Kodak Charmera launches as $30 keychain camera with lo-fi images and retro looks

Kodak is one of those brands that almost effortlessly evoke nostalgia, and Reto, the Hong Kong based company that makes some of products under the licensed brand name, seemingly has no issues leaning into it hard. The Kodak Charmera is a toy camera that shamelessly emphasises retro-charm over functionality, although, we must admit, it looks pretty good doing it.

The thing measures 2.3×1×0.8 inches and weighs a mere 30 grams, so the moniker of "keychain camera" is certainly accurate. It even comes with a clip-style keyring accessory you can use to hang it off a bag or belt loop. While a tiny rear LCD is available to preview the photos, the folks at Reto have thoughtfully added a little optical viewfinder to give it an old-school feel.

Fittingly, the Kodak Charmera uses a basic 1/4" sensor with a 1440x1080 or 1.3 MP resolution for photos and videos, with the latter being shot at 30 fps in AVI format. One way to make shooting in low-res fun is applying one of the seven available filters, which can make the photos black-and-white, add warm or cool tones, or turn them into two-tone images with no gradient for an extreme posterised look. You can also add one of four frames around the photos, and add a date-stamp in the corner.

The in-built battery is charged via USB-C, and photos can be saved onto a microSD card. A fully plastic construction of course helps keep the little gadget light and inexpensive. Seven colourways are available, but the quirky choice of blind box packaging means you can't choose which colour you get; there's a bit of a surprise factor any time you buy and open the box.

The Kodak Charmera camera is available as a single unit for $30 on Amazon, and a 6-pack will also be available, for those who want to collect all the colours, or just want to give them out as gifts. A somewhat similar camera is the Fujifilm Instax Pal (curr. $44 on Amazon), which has slightly better image quality and control over the photos, but ditches an LCD in favour of wireless app-based image capture.