Last year, I spent some quality time with the Flashblack One35 V2 camera. In my review, published earlier this year, I was truly fascinated by this little camera. It’s got all the feels of the old disposable cameras my aunties used to shoot with. But it’s paired with the convenience of digital and the retro-inspired image quality that we’ve all been craving. And now, the camera is fully launched and available for purchase.
For those of you wondering, here are the tech specs that really matter:
- Comes in a wide variety of colors
- 13MP imaging sensor. It’s small.
- Internal storage
- Holds around 52 or so shots on a digital roll and then you have to develop it using the app or by plugging it into a computer or your phone.
- It can shoot RAW DNG photos
- A film advance dial that both wakes the camera up and adds to the aesthetic and film experience
This camera isn’t a gimmick. It’s about giving you a different experience. And quite honestly, it’s part of a whole lineup of cameras that haven’t done anything like this before. But the Flashback One35 does it really darn well.
My only complaint with its biggest competitor, the Echolens, is that you don’t know when the shutter has finished firing. But with the Flashback, you can kind of tell if you listen closely. The Camp Snap Pro has a similar problem as well.
These affordable digital cameras are really some of the most fascinating and best things on the market right now. All the bigger camera brands aren’t making many products that are unique. More than that, they’re all using electronic viewfinders. I really have come to like using optical viewfinders again — so much so that I bought a DSLR. And part of that is because of cameras like the Flashback.
These cameras are also really big on making sure that we’re in the moment. It’s about making photos and thinking about them much later. But the biggest thing is that it gets you away from your phone and gives you completely different image quality. There is no AI algorithm involved here with the making of these modern digicams. Instead, it’s just more of the organic digital image quality that so many people have wanted and yearned for.
If you’ve ever looked back at old photos of yourself on Facebook or Instagram and saw how much fun you’re having, part of it was because we weren’t all brain rotted by our phones and algorithms that much. Using cameras like this helps keep us off our phones and in the moment more so than any other modern digital camera.
You can head over to Flashback’s website to purchase the camera for only $119.