Camera Review: CampSnap Camera

A Kid Friendly Digital Camera

**Disclaimer: All photos in this article are unedited, and as extracted from the camera. Images courtesy of Jordan Raiff and Angelica Franco Estrada.**

As the kids get ready to head off to their end-of-summer camps, many parents want a camera to send their kids with. Many sleepover camps want kids to leave their cell phones at home, so they can unplug from modern tech, and connect with as kids. This means sending them with a camera to capture moments. 

But disposable cameras are hot garbage in 2023. It can be difficult finding a film processing place, and kids have gotten used to having more than 36 opportunities to capture the moment.

Toronto, Ontario native Brian, and Melanie remembered taking those moments as kids and wanted to send their kids off to camp with a digital camera to capture more than 36 moments, but they didn’t want to worry about screens the kids could break.

Enter the CampSnap Camera. www.campsnapphoto.com This simple camera is made of black plastic and has a small Dijon mustard yellow strip of what feels like vegan leather down the middle of it.

For features, it only has a small LCD bar panel to keep your exposure counter, and a dual LED flash and selector switch. It features a fixed lens, turns on by holding down the shutter for 5 seconds, and comes along with a micro built-in speaker to produce an audible click and a plastic viewfinder.

That’s it. Incredibly simple, and the true return of a point-and-shoot. With my wife and I going back to Western NY for a week before the 4th of July, we brought our CampSnap Camera everywhere with us. 

After arriving I took a few test shots to see what the camera could do around the house. Inside the airport, the camera took some interesting shots as we greeted Phoebe, the new Tampa Airport mascot and statue installation.

During our layover in Atlanta, I captured some of the planes where it had a difficult time with the harsh light. However, it still performed as expected in the darkened rainforest areas of the Atlanta airport. 

While traveling around NY this camera came to life. From stopping in at some antique shops in Angelica, NY, to the first discovery of oil in North America over in Cuba, NY, the camera took some great shots and captured a very raw, film feel to the images.

I took a few low light shots sitting on the deck one night, simply to test out the depth of field and the light capabilities here. It’s not a great image comparatively, but given the price point and how it’s made, these are some phenomenal images. 

Yet a trip up through East Aurora, NY, and by Viddlers gave the camera a few challenges as the smoke from the Canadian wildfires blanketed the air. Crossing into Niagara Falls, NY provided a bit clearer air thanks to the moisture from the spray produced by the Falls. Passing by the historic hotel from Pam & Jim’s wedding on The Office, the colors were vibrant and perfect.

Going to the falls themselves produced some amazing pictures at the Cave of The Winds. While trying to avoid getting the camera soaked, I didn’t hide it under a plastic bag, or any other precautions I might have taken with my DSLR.

Trying to take pictures like a kid, or someone just trying to have fun, I know the camera got a bit wet. Yet a quick wipe of the lens to get moisture off the glass, and the viewfinder, and it was back in business.

The color and depth of field are accurate, but it’s the aged feel of the photos that are simply amazing. Even selfies turned out bright and reminded me of the photos I saw of my parents when they were there back in the 1980s as newlyweds. While my wife and I don’t look like them, the grain gave me that feeling. Especially when we took this onto the Maid of The Mist. 

 Now powered by an electric engine that is charged by the power of the falls, it feels fitting to be taking photos with a new ‘disposable’ digital camera. People from all walks of life asked me about the camera as they could see it wasn’t a typical digital camera, nor was it film. 

Heading to Friendship, NY we stopped by Island Park where the Republican Party was born in 1854. Taking photos of the cannons that are also there and the now lowered creek that runs behind the park, there were a few spots where the focus wasn’t as tack sharp as you would have liked. Again, as it’s a point-and-shoot, this is to be expected from time to time. 

Joining my brother and his girlfriend for a double date night of mini golf and (not pictured) bowling, the camera had great sensitivity at night, but again that vintage feeling grain came back in focus.

Over the next couple of days, we also stopped back in Angelica for the Lavender Festival, and I even used it to capture a couple of quick images of a retiring Delta pilot as he was heading to his final flight. While I missed getting his name, he was kind enough to stop for a quick moment, and it was fun to capture such a momentous occasion with this camera.

All in all, this is exactly what I expected for a $45 camera. It’s something you can give to the kids to have fun at camp, toss in your truck for a weekend out, or take to a daytime concert when they have a no-cell phone rule.

I will openly admit, I have not had a chance to test this in low-light uses like at a regular evening time concert, a fight night, or other incredibly difficult situations. Overall this camera gets a 5/5 for value, 2.75/5 for image quality, 5/5 for durability, and 5/5 for ease of use. Well worth the money, and it makes a great gift.