Travel photography: I took my new “toy camera” to London. Here’s my hot take on this retro photo trend
For both our commercial and travel photography, John and I use professional-level cameras, with a little support from our iPhones or specialized cameras, when called for. You can check out the gear we use here.
But that doesn’t mean we don't take an interest in what is trending out there in the consumer market.
Looking down at the viewfinder of my “toy” twin lens reflex camera.
There is a current trend among some photo enthusiasts toward the “lo-fi” aesthetic of older, less sophisticated cameras. The lower quality of circa 2000 compact point-and-shoot cameras, both film and early digital, the thought goes, offers something creativity different than the hyper-processed and perfectly rendered photos that are the order of the day in 2025.
“Lo-fi curious” seekers are eager to get their hands on these original low-tech models.
Personally, I don’t particularly get any warm fuzzies over those 2000-era digital cameras; they just weren’t very good. But then, I’m not a GenZer. My experience with cameras is different, so maybe I’m just not coming from the same place.
BUT, the lo-fi trend has also given rise to something else - a market of newly minted “toy cameras” that are inexpensive, miniature digital versions of classic older film cameras. A little weird perhaps, but interesting. Plus, as we often need to lug a cartload of gear for commercial shoots, the attraction of a tiny camera can be compelling.
So I have to admit to feeling a gentle bite from this “toy camera” bug when a nostalgic-looking, oh-so-cute and tiny take on a 1930s era twin-lens reflex camera crept onto my Instagram feed.
I have an affection for the look and feel of that particular old model. I bought an original 1930s twin-lens Rolleiflex camera during my college years, when I needed a camera for a medium-format photography class I was taking, and “old, used and classic” was what was in my budget.
These were pre-digital days, when every camera took film in some form, so getting 120mm film to fit even this old style, pre-war camera model was not a problem. And let’s also remember, that we are talking about a real camera with Zeiss glass and a larger negative than the standard 35mm. So quality was possible.
My new 2025 toy version cost about $100 and came in an attractive, retro-designed box and yes, it definitely looked like my dear old Rollei had a baby. It also had some nifty features. It could shoot both stills and video, in color or black & white, which is useful for folks who don’t have any way to post-process their images. The file size isn’t too bad, either: open in Photoshop, they were about 35MBs.
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Although entirely made of plastic, it sported the familiar “pop up” viewfinder of the classic twin-reflex, buttons in the right places, and an adorable side crank for scrolling through your images. In the original Rollei, this side crank did the necessary task of advancing the roll film, so kudos to whoever came up with this clever design idea.
(It also came wrapped in a lot of talk about “mindfulness”. But, whatever - )
The catch - no control over exposure. At all. Plus, no zoom, and you have to compose in a square, which is never the best shape.
Nonetheless, I was excited to pop this new little gadget into my bag and take it on my upcoming trip to London and see what it could do. Kind of a tiny, unobtrusive spy camera, I fancied, as I foresaw a fun, stylized photo-essay-type-post coming to our blog.
Well, long story short, these are the only two “toy camera” images that were even remotely satisfying from my entire trip. And that, I think, is only because the dreamy, stepping-back-in-time quality of St. Dunstan-in-the-East complimented the watercolor-esque result of this very low-quality, rather unsharp, digital camera. Highlights are just completely blown out, shadows are heavily blue and grainy - no hope of saving either detail, even in post-processing.
St. Dunstan-in the-East is a great spot to take photos or just to hang out. It is a public garden within the ruins of a historic church that was heavily damaged during the bombing of London during World War II. You can read more about it in our post, Visiting picturesque St. Dunstan-in-the-East Church Garden in London.
As a visual professional, I found using this camera more frustrating than inspiring. I couldn’t make it do what I wanted it to do, and what it did do was very low quality.
It’s so low-end that it was all hit-or-miss. The two images below “hit” with the focus and exposure. But a large percentage of the frames I shot did neither. It had a particularly hard time focusing on distant objects.
But Debbie, you might say, working within the limits is the point. And I do get that; truly, I do. There are lots of ways to limit yourself when taking photographs. Artists of have been doing that sort of exercise in different mediums pretty much forever. But for me, that is all it was - an exercise.
All the heady talk of “mindfulness’ aside, a toy is still just basically a toy.
Still, I do appreciate the philosophy behind wanting to break away from the digital perfection, over-processed imagery and the annoying distractions of the smartphone photography era, and embrace what feels like a more deliberate approach of yesteryear.
Especially for the younger generations who have not really known anything else. Unless you are of a certain age, you probably have missed the boat entirely on film photography, on which I cut my teeth, as well as those wild and wooly days of early DSLRs which were so much a part of my professional baptism. So it’s totally understandable to romanticize what was missed.
Hey, I did it too, when I bought that Rolleiflex in college. Did I fancy myself some crusty photojournalist of yesteryear? Maybe I did. So yeah, I get it.
And, admittedly, it was fun to peer down into the pop-up viewfinder of that little plastic box and almost for a moment be that 1930s photog exploring old London with a my trusty Rolleiflex.
But at the end of the day, I don't do cosplay. I just want to take the best photos I can.
What made those old cameras exciting to their owners during their own timeframes is they were what was new, exciting and technologically advanced at that time.
I’m sorry but there is no way in the world you can convince me, for example, that the shutter delay on those 2000-era early digital cameras was somehow romantic. Come on, it frustrated every user, no matter how mindful they were trying to be. We were used to highly responsive shutters on film cameras at every level. But if you were a casual picture-taker interested in digital photography at that time (not in the pro-level market), those laggy shutters were all you had to play with.
What I really think is the best advice to those who would like to get away from using their smartphone for everything and take photos with a dedicated camera, is this: just get the best “real” camera you can afford. It doesn’t need to be a “pro” model or even the latest and greatest amateur one - just new enough to have up-to-date specs that won’t frustrate you.
Because I really think you are looking for more control over the process, not less.
I’m not trying to dampen anyone’s creative spirit here. Or even, snarky remarks aside, the idea of “mindfulness” as a concept, which I define as the act of being quiet with one activity and giving it your full attention. Nothing wrong with that.
And actually, I certainly think it is possible to take “mindful” photos with a modern camera, or even a - gasp! -smartphone. Most of them take very high-quality images nowadays.
I really don’t want to trust my treasured vacation pictures to a trendy toy. Maybe give it to a child with an interest in photography to tinker with? But the design of an old twin-lens reflex camera would not mean anything to them. No this camera was definitely designed for someone who knows about those cameras. A toy for adults.
In certain ways, I do see the appeal is these novelties. It is kind of cool that this little plastic thing actually works and takes real pictures. But the novelty wears off rather quickly.
I remember falling down a similar rabbit hole when old-style Polaroid cameras rose from the dead a few years ago. The pull of nostalgia for those 1960-70s picture-spitting contraptions of my youth was strong - I wanted one!
But what I had seemingly forgotten about those instant cameras was that they had always taken pretty lousy photos. And lo and behold, they still do. Ah, I should have learned my lesson then!
New Polaroid cameras in 1970s-80s style for sale at a bookstore among gift items.
As someone who has been around photography and photographers for longer than I’d care to admit, I feel that all you’re really getting out of this “nostalgic camera craze” is low quality, and that’s just not all that exciting to me.
Cute as that dang little Rollei baby is.
Oh well, perhaps I’ll print & frame up these two little St. Dunstan images and hang them in my bathroom as an ode to the exercise and put the idea of toy cameras and nostalgic gobbledegook on the shelf for now.
Nostalgic cameras: My dad’s Polaroid Swinger (circa 1960) and my “real” Rolleiflex (circa 1930s) flank my “toy camera” on a shelf - where they belong.
That little bugger does look pretty cute there next to my “real” Rolleiflex and my Dad’s old 1960s Polaroid Swinger (from my Space Age childhood days). These, in their day, were the best cameras their original owners could afford. So maybe that’s the real lesson in mindfulness here: Choose your equipment wisely.
More travel photo blog posts:
I had fun trying out a trendy “toy camera” on a recent trip to London.
Its tiny size and retro design are charming - but does it take good photos?