Review: Kodak Charmera
The Kodak Charmera digital keychain camera was reportedly the biggest-selling camera of 2025, despite only launching in September.
Manufactured under licence by RETO, it is essentially a digital reimagining of the 1987 Kodak Fling 110 disposable camera.
Sold exclusively in blind-box packaging, buying a Charmera is a bit of a lottery. There are six standard colours available, plus a rare transparent version that reportedly appears in just one out of every 48 boxes.
This is my experience with this tiny box of imperfect tricks.
The Tech
Weighing just 30 grams and measuring roughly 5cm long by 2cm high, the Charmera is genuinely pocket-sized.
On the front you'll find a tiny LED flash, a miniature viewfinder and a small plastic lens equivalent to 35mm with an f/2.4 aperture. The flash offers no manual control and fires whenever the camera decides additional light is needed.
Underneath are a microSD card slot and a USB-C charging port, with a charging cable included in the box. One side features a mounting point for the supplied keychain, while the top houses the power button and shutter release.
Around the back are the photographer's end of the viewfinder, a tiny screen measuring approximately 24mm, up and down navigation buttons, and a function button.
The camera uses a 1/4-inch CMOS sensor that captures 1.6MP JPEG stills at 1440 x 1080 resolution and AVI video at 30fps in the same resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio. Shutter speed is listed as 1/30sec. ISO isn't specified, though performance suggests it's somewhere around ISO 800.
Through the menu system you can switch between stills and video, add a date and time stamp, and choose from seven image filters and four frame styles. Beyond that, there is effectively no manual control.
Power comes from an internal 200mAh rechargeable battery.
Inside the blind box you'll find an instruction manual and an authentication card featuring a QR code that links to a quick-start guide.
In Use
Simple yet frustrating fun. That pretty much sums up my time with the Charmera.
I genuinely enjoyed the experience and found myself grinning with a mixture of childish delight and mild embarrassment whenever I was spotted using it. The viewfinder is virtually unusable, while the tiny rear screen makes composition difficult and identifying the active filter almost impossible.
It's frustrating at first. Then you stop caring.
Once you embrace the absurdity of the whole thing, the Charmera becomes surprisingly enjoyable. It's unpredictable, occasionally infuriating and often ridiculous, but that's exactly where the fun lies.
The Results
Do not expect anything remotely impressive in terms of image quality.
The files are ultra-low resolution, highlights blow out with alarming ease, and low-light noise resembles a 1970s television struggling to find a signal. Video quality is shaky and rough, while the audio is every bit as crude.
Yet there is something strangely rewarding about all that imperfection.
At one point I accidentally enabled the warm filter. When I reviewed the images later, I found myself unexpectedly charmed by the results. Technically they were terrible, but they also had a distinctive look that felt oddly magical. Some even reminded me of the experimental aesthetic of LomoChrome Purple.
The key is to work within the camera's limitations. Avoid bright skies, steer clear of close-up portraits and try to keep subjects between two and eight metres away. Once you stop fighting the camera and start working with it, the results become far more enjoyable.
I even experimented with stitched panoramas and an infrared filter. The outcomes were delightfully flawed and all the better for it.
The results
Features ★★
Features are adequate for a camera of this type. A few additional filter options would have been welcome, though that may sound slightly ridiculous given the nature of the Charmera.
The experience: ★★★
Using the Charmera is undeniably fun. It's unpredictable and often frustrating, but that unpredictability becomes part of the appeal. The experience is generally more rewarding than the actual images.
Value for Money: ★★★
The Charmera presents something of a dilemma. It feels overpriced for what it is, yet somehow still worth buying for the novelty and entertainment value alone.
The Wrap-Up
I have to admit that the blind-box concept isn't really my thing, and I was slightly disappointed to end up with the blue version. Still, that's part of the game.
The images are low resolution and undeniably rough. Video quality resembles a Super 8 wedding film shot by a slightly over-refreshed uncle in the 1970s.
But that's not what this camera is about.
The Charmera is the complete opposite of modern pixel perfection. It's a celebration of unpredictability, imperfection and happy accidents. I genuinely enjoyed using it and, perhaps more surprisingly, I enjoyed many of the images it produced.
It has a certain boyish charm that is difficult to explain but easy to appreciate.
Do I regret buying it? Absolutely not.
Would I buy another one? No, but only because I already own this one. If someone offered me the yellow version at half price, I'd probably be reaching for my wallet before they finished the sentence.
Yes, there are smartphone apps that can imitate this kind of lo-fi aesthetic. But that's entirely missing the point. The appeal of the Charmera isn't the look. It's the experience of not quite knowing what you're going to get until you get it.
And in an age of increasingly perfect cameras, that's surprisingly refreshing.