Yashica Funtastic review: Is this tiny Y2K camera actually fun?

Keychain camera mania is upon us. Although tiny cameras have been around since the spy-camera era of the Minox, the arrival and unprecedented success of the Kodak Charmera last year seems to have kicked the current trend for thumb-sized, imperfect digital fun into overdrive.

It seems that almost every month another copycat keychain camera appears on the market. More recently, a couple of established retro camera brands have also jumped into the miniature camera arena. One of them is Japanese brand Yashica, which recently released its Funtastic range (Approximately AU$38–45, depending on the version).

Naturally, I had to give one of these little cuties a run. But is it actually Funtastic?

The tech

Weighing just 22 grams and measuring 6.3 x 2.2 x 2.5cm, the Funtastic is broadly comparable in size to the Kodak Charmera, although it is slightly lighter.

Made from ABS plastic, it features a 0.96-inch 180-degree flip screen and a plastic f/2.8 lens, equivalent to around 35mm in full-frame terms. There are two rear function buttons, a top-mounted power button and a shutter/function selector.

Shutter speed is around 1/125 sec, while the focus range runs from 30cm to infinity.

A tiny front LED fill light can be switched on or off. Underneath, there's a microSD card slot, officially rated for cards up to 64GB. I used a 128GB card without any issues. There's also a USB-C port for file transfer and charging the internal 200mAh lithium-ion battery.

Inside is a 1/4-inch, 1MP CMOS sensor. Yashica claims 1440 x 1080 JPEG stills and 30fps AVI video at the same resolution, although the files are output at 980 x 1280 pixels for stills and 1280 x 720 pixels for video once processed and cropped natively.

The Funtastic offers four filters in addition to the standard colour profile: black and white, sepia, a faded green cast and a cool tone.

There are several versions available: Peanuts Sweet Dreams Home, as reviewed here, Snoopy's Summit in green, Hello Kitty in red, and the blue Yashica Boy, which is usually a little cheaper. A charging cable and themed keychain are included in the box.

In use

In the hand, the Funtastic actually feels reasonably well made, especially considering its size and price. The flip screen feels sturdy enough, while the buttons and menu system take a few minutes to get used to. Fortunately, there aren't many options to navigate.

Power it up and you're presented with photo, video or playback modes. Dive into the general settings and you'll find resolution options, the basic format and volume controls, factory reset, date and time settings and not much else.

Once you've mastered the long and short presses on the selector buttons, it's all pretty straightforward.

As with other keychain cameras I've tried, however, the screen and filter effects can be difficult to see properly while shooting.

The flip screen is useful for selfies, provided you have long enough arms, and it can also be used in a TLR-style arrangement for low-angle shots. Unfortunately, the resulting image is upside down when used this way.

The fill light is less impressive. It's seriously underpowered and is really only useful at distances of around 40cm or less, although that's hardly unusual for a camera of this type.

If you're expecting the Funtastic to produce images that even vaguely resemble those from a classic Yashica film camera, you're going to be disappointed. That's simply not what this camera is about.

The standard colour profile has the appearance of a dodgy early-1980s television screen. Images are harsh and distinctly retro, with plenty of fringing and chromatic aberration, slightly blown highlights and a noticeable green-magenta cast. White balance can also vary noticeably between scenes.

And that's kind of the point.

The other filters are somewhat limited in number, so I found myself sticking mostly with the standard colour mode and black and white. The latter is actually quite pleasant and probably my favourite of the available options.

Video is recorded in a retro 4:3 format and uses the same filter profiles. It's extremely shaky when handheld, as you'd expect from a camera this small.

The combination of the colour effects and 4:3 aspect ratio is presumably intended to replicate the look of a Y2K-era video camera, which will appeal to anyone chasing that particular brand of nostalgia.

The results

Features: ★★

The Funtastic is fairly limited when it comes to features and filter options. The flip screen is useful, particularly for selfies, but there's little else to get excited about.

Experience: ★★ 1/2

It's certainly fun to use, but the limited filters and relatively poor image quality take some of the shine off the experience once you get the files onto your computer or phone.

Value for money: ★★★

Compared with the Kodak Charmera, the Funtastic represents reasonable value for money. A few more tricks and filters would have pushed the score higher.

The wrap-up

The Funtastic is undeniably cute. It's fun to look at, fun to carry around and fun to shoot with, and I have no doubt that Peanuts, Snoopy and Hello Kitty fans will love the themed versions based on looks alone.

But is there really any 'tastic' to the Funtastic for a serious photographer?

There is definitely fun to be had with the imperfect images produced by keychain cameras. That's their appeal.

But compared with the Kodak Charmera and Holga keychain cameras I've recently used, the Funtastic feels a little underwhelming. Its relatively low image quality and limited selection of quirky filters leave the 'tastic' part somewhat thin on the ground.

That said, it is a step above the generic keychain camera clones flooding the market, and the themed editions give it a point of difference. If you're a Snoopy or Hello Kitty fan looking for a tiny camera to throw on your keyring, there's plenty to like.

For everyone else, though, there are more entertaining ways to spend AU$40.