Experience the TLR Revival: New and Improved, Digital, Pocketable, and Under $50

Photographers might’ve been too quick to lament the extinction of the twin lens reflex The Newbies’ Guide to Choosing a Medium Format Film Camera(TLR) camera due to the explosive evolution of the digital photography revolution. Almost every camera format swiftly survived the conversion from film to pixels, except the stalwart TLR. Some experts smugly proclaimed that not even the nostalgic romance of peering into a waist-level viewfinder while two lenses glared at the subject could save the TLR from its digital demise.

Oh, sure, there is the oddball “modern” interpretation of the TLR that is embodied in the Mint Camera TL70 Instax instant camera. But this incarnation is still a film camera. In this case, rather than using paper-backed roll film, Fujifilm Instax Mini prints are exposed and ejected by this TLR camera.

All of this has now quickly changed, however, with an explosive seismic shift, from a premature death declaration to a brand new digital TLR camera!

If it Was Any Cuter, You’d Buy Two

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the new TLR camera. It’s pocketable and digital and costs less than $50; this is the CHUZHAO Vintage Mini Digital Camera for $49.99, the self-proclaimed, “first camera for young people.” Yes, it’s OK to use this digital TLR camera if you’re not that “young” because it will revitalize your photography and reinvigorate you without denting your pocketbook.

While there are many intriguing knobs, levers, and buttons on this all-plastic TLR camera, most of them are non-functioning design aesthetic embellishments. The real meat of this camera’s operation is completely automated. Now, please anyone who bellows that, “My camera must have manual controls,” needs to embrace the Zen of simplicity, where “less is more.” And with this TLR camera, less is much, much more.

Autofocus, autoexposure, auto-everything (e.g., white balance, ISO, etc.) translates into a user interface that is completely devoid of settings and labels defaulting to a center-weighted, floating rectangle that turns green when the camera is properly configured for taking a photograph. The only other bit of information that is displayed on the viewing LCD is a small battery charge level icon. And that’s it.

Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button

As for button operation, there are six options available on four buttons. One button controls three of these operations: On, Off, and a color mode toggle between monochrome images or color images. The remaining three buttons are each single function: shutter release, saved image library or album retrieval, and a button to delete the currently displayed library or album image/video.

Speaking of video, exposing and saving video is accomplished by turning the crank on the side of the TLR camera. This is a novel and highly therapeutic interface for accomplishing a typically mundane button-press task. It can also be a conversation-starter with both your subject and any passerby. More manufacturers should invest in integrating crank interfaces into other digital devices. Cross your fingers and wish for the next generation smartphone to have a crank interface.

While not explicitly stated in the TLR camera’s documentation, a 16GB microSD card was preinstalled in the camera. This removable storage holds photographs in a square 3456- x 3456-pixel JPEG format and videos in a 1920- x 1080-pixel H.264 mono MOV format. The remaining technical specifications for this camera are: 12MP photograph resolution, 1080P video resolution, closest focus range is 10cm, and the viewfinder LCD has a resolution of 240- x 240-pixels. Also, there is a single USB-C charging/data transfer port. There is no tripod mount nor viewfinder magnifier lens. Regardless, please study these sample photographs and make your own technical judgements:

One other self-proclamation made by Chuzhao in marketing this TLR camera is that it is a “classic but more.” Indeed, the manufacturer has embraced the complete “auto” everything mode while wrapping its technology in a recognizable container. After several weeks of sampling this concept, you might wish that more camera manufacturers would adopt a similar design philosophy. Ironically, the TLR is the last of the old-guard film format cameras to embrace digital photography, but it could now set a standard for all future-generation digital cameras to follow.

Enjoy.

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