I think it’s fair to say that keychain cameras are in vogue. After all, the Kodak Charmera sold out upon its release. So, when my colleague picked up an Escura SnapRoll, I decided to borrow it for the day to see what all the fuss was about. Spoiler: I’m not a fan.
The Escura SnapRoll stands out somewhat because it’s made to look like a roll of 35mm film. It’s available in seven different liveries, which evidently take their design cues from famous film brands.
It is sold in a 'blind box' so you don't know which design you are getting until you open the package. I ended up with the not-so-subtle PAN 400e branding, which bears a striking resemblance to Ilford PAN 400 black-and-white film. And I have to say, the design is on point.
From the box, to the canister camera itself, and even the presence of a miniature film canister box in which to store it, everything looks suitably retro. The illusion is spoiled somewhat by the camera’s plasticky aesthetic. And while this is only a $45 camera, the Charmera feels ever so slightly better quality and with a cheaper RRP to boot.
Inside the SnapRoll you’ll find a 2MP CMOS sensor, which captures square (1:1) images. There’s no viewfinder, found on the Charmera, so images have to be composed by a 1.3-inch LCD, which is cleverly implemented as a film cell.
The little camera houses a 3.2mm f/2.8 lens, producing 1,440x1,440 JPEG images, and 720x720 / 30p AVI video. The shooting process is entirely automatic, using a shutter speed of 1/125 secs. Imagery is stored on an aftermarket microSD card of up to 64GB, and the device is charged via USB-C.
I was pleasantly surprised by the camera’s functionality. Not only can you shoot photos and video, but you’ve access to four filters, you can add a film-cell frame to images, and it doubles as a digital photo frame. However, in practice, only the black-and-white filter is of any use, and the digital photo frame functionality is a stretch, essentially this is just a playback feature.
Everything is controlled via three buttons, and I found myself getting to grips with the camera pretty quickly. Something I did find annoying though was that every time you turn the camera on or off, it makes a rather loud chime. Every time. As far as I can tell, there’s no way to turn this off.
The image quality is arguably slightly worse than the Kodak Charmera. I noticed some nasty fringing and nothing looked particularly sharp. But I guess this is the retro aesthetic people are looking for. I mean, it’s not like 35mm film was actually exceedingly high quality or anything. I digress… On the plus side, for what it is, the video quality isn’t too bad. The audio is terrible, but kudos to Escura for including a built-in mic.
So, what is it about the SnapRoll that doesn’t click with me? Oddly enough, it has nothing to do with the grainy, cellphone-of-yesteryear image quality. It’s not even the cheap-feeling buttons and body. It’s the branding. The Escura SnapRoll is selling retro nostalgia, but it doesn’t actually have the heritage to back it up. You could end up with the design that’s evidently inspired by the Kodak Gold 400, or (like me) the Ilford’s PAN 400, or the Polaroid SX-70, etc, but really, you’re just getting an imitation.
Let me be clear, I don’t think the Kodak Charmera is a great camera, either. Keychain cameras are cheap and cheerful, they’re not supposed to be technically great. However, the Charmera wins over the SnapRoll everytime for me, because while both cameras are selling retro nostalgia, the Charmera has the heritage to back it up. At the end of the day, it’s a Kodak camera, not an imitation of Kodak or Ilford and co, and that means something.
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