Mini cameras are getting out of hand with the release of the Haru Mini Retro, and this tiny shooter might just be the next photography fad.
The Haru Mini Retro is essentially a fully-functioning digital camera capable of shooting photos and recording videos, all packaged into a neat retro film camera-style body.
Tiny cameras are nothing new. In fact, companies like Kenko Tokina have been selling novelty keyring shooters like the Pieni II and Pieni M for years in Japan.
And more recently, Kodak launched the Charmera, which people went bananas for (largely due to the Kodak branding and colorful finishes) as well as the recent SnapRoll camera (shaped like a roll of 35mm film).
However, all these mini snappers have typically featured a less-than-stellar sub-2MP sensor, meaning low-grade photos – although it has always been more about novelty rather than quality.
That is until now. The Haru Mini Retro blows its mini camera competition out of the water in terms of specs. It boasts a 20MP sensor and 2K video capabilities, which the manufacturer says produces “beautiful”, “high quality" images.
The Haru Mini Retro measures just 2 x 1.6 x 0.7 inches / 50 x 40 x 17mm and weighs just 2.4oz / 68g. Although smaller than the Kodak Charmera (58 x 24.5 x 20mm), the Haru is twice as heavy. ‘Heavy’ being a slightly funny statement here.
The Kodak Charmera is equipped with a 0.8-inch LCD screen while the Haru’s measures 1.47 inches, which will help with reviewing images in the moment.
Like all mini shooters the Haru is rechargeable, supporting USB-C, and stores images on a microSD card (sold separately, of course).
You’re not going to get a Sony Alpha-grade image with the Haru Mini Retro. After all, its sensor is still tiny and the lens slow. But, on paper, the specs are enough to go up against the established branding of Kodak.
I’ll need to see real-world use to know which mini camera best balances retro aesthetics with image quality. And, truth to be told, you shouldn't expect a major difference between the Haru and Kodak mini shooters.
But a leap has now been made in terms of sensor resolution in these tiny models and I’m excited to see how the Haru Mini Retro performs.
The Haru Mini Retro is currently available in Japan via Rakuten for $38 (approximately £28 / $AU 53).
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