Blind Box Meets Digital Camera: My Kodak Charmera Experience

The Kodak Charmera was initially released in the last quarter of 2025. It comes in six retro designs, and one secret variant, sold in blind boxes. Years ago, I used to ~~hoard~~buy toys in blind boxes (similar to those from Pop Mart). The Kodak Charmera in blind box certainly brought up memories. 😊

I didn’t have a specific design in mind when I picked one up, but honestly, I hoped to avoid the blue and black versions. 😛

Each box includes the digital camera, a USB-C cable, keyring, Charmera ID card (which matches the design you get), and leaflet.

Specifications

Here are the key specs of the Kodak Charmera:

Image Sensor: 1/4-inch CMOS
Lens: 35mm f/2.4
Port: USB-C
Storage: microSD (1GB–128GB)
Image Output: 1440 × 1080 (1.6 MP)
Image Format: JPEG
Frame Rate: 30 fps
Video Format: AVI
Battery: 200mAh rechargeable

Photos and Videos

The camera comes with four preloaded Kodak frames, a date stamp option, and seven filter presets. These features are limited to photos, though the date stamp is also optional to videos.

As for image quality, it’s not exactly something to write home about. The output feels very reminiscent of camera phones or webcams from the 2000s, maybe slightly better, but still far from what you’d get from modern smartphones. That said, the lower resolution and overall softness do add to its nostalgic charm, which is clearly part of the appeal.

Daytime Sample:

Nighttime Sample:

Including some indoor shots as well for comparison.

Videos

Thoughts

As someone who enjoys film photography, the look of these photos really appeals to me. My decision to get the Kodak Charmera wasn’t just because of the hype. It also reminded me of my Superheadz Harinezumi, which has become quite rare (and expensive) these days. I’ve always liked photos with playful or unconventional outputs, and the Charmera definitely delivers on that. That said, I should probably step out of my comfort zone and experiment more with its red, blue, yellow, gray pixel filters. 🙂

Where to Buy

As of writing, the Kodak Charmera is availalbe from JG Superstore where I bought mine, Henry’s Cameras, and SM Department Store (I’ve seen it at SM Makati, along with other toy cameras). You can likely find it on marketplaces like Shopee and Lazada as well.

Checkout GameOPS Deals for the best deals on the Kodak Charmera!