As you may know, I have started to participate in the #shittycamerachallange (link shows all images with this tag) in which you take photographs with cameras that are considered “low quality.” My familiarity with the challenge comes from the BlueSky account Shitty Camera Challenge.
I have three cameras that fall into the shitty camera category. The Kodak Charmera and two toy cameras that print on thermal paper (if you want).
The toy camera on the left (grey) is a Yehtta Kids Camera. These are the specs I could find for it:
| Maximum Shutter Speed | 30s |
|---|---|
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Screen Size | 2.4 inches |
| Effective Still Resolution | 30 mp |
| Image stabilization | Digital |
| Exposure Control | Automatic |
| File Format | JPEG |
| Viewfinder | Optical |
The toy camera on the right (pink) is an Usteetic Kids Camera.These are the specs I could find for it:
| Screen Size | 2.4 |
|---|---|
| Effective Still Resolution | 12 mp |
| Exposure Control | Automatic |
| File Format | JPEG |
| Viewfinder | LCD screen |
Given the information, I feel safe that these would qualify to be used by in the shitty camera challenge.
The camera (red) at the bottom of the picture is the Kodak Charmera. I know it falls under the shitty camera umbrella because I asked. These are the specs:
| Aspect Ratio | 4:3 |
|---|---|
| Sensor Type | CMOS |
| File Format | JPEG for photo, AVI for video |
| Image stabilization | Optisch |
| Maximum Aperture | 2.8 f_stop |
| Photo Sensor Resolution | 1.6 mp |
| Photo Sensor Size | 1/4-inch |
| Maximum Shutter Speed | 1/30 seconds |
| Minimum Shutter Speed | 1/30 seconds |
| Exposure Control | Automatic |
| Effective Still Resolution | 1.6 mp |
| Screen Size | 2.4 |
| Shooting Modes | portrait, landscape, night mode |
| Viewfinder | LCD screen |
| Flash Modes | Automatic |
| Camera Flash | no flash |
| Aperture modes | F2.8 |
The majority of the challenge images thus far have been taken with the little red Kodak Charmera.
My Kodak Charmera is part of the original blind box release and is version 2 out of the 7 versions available in the original release. (In 1987, KODAK launched its first signature single-use camera, the KODAK Fling. The Kodak Charmera is inspired by it) I mentioned in one of my photos that the Kodak Charmera has 7 photo filters and 4 photo frames you can use if you want. The filters are black & white, cool tone, warm tone, pixel filter yellow, pixel filter red, pixel filter blue, pixel filter grey. Typically, I transfer photographs to my iPhone and post them from there without editing.
A while back I heard that a second blind box release was going to happen and this one was themed “Picture the Millenium.” (From 1987 Roots to a 2000 Reboot) On a whim I decided to see if it would be easy for me to pick one up. It was and I had the box in my hands the day after I placed the order.
Would you be surprised to know that the first thing I noticed was that the key chain was different? When I compared the actual cameras, the primary difference was the buttons on the top – they seem to be metal – and the start-up sound is different. When I compared the specs, they were the same as far as I could see. I did have a laugh when I learned which version I ended up with. Guess my lucky number is 2 for the Kodak Charmera.
The are 4 new filters and frames that you can use in the Millenium edition beyond the standard black & white, cool tone, and warm tone. The new filters are pixel filter coral, pixel filter honey, pixel filter teal and pixel filter violet.
Both cameras are now fully charged and have a microSD card that will let me take as many pictures as I want without having to worry about space or switching a card between them.
Loose Endings Studio 