Written by Kathleen Ellis
Sometimes you need a little reminder that photography is supposed to be fun. The Kodak Charmera is 100% that reminder.
The Kodak Charmera is a tiny digital camera keychain modeled off the Kodak Fling, a 110 disposable camera from the late 1980s. We keep things pretty film photography focused here at Shoot It With Film, but had to make a little exception for this one due to its film roots and vintage Kodak inspired designs. And it’s just way too fun.
I picked up the Kodak Charmera 1987 as soon as it launched about a year ago, and it’s been a staple on my keychain ever since. Kodak came out with the Millennium Edition earlier this summer, and they were kind enough to send me one to check out so I can try all of the new filters.
Find the Kodak Charmera Millennium on Amazon.
Kodak Charmera Millennium Specifications
Image sensor: ¼ inch CMOS
Lens: 35mm; f/2.4
Charging: Rechargeable battery, USB-C
Storage: Micro SD (1GB-128GB)
Image Output: 1440 x 1080; 1.6M Megapixels
Image Format: JPEG
Frame Rate: 30 fps
Video Format: AVI
Dimensions: 58(W) x 24.5(H) x 20(D) mm / 2.3”(W) x 0.96”(H) 0.8”(D)
Weight: 30g / 1.05oz
Cost: Currently retails for $35
Using the Kodak Charmera
As expected, the Charmera is very simple to use. It has the shutter and an on/off switch on the top of the camera, and it has some arrows and a selection/play button on the back with the LCD screen.
Long press the on/off switch to turn it on, press the arrows to toggle through camera and video mode, and then press the play button to make your selection.
Once you’re in photo mode, you can use the arrows to select any frame or filter you want to use. You’ll see the frame/filter on the LCD screen, so you’ll get a live version of what your photo will look like. Then, just press the shutter!
Here is the quick start guide. You’ll find links for both the Millennium edition and the 1987 edition.
For such a small camera, the buttons are easy to press and navigate. The LCD screen is also easy to see. Everything is tiny, but Kodak does a great job at still making it usable.
It’s also quick to turn on and scroll through the filters, so even though there are quite a lot of different filters and frames (eleven of them!), it’s not cumbersome to make your selection and start shooting. Love a camera that doesn’t get in its own way! There was clearly a lot of thought that went into this little machine to make sure it was simple and fun to use.
The Filters
The Kodak Charmera Millennium comes with seven different filters and four different frames (and you can also use it without any of the filters and frames).
The filters and frames add so much to how fun it is to use this camera. It feels like the early days of Instagram. I especially love the frames. It gives the images an extra bit of whimsy to liven up your snapshots.
We have three standard filters: black and white, cool tone, and warm tone.
Then, we have four pixel filters: coral, honey, teal, and violet. These give your images a high-contrast, color overlay look with the colors mentioned. It almost looks like a duotone filter. Feels very similar to the Polaroid Duochrome film to me.
These versions of the pixel filters are unique to the Millennium edition cameras. The 1987 edition has pixel filters as well, but they are in bold primary colors. The Millennium pixel filters are softer and with more of an early 2000s feel.
And finally, we have the frames. There are four Millennium camera frames all with an early-2000s tech vibe. The orange digital camera frame might be my favorite, but it’s too hard to choose. They give your images a scrapbook feel and make for a unique shooting experience.
Kodak Charmera Picture Quality
The picture quality is low. There’s no getting around that. This camera is much more about vibes than picture quality.
The images are 1440×1080 pixels, so just large enough to have on your phone and for social media. If you’re old enough (like me!) to remember the early days of point and shoot digital cameras, these images look pretty similar to that, compressed without a lot of detail.
The focus is more about nostalgia and having fun with the filters, and the camera is a 10/10 on both of those fronts. But if you’re looking for high resolution and high quality digital images, the Charmera won’t be a good fit for you.
Difference between the 1987 and Millennium Editions
The most obvious difference between the two Charmera editions are the designs. The 1987 collection is based off of the Kodak Fling, a 110 single-use camera launched in 1987. All of the camera designs are inspired by the 80s and retro film packaging.
For the Millennium Edition, the look of the cameras are all Y2K, early 2000s inspired. They have a shinier finish and are more reminiscent of the digital point and shoots of the 2000s.
The editions also have different filters and frames you can put on the images. Both editions have a b&w filter, a cool tone filter, and a warm tone filter. Then, each edition has 4 additional color overlay filters and 4 photo frames.
The camera stats and functions are the same for both editions, so you just have to choose which style and filters you like more. Or do what I did, and get one from each edition, because you can never have too many cameras.
Here are the filters and frames for each:
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Things to Note
The Charmera cameras come in a blind box, so you’ll get a random camera out of the seven different designs.
No batteries needed. It’s a USB-C charging port, and it comes with its own charging cord.
You’ll need a Micro SD memory card. I picked up an inexpensive 32gb memory card, which is plenty large enough for this camera. But needing a memory card adds an extra $10-$20 to the camera price, and now we’re talking about $50 all in. I think $35 is a great price for the camera, but if you don’t have an extra Micro SD lying around, $50ish for the camera and memory card feels a bit pricy.
Final Thoughts
So, would I recommend the Kodak Charmera? Absolutely. If you love a little whimsy and want photography to feel fun again, the Charmera will be a perfect fit.
It’s small enough to keep with you everywhere, and perfect for snapshots and capturing little moments throughout the day. The image quality won’t win any awards, but you will have a shooting experience that is full of nostalgia, creativity, and fun. It will definitely make you smile every time you use it.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Leave your questions or thoughts about Kodak Charmera below in the comments, and you can pick one up for yourself on Amazon here.
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