There’s a digital camera that Fujifilm should absolutely be making right now, and it’s not the X-Pro4, or X-E5, or a full-frame model (although those would be great, too). There’s a specific camera that would fly off the shelves—the X100VI’s historic demand would pale in comparison. What is this camera?
The digital QuickSnap.
The Fujifilm QuickSnap is a disposable 35mm film camera that is beloved for its nostalgic lo-fidelity aesthetic, simplicity, and price. Fujifilm introduced the QuickSnap camera in 1986, with the slogan, “Everybody should enjoy photography with ease.” The QuickSnap was an immediate success, and was immensely popular for a very long time—it was even successful enough to survive the film crash of the 2000’s. People still buy and use QuickSnap cameras; they’re particularly popular for weddings, kids, and lomographers. Many people love the nostalgic experience of one-time-use cameras.
Interestingly, the most sold digital camera right now in Japan is a cheap Kodak digicam. Third and fifth places are also cheap Kodak digicams. Digicams are a dime a dozen (perhaps literally, if you win a collection on an auction site, or rummage through your parents or grandparents house). What’s missing in the photo world is a digital version of the QuickSnap, a film camera that partially inspired the digicam. I have zero doubts that it would be a massive success for Fujifilm, and would probably leave all digicams in the dust.
This is how I envision the digital QuickSnap:
First, it would need a digital sensor that obviously won’t be anywhere close to full-frame, since that would be both ridiculous and expensive. The Fujifilm Mini Evo has a tiny 5mp sensor; it would likely be a mistake to use that one, but they certainly could. I think that a 12mp or 16mp 1/2.3″ would be the most obvious choice, since those can be obtained by Fujifilm rather easily and cheaply. The sensor itself doesn’t matter all that much; however, cost and quality must be balanced extremely carefully. Too poor of image quality will hurt sales, while a too expensive price-tag will also hurt sales.
More important, though, is the picture aesthetic. Fujifilm should program it with their Classic Negative film simulation, including faux grain—something similar to my Fujicolor Superia 800 Recipe. The pictures created by the digital QuickSnap camera should look similar to the pictures that come out of an analog QuickSnap. As much as practical, the pictures need to look alike from the film and digital versions.
Next, it needs to function nearly the same as the analog QuickSnap. It should be super simple: a switch to activate the built-in flash, a wheel to cock the shutter and “advance” to the next frame, a shutter release button, a battery-level indicator, and maybe a one-press picture-transfer to an app. There should not be any LCD or electronic viewfinder to review the pictures.
The very basic optical viewfinder from the film camera should be carried over—the user experience should be as similar to the analog version as possible. Due to the crop factor of the sensor, a new lens will be necessary. The exact sensor size will determine what the lens should be, perhaps something like a 5mm or 6mm f/5.6 plastic lens that’s close to 30mm full-frame equivalent. What is important is that it is focus-free (fixed focus) and produces a similar aesthetic to the film camera.
A critical factor of one-time-use cameras is the film itself; namely, the tolerance for under and over exposure. Since the sensor won’t have this same tolerance, it’s necessary for the digital QuickSnap to have some amount of exposure control. It must have a light meter, as well as some (auto) control over the ISO and shutter speed. For the sake of image quality, the ISO should be capped as low as practical. If Fujifilm could utilize the D-Range Priority technology, I think that would help, too.
The digital QuickSnap should have internal storage that saves only 27 JPEG images. It could count the exposures mechanically exactly like the film camera does, providing an identical experience. Once the 27th picture has been captured, it won’t let you capture anymore until the memory has been cleared, either by wirelessly transferring the images to a mobile app, or via USB. The QuickSnap App should be super simple (and actually work), with an option within the app to auto-connect and transfer once 27 pictures have been recorded, or manually connect and transfer if preferable. The camera should also be able to connect to the Instax app, and transfer (and print) directly from there. The camera should charge via USB, and could also transfer the images using a USB cable. Once the pictures have been removed from the camera, it would then allow the user to capture the next 27 frames.
The QuickSnap App, aside from photo transfers, should have a few simple options, for those who wish to do a little more with their pictures. A retro-styled date stamp. Maybe a few filter overlays that don’t radically change the picture aesthetic (examples: high contrast, low contrast, warm, cool, color boost, reduce color, etc.), and maybe a handful of light-leak affects. The more simple the better. Maybe Fujifilm can even offer a service where 4″ x 6″ prints can be made and mailed out to customers who wish for an even more authentic experience.
While the size and design should still closely resemble the film version, I think the digital QuickSnap must feel a little more sturdy, and not so cheap that it would easily break if dropped. If Fujifilm could offer it for less than $100, that would be most ideal. A camera like that would be a huge hit, thanks to its nostalgic charm, ease of use, straight-out-of-camera aesthetic, and affordability.
You’re welcome, Fujifilm.
Don’t want to wait for a digital QuickSnap, but still want the look? Check out these articles:
Getting a Disposable Camera Look with DispoLens
Getting that ’90’s Film Look with Fujifilm Cameras
For those wondering, the four pictures in this article were captured with a Fujifilm X100VI using the Superia Negative Recipe.