Move over compact point-and-shoot. There’s a new in-demand camera on the scene – and it’s so small it fits in the palm of your hand. The hype surrounding Kodak Charmera is real. In the last month, pre-orders have been sold out not once, not twice but thrice. On the second-hand market, they are selling for 2-5 times the retail price, and camera stores are urging people to stop sending them messages.
Even Kodak’s manufacturing partner, Hong Kong-based Reto, is surprised by the demand for this new kitchen camera. Alerts on their website warn of high demand and shipping delays.
I was lucky enough to get a spot in the first round of sales; My complete set of 6 cameras arrived two weeks later. All 6 weren’t for me – I sold 5 to my photography friends at cost. I’ve used my Charmera every day since it arrived, and I have to say: it’s the most photography fun you’ll get for $30.
So what is Kodak Charmera and why is it so popular?
Introduction to Kodak Charmera
The Kodak Charmera is a 1.6-megapixel toy digital camera using a ¼-inch CMOS sensor. It weighs just over an ounce (30 grams) and is only 2.2 inches (58 mm) long.
A Charmera sells for $29.99, making it much more affordable than other cameras promoted in recent times. Charmera is in increasing demand not only among photographers but also the general public due to its competitive price point, collectibility and retro charm.
Filters and Frames
True to form as a toy camera, Charmera comes with 12 “looks”, which include a standard photo, 7 filters, and 4 frames. With the standard look, image quality is what you’d expect from a 1.6-megapixel camera.
The filter and frame provide the magic for this little camera. In addition to warm tone, cool tone, and black and white filters, Charmera has 4 frames (icon, film, paint, 1987) and 4 pixel tone filters (red, blue, yellow, gray).
You can see the effect of each of these looks on the same scene in my video:
Although the Charmera has a small viewfinder, compositing is better on the LCD screen – it lets you see in real time while switching between filters and frames.
The Charmera also takes video, which reminded me of shaky Super 8 footage. Frames and filters are not available in this mode.
I inserted a 16GB micro SD card into mine a week ago, and despite taking a few hundred photos and a few dozen videos, Charmera informed me that I still had enough space for another 54,000 photos. No, this is not a typo.
Labubu Factor
Another factor increasing Charmera’s popularity is the modern twist. The marketing geniuses of Kodak and Reto have copied a popular formula: Charmera is sold in blind boxes.
If you are wondering what a blind box is: one answer is that they are the bane of parents the world over. This marketing technique is used for everything from Lego minifigures to LaBubu to McDonald’s Happy Meal toys.
A more useful answer is that each Charmera box comes with one of 6 standard designs – there’s no picking your favorite. You could end up with any of them. There is also a 1 in 48 chance that you will get the special model, a semi-transparent Charmera. I’ve heard reports that these are fetching big bucks on second-hand markets.
If you’re trying to collect them all, you’d be better off buying the complete set of 6: you’re guaranteed one of each standard model. There is still the possibility of landing a special model, along with replacing one of the standard cameras in the set.
Seeing some interest from my photography friends, I bought a set of six, unboxing them all in a recent YouTube video:
Inspired by Kodak Fling
If you’ve been around for a while, Charmera will look familiar. That’s because it takes inspiration from the 1987 Kodak Fling. In fact, the Charmera design looks a lot like the Kodak Fling.
Barely larger than a box of 110 film, the Fling was Kodak’s first disposable camera, changing casual photography forever. It was the best solution for holidays, parties or anyone who wanted to take some photos without buying a “real” camera.
Preloaded with 110 Kodacolor film cartridges, the Fling sold for just $6.95 – undercutting competition from Fujifilm, which had beaten Kodak to market the previous year.
Sold along with other disposable items at checkout like cigarette lighters and batteries, the concept was simple but brilliant: make photography affordable and effortless.
The same can be said about the Kodak Charmera: it’s fun, lightweight, easily replaceable (once supply catches up with demand, that is) – and like the Fling, the image quality is in the “cheap and delights” category.
The Fling was discontinued after only two years, but its bigger brother, the 35mm Kodak Funsaver, dominated the burgeoning disposable camera market of the 1990s.
toy cameras having a moment
There has been a huge demand for compact cameras for the last five years, but now the demand for toy cameras is slowing down. So what’s the point of attraction to them, given the low-quality images they produce?
In January 2024, I reviewed the tiny Kenko Tokina DSC Pieni II toy camera. In my Fstoppers article, I cheekily asked “Is this the worst camera ever?“Initially, I was a little disappointed by the article and its accompanying video demonstration, but then a funny thing happened.
Ten months later, in November 2024, that video started gaining views. So much so that it is now one of my most viewed videos. I later realized that the increased interest coincided with the release of the second edition of Pieni. Why were so many people interested?
Since then, other toy cameras have emerged. In mid-2025, photography groups on social media were going crazy over a fake digital TLR Chuzhao.
It seems consumers are looking for ways to capture lo-fi imperfect photos rather than the pixel-perfect images produced by today’s smartphones. Perhaps it’s also a reaction against the wave of AI-generated images hitting the web – a way to bring some primitive authenticity back into photography.
In a way, this digital toy camera craze seems similar to the popularity of Lomography around 2010. With huge interest in Pieni, Chuzhao and now Charmera, it makes you wonder what’s next.
how to get charmera
If you are interested in getting Charmera after reading this, check out B&H PhotoIf you’re interested in seeing what I discovered using my camera, check out my Kodak Charmera Tips and Tricks,
