The name Camp Snap might ring a bell. They make that $65 digital camera point-and-shoot that’s been all over Instagram lately. You know the one. It has no screen, so you just have to pretend it’s 1999 and focus on living in the moment while you shoot.
Now, even though you can hardly find one in stock because they’re selling out all over the damn place, Camp Snap has taken aim at Kodak’s revived Super 8 film video camera. And at $149, it costs way, way less than the $5,495 Kodak Super 8.
fiddle-free fun
Camp Snap’s creators say they found an old Super 8 camera while digging through an attic full of mementos, which they called “heavy, clunky, and absolutely beautiful.”
Like the Camp Snap camera, a major part of the CS-8’s appeal will be that you can’t get bogged down in editing or micromanaging while you’re shooting. There’s a small screen inside the viewfinder, just to give you a live view of what the camera is recording, but unlike more complicated video cameras, you can’t playback what you just shot, and you can’t lose yourself in menus.
You can toggle between video ratios of 1:1, 9:16, 4:3, or 16:9. There are also color presets that work like “swappable filters,” such as faded sepia, grainy analog, washed retro tones, and black & white. Camp Snaps says to “think of it like film rolls… but with options.”
The CS-8 comes with a removable 4GB SD card. There’s no word yet on whether you can swap in a larger SD card for more storage.
You can’t buy the CS-8 yet, but you can sign up to be notified when you’ll be able to order it. The retail price is set at $199, but it’s currently marked down to $149, even though it says, somewhat inaccurately, that it’s sold out.
That suggests that those who pre-order the CS-8 or place an order soon after it launches will be able to score a temporary $50 discount.
The post Kodak Super 8 Video Camera Too Pricey? Camp Snap’s CS-8 Is a Groovy Imposter for $149. appeared first on VICE.