) school phone ban.

The veredict

Fuck my veredict, you are reading CameraClara, which means you have a brain. You don’t need anyone telling you what to do or think, and should be able to take your own conclusions.

Love ya, peace. 💖