The Charmera — a nostalgic collaboration with Reto that nods to Kodak’s first single-use cameras of the ’80s — comes in seven colours (plus one “secret edition”) and clips onto belt loops or bags like a fashion accessory.
Splendid, which specialises in analogue photography and operates out of Auckland, Wellington, and online, says it has sold out of hundreds of since September. Co-founder Sean Aickin says the craze blindsided them.
“The Charmera kind of caught us by surprise,” Aickin says.
“We placed, what we considered at the time, a significant order. It subsequently sold out in days [in September], which really blew us away.”
Amid the resurgence of retro gadgets, digital point-and-shoot cameras have been trending among Gen Z but they’re often second-hand, dying and increasingly hard to source, he says.
“So this being a brand new product that you can buy off the shelf with that retro, vintage, digital camera look and feel … it just really hit the mark.”
Christchurch retailer NZ Camera and Print says it only received about 40 units — most of which were already spoken for before they even arrived.
“In the two weeks leading up to getting them in-store with us we were getting emails and phone calls almost daily asking when they’d land,” staff member Madeline says.
“We’ve honestly never seen that level of huge interest for a product before but it’s been grand seeing folk get so into it.”
She believes social media influencers played a huge role in boosting its popularity. Aickin agrees, saying sales boost could also have been driven by Christmas gift shopping.
But whether this is just another fad, Adrian Cook, director of the Analogue Aotearoa festival, says anything that encourages a slower, more mindful approach to photography is welcome.
“I’ve noticed a general rise in interest around simple point-and-shoots, [second] hand analogue cameras and low-spec digital cameras and a genuine desire for something more tactile and less ‘perfect’.
“The price point will appeal to many, though of course the image quality won’t compare to true analogue or higher-end digital.”
Madeline calls it “a nifty little bridge” between ’90s charm and modern convenience.
The 30-gram Charmera pairs old-school appeal with a modern practicality: photos and videos are stored on an SD card, and users can add frames and filters.
Its low-resolution 1.6-megapixel sensor — practically extinct by today’s standards — is exactly why Aickin’s Gen Z staff love it, he says.
“I was trying to work out where the hell they found these 1.6 megapixel sensors. I thought we stopped making those in the 2000s…
“As photographers, it does come back to the image quality for us, because we are photographers, but we realise that it’s going to be targeted at a lot more people than just photographers because of the small nature of it, the blind box side of it, and all of those other kind of features.”
That blind box aspect puts the Charmera in the same wheel as other pop-culture collectables. With a 1-in-48 chance of scoring the “secret edition” transparent shell, its marketing mirrors the tactics of PopMart’s Labubu dolls or Bearbricks.
According to USA Today, the camera sold out within 24 hours on the official website in September. Director Vivienne Tsang said they sold 10 times more blind boxes than expected.
A handful of Splendid customers even bought all seven colours in hopes of completing the set, Aickin says.
“That to us was a bit surprising because that’s the kind of thing that you get with like the Labubus and Bearbricks.”
