I love taking pictures. Any of my friends will tell you I’m that one in the group who tells everyone to gather around for a photo wherever, whenever. This has proved to be an incredibly valuable trait as I can look back at any occasion and have a bunch of pictures to remember it by.
And it’s only natural to take a look at the pictures immediately to see what you’re working with. But I've noticed when I do this that I always find something wrong. Someone’s eyes are closed, or my hair isn’t sitting right. So then we sit there taking a few more pictures and keep trying to get the perfect one. But in doing that, we lose the moment.
But since discovering the Camp Snap Screen-Free Digital Camera, this problem has been eliminated, and I get cool, retro photos to look at. The camera is modelled after a traditional disposable film camera with an optical viewfinder and a counter letting you know how many pictures you've taken.
The only difference is that the Camp Snap is digital. But you still can’t look at the pictures until they have been “developed” by plugging the camera into your computer.
The camera only costs $69, making it one of the cheapest cameras out there, and is reusable. If you use disposable film cameras, you’ll know how frustrating it is to have to fork out around $20 every time you need a new one, and the Camp Snap takes away that cost.
No obsessing over what you look like
As I was saying, while checking what I look like in photos straight after taking them makes sense, it quickly becomes obsessive. Passing the phone back to whoever took the picture and saying “just try one more” gets very boring very fast.
But since the Camp Snap is screen-free and I can’t look at the pictures until I get home and transfer them to my computer, this vain self-obsession has disappeared. It also takes away the distraction of having your phone out all the time. Now, when I head out to the park or for drinks with friends, the only thing left out of my bag is the Camp Snap camera.
Of course, there are times when I still take pictures with my phone because the quality is so much better on the latter. The Camp Snap’s 8MP is more of a 2000s disposable effect, but Y2K is so back.
But I’ve realized it’s not about the quality of the photo; having the memory without any fuss or distraction is all I want out of the camera.
That's a big reason why people buy one of the best instant cameras, after all.
Easy to use
It doesn’t get simpler than this. The Camp Snap is a point-and-shoot camera that quite literally cannot go wrong. You line up the shot through the viewfinder, just like with a disposable film camera, and click the shutter button on top. You can also toggle the flash button between on, off, or auto.
The classic Camp Snap effect is pre-loaded to the camera’s built-in SD card, but you can also create your own on their website. This adds a personal touch to the photos, and I love that I don’t have to go in and edit them later on.
Anyone can use the camera with ease, and I pass it around my friends when we meet up so everyone can take pictures of each other. And when everyone is doing this, it feels much less posy than using our phones.
Long battery life
I charge the Camp Snap once a week, just before the weekend when I tend to use it the most. This is more than enough to get me through the week as you can get 500 shots with a single charge.
So while you don’t have to worry about running out of film, you do need to consider how much charge you have before heading out with the camera.
To find out more about the camera and how it works, you can read our full Camp Snap Screen-Free Digital Camera review.
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