It’s Retro, it’s Digital, it’s NOT a Miniature Hasselblad 500 C/M, but is it Any Good?

You’ve got to give Chinese camera manufacturers/designers credit for innovation. From keychain cameras to last year’s hit twin lens reflex digital darling, each attempt at scratching a photographer’s retro itch is reasonably successful.

Now comes another Chinese attempt at reviving a beloved retro icon from photography’s film days. It’s the “Retro Digital Camera” or “Vintage Camera” or “M31” by EJXHKNF–part retro charm, completely digital ability, and visually aping a medium format single lens reflex (SLR) film camera.

This SLR mimicry is not fully fledged for any specific vintage brand, however. So take your best guess at which medium format legend the Retro Digital Camera is attempting to emulate.

Priced at $55.99 for the black model, the Retro Digital Camera has a lot of nostalgic nods to a medium format film SLR. But does it deliver the photographic goods?

Accompanied by a fabric bag, carrying strap, USB-C charging cable, and a pre-installed 16GB microSD card, the camera is neatly packed inside a clamshell-opening box. This not ordinary packaging, however.

Sold in a metallic gold-colored box, it is adorned with several marketing statements that will make every photography cry with joy. “Take photos, portable camera,” “a camera can help you capture beauty,” and “experience the classic charm.”

That final statement regarding “classic charm” could, in fact, be an accurate reflection about the size of the Retro Digital Camera. This is a palm-sized product that barely touches 5-inches long by 3-inches wide.

Likewise, it is questionably gleaned with gold-colored plastic and a red-colored plastic “jewel” that is embedded in the top of the functioning waist-level viewfinder. Too much plastic doesn’t make the Retro Digital Camera feel chintzy nor overly lightweight, but it does raise a few eyebrows for its gaudy looks.

There are a couple of pieces of metal that offset the plastic, however. Namely, the USB-C port/microSD card slot combo, the springs in the viewfinder hood, and the tripod socket in the camera’s base.

While dealing with the metal springs in the waist-level viewfinder, there is one unfortunate feature regarding the operation of this pop-up mechanism. It suffers from the same design flaw of the Ulanzi Waist-Level Viewfinder. Namely, the collapsing or retraction of the light shades into the viewfinder’s hood is a clumsy multi-finger contortion.

Yes, but Can it Take Pictures?

Operating the Retro Digital Camera is performed with six buttons. The main four photographic capture buttons ring the front lens, while a fifth button behind the viewfinder is used for popping the waist-level hood open.

Finally, a sixth “button” is kinda hidden inside the joystick crank on the camera’s side. Called the “System Settings Key” in the camera’s instruction booklet, this is the black plastic hub for the crank which, when pushed, displays the settings menu on the viewfinder LCD.

Delving into these settings begins to expose some of the real mystery surrounding the Retro Digital Camera. First of all, yes, it is a 12MP camera that can be toggled to other, reduced resolution settings.

Driving this photographic capture is a 3.75mm lens equipped with a fixed f/2 aperture, a variable, approximate 1/250 – 1/2000, shutter speed, a multi-spot exposure system, and autofocus. Ironically, these specifications are in contrast to the provided capabilities stated by EJXHKNF for the Retro Digital Camera.

In this context, the Retro Digital Camera claims to have an f/2 ~ f/3.1 aperture with a 4.9mm ~ 59mm lens. Likewise, remember that joystick crank on the camera’s side? Rotation of this crank activates a lens “zoom” feature.

The manufacturer claims that this crank controls a “16X Optical Zoom Lens.” Yes, the crank does “zoom” the viewpoint of the lens, but the action is not an optical function. Rather, the zooming is clearly a digital operation producing a pixelated mess that is best avoided.

Study these sample photographs and judge for yourself:

While it is very small in size, using the Retro Digital Camera is anything but a covert experience. It’s bright, reflective metallic gold finish and unusual viewfinder operation will attract the curious passerby. This certainly is another facet of “experiencing the classic charm.”

But if you’re after this camera for helping you to “capture beauty,” then you might want to opt for only using either the black & white or the sepia color filters…’cause the colors captured by the Retro Digital Camera just don’t look right. Either way it’s a novelty camera that adds to the growing list of Chinese innovative designs.

Enjoy.

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