Why a 100$ Camera became the EDC for ME

 

   I love photography, like all sorts of photography. While generally I’m focused on local show coverage I also find much peace in recreational photo taking of just my everyday life. It gets me out of the house, allows me to stop and take in my environment and be grounded in what’s actually going on in my little world. I especially love cows, well pictures of cows, and of rural landscapes from the beautiful farmlands around me. Being a rural dude when I get downtown I love taking pictures of, well, everything. The graffiti, the people, cool buildings, and especially pigeons. I’ve also been on a kick of using my phone less and less. Connectivity has started eroding my mental health and I find a lot of times I just don’t even want to look at a screen when I’m not at work (or writing). Maybe its healthy, maybe its hipster, but either way its how I am and how I want to be. I’m also a huge film fan and really really like my cheapo point and shoots (heres looking at you Canon sure shots) but with the cost of literally everything raising I often find myself ‘saving’ the film for the perfect shot or something post worthy instead of just having fun.

   Enter Camp Snap, now full disclosure I got one sent by the company but all the opinions are mine and not influenced by this. I saw the ads, thought it was neat but really didn’t give it much thought. I already have a small camera (Nikon z30 w/24 1.7) but despite how much I genuinely love that camera it doesn’t have a flash and is far from pocketable. I also never brought it around due to theft risks, larger size or need for an external flash so it really just became my show camera while my Lumix often stayed home awaiting its next gig. Needless to say my recreational photography started getting done less and less, this really started to make photography more of a job than anything else, definitely not something to unwind with.

Camp Snap cameras are designed as screen‑free, minimalist digital point‑and‑shoots meant to recreate the feel of disposable or film cameras while remaining fully reusable and rechargeable. Their mission is to reduce distraction, encourage presence, and make photography fun and simple. Camp Snap’s design choices screenless bodies, simple controls, and retro styling are all aimed at reducing digital friction. Instead of encouraging perfectionism or constant review, the cameras push users toward capturing moments naturally, then enjoying the results later.

   Resonate with ya? It sure did for me. Specs wise its 35mm equivalent focal length, F-1.8, 8mp and a led flash (Pro models have xenon). That’s not even the best part…It uses UCB-C for charging and transfer making both easy breezy. Now unfortunately you’re not getting much if any bokeh with the 1.8 due to the sensor size but it does give it a bit of a hand in low light. When that doesn’t work slide the switch to FLASH and get it done. Shutter speeds have been reported to be from 1sec – 1/1500 automatically set by the camera. That’s it, all you have to do is point and shoot! The viewfinder isn’t perfect by any means but should give you mostly what youll see when you check the pictures, maybe take an extra one or 2 just to be sure lol.

That’s what I love the most, its simple. Its cheap and small and light and actually fits in a pocket. Is it perfect.. no, but this is a camera for memories not pro shoots. There are tons of film simulations you can upload and its pretty close to what you would expect from an actual 35mm camera… mostly. I generally hate the term ‘film like’ but as it goes this is probably the best I’ve tried so far. There are a couple of setting ,but I havnt felt the need to play around with them yet, accessible with a screwed in panel on the bottom but other than that it’s a slide switch with OFF-ON-FLASH and a single button.

   With 8mp you’re not cropping in, its jpeg so no raw editing as well. The v105 doesn’t have the ability to add a filter on it such as VND or CPL ,the Pro model does. its about 100$CAD for the version I got with a bit of change more for the pro. To be honest I was torn on the two but went with the V105 to keep with the simplicity, I don’t regret it. The 16mp on the Pro felt a bit too… normal camera than I was looking for, it probably doesn’t make sense but did to me at the time.

   Why is it my favorite, well they say the best camera is the on you have with you and really that’s 80% of it. I like the feel of it, it fits well in my hands and I can toss it in my bad or glove box without worrying about damaging it (10%). It transfers fast and easily to my phone (5%) for the instagrams. It also saves me the purchase and developing costs of film (14.99$ + 12.99$) (5%).  Is it for you? Probably… maybe.. I dunno, but it is a decent way to start collecting memories. Don’t want to take your 3k Lumix S5ii or Canon R5ii with 2k lens out? Its for you. Don’t have a digital camera but still want sweet pics without using your phone, its for you. AND if you want an excellent discount use the link in our linktree on Instagram or website (Altyegmusic.com). It also supports the site and the magazine as a whole!

Dew it!

-Alternativejustin